Aysen Cem-Deger, Joint co-ordinator
Aysen has worked as an academic in Linguistics and SLA for almost twenty years and has published research articles in various scientific journals, as well as supervising undergraduate and MA dissertations. She has also delivered Academic Writing courses both in the university and one-to-one tutoring, to young adults preparing for IELTS and/or GRE exams and academics who would like to publish in English. For the last ten years, Aysen has been teaching learners with sensory impairments and learning differences. Last year, she started teaching English to the Third Age, which opened up a new path in inclusive practices.
Giovanni Licata, Joint co-ordinator
Giovanni Licata is a teacher and teacher trainer at IH-Accademia Britannica in Rome. Having worked in schools across Europe, Asia, and the US, he has developed an interest in sociolinguistics as well as teacher and learner identities in the ELT classroom. His dream is to open a wine bar in L.A. and serve Italian wines and freshly-made bruschettas.
Jennifer Preschern, Events Coordinator
Dr Jennifer Preschern, CCC-SLP is an English lecturer at Johannes Kepler University in Linz, Austria. Originally from Chicago, Illinois most of her professional life has been spent working with children and young adults with a variety of speech, language, and academic needs. She has published several teacher resource books in the area of language, grammar, fluency, and articulation. When she is not teaching, Jennifer can often be found hanging upside down, as she is an avid aerial arts fan.
Jana Jilkova, Joint treasurer
Dr Jana Jilkova is a lecturer, trainer, and coach. She is Czech Teachers’ Association ATECR regional coordinator and eTwinning-Scientix ambassador. She is also involved in projects with the British Council, Ministry of Education and Charles University. She is a keen advocate of creativity in ELT for personal and professional development including CLIL, STEM, SEN, student’s life and career skills.
Wiktoria Allan, Joint treasurer
Vicky Allan teaches and coordinates Business English courses at the Berlin School of Economics and Law (Hochschule für Wirtschaft und Recht (HWR) Berlin). She is also pursuing her PhD in Linguistics from Lancaster University where she is investigating the Impact of testing accommodations on university students with ADHD. Vicky sits on the Women’s and Equal Opportunities Council at the HWR, as well as IATEFL’s Scholarship Committee. Additionally, she is the Coordinator for the newly-founded International Language Testing Association’s (ILTA) Equity, Diversity, Inclusion (EDI) Working Group.
Sinem Darıdere, Secretary
Sinem is an educational consultant, teacher, and CELTA tutor based in Izmir, Turkey. She has taught a wide range of teaching contexts; nowadays, she is training on CELTA courses and running her teaching and training projects. Her main area of interest is ‘using art and music in ELT’, ‘learner-and-teacher wellbeing’, and ‘learn green, teach green’.
Diana Margaritescu, Social Media Coordinator
Diana is a CELTA-qualified ESL teacher and she’s grateful to be the 2023 IATEFL Bill Lee scholarship winner. Diana is based in România, and she has been teaching English since 2018 in a private Language School in Pitesti, Smart Academy of Languages. Her students are mostly YLE and teenagers, and she aims to use her enthusiasm, innate curiosity, and zest for life to inspire them. Diana is interested in neurodiversity and she’s learning how to be aware of her students’ emotions and to provide a friendly atypical learning environment in her classes. Being passionate about travelling, she likes to talk about herself as a mind traveler, as she all too often immerses in reading and travels to different times and places. Lately, she gets a kick out of practicing stand-up paddling and she is keen on outdoor sports.
Boelo van der Pool, Newsletter editor
Boelo (pronounced “Bulo”) has been involved in language teaching and learning for over 30 years. Although Dutch from birth, he’s lived in Málaga, Spain, for most of his career. He is a language coach and teacher trainer and specializes in teaching languages to students with dyslexia and / or ADHD.
Agnieszka Dzięcioł-Pędich, Website manager
Dr Agnieszka Dzięcioł-Pędich works at the University of Białystok (Poland), where she teaches English for Specific Purposes and trains pre-service English teachers. She also works at the SWPS University in Warsaw where, among others, she conducts courses on teaching English to special educational needs students. Her research interests include special educational needs, English for specific purposes, intercultural communication, and teacher development. In her free time, she travels, takes photos, knits and turns into a bookworm