Thank You · ELT Conference 2026

Building ELT Communities:
Research and Practice in Dialogue

Two days of research and practice in dialogue have come to a close. Thank you to everyone who made ELT Conference 2026 such a memorable gathering.

Date 24–25 October 2026

Location Yeditepe University, Istanbul

Coming Soon Book of Abstracts & Photo Album

Read Our Thank-You What’s Next

Let’s meet again in 2027!

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Thank You

ELT Conference 2026 · Building ELT Communities: Research and Practice in Dialogue

On 24–25 October 2026, researchers, teacher educators, university instructors, K–12 teachers and students from across Türkiye came together at Yeditepe University for two days of dialogue between research and classroom practice. Held as part of Yeditepe University’s 30th anniversary celebrations, the conference showed what an ELT community can look like when we listen to one another.

On behalf of the Organising Committee and the English Language Teaching Program, we extend our warmest thanks to everyone who contributed.

Our Plenary Speakers

Simon Borg, Zeynep Çamlıbel-Acar and Hossein Farhady, for plenary talks that set the tone for two days of research and practice in dialogue.

Prof. Ayşe S. Akyel & the Special Panel

Prof. Ayşe S. Akyel, whose legacy inspired our closing panel, and the panelists and moderator who shared their stories of teacher research, mentorship and inquiry.

Presenters & Session Leaders

Everyone who presented a paper, led a workshop or shared a poster, and the session leaders who chaired the concurrent sessions with care and good timekeeping.

Our Participants

Every teacher, researcher and student who joined us, asked questions, and kept the conversations going in the corridors, at the posters and at the Welcome Reception.

Yeditepe University

Prof. Hülya Kılıç, Dean of the Faculty of Education, and Yeditepe University for hosting and supporting the conference, and the Faculty of Arts and Design for opening its building to us.

Our Student Assistants & Committees

Our student conference assistants, who were everywhere at once; the Scientific and Organising Committees; and the publishers who joined us with their stands.

Coming Soon

Two ways to look back on ELT Conference 2026

Publication

Book of Abstracts

The final ELT Conference 2026 Book of Abstracts, bringing together all the papers, workshops and posters presented at the conference, will be published in digital format and archived on this website soon.

Memories

Photo Album

Plenaries, concurrent sessions, posters, the Special Panel and the Welcome Reception — a photo album of the conference will be shared on this website soon.

In the meantime, the conference programme and abstracts remain available online.

Programme & Abstracts

Plenary Speakers

With thanks to three distinguished scholars for their inspiring talks

Day 1 · Opening Plenary

Professor Simon Borg

Educational Consultant
ELT & Language Teacher Education

“Collaborative Professional Development”

Researcher and consultant with over 35 years in ELT, specialising in language teacher education and professional development across more than 30 countries.

Day 1 · Plenary

Dr. Zeynep Çamlıbel-Acar

Assistant Professor
Marmara University

“From Past Research to Future Classroom Inquiry: Insights, Examples, and New Possibilities”

Specialist in ELT to young learners and language teacher education, with research focusing on parental involvement and extramural English.

Day 2 · Plenary

Professor Hossein Farhady

Assessment & Research Consultant

“Research and Practice in Dialogue: The Case of Language Assessment”

Applied linguist with over four decades of experience in language testing and assessment, author of some 50 articles and 10 textbooks in the field.

View Full Speaker Profiles

Two Days at a Glance

A look back at the ELT Conference 2026 programme

Saturday

24 October

08:30Registration & welcome coffee
09:30Opening remarks
10:00Opening Plenary · Simon Borg“Collaborative Professional Development”
11:30Concurrent sessions
13:00Lunch
14:15Plenary · Zeynep Çamlıbel-Acar“From Past Research to Future Classroom Inquiry”
15:15Poster session
15:45Concurrent sessions
17:30Welcome Reception

Sunday

25 October

09:30Poster session
10:00Plenary · Hossein Farhady“Research and Practice in Dialogue: The Case of Language Assessment”
11:30Concurrent sessions
13:00Lunch
14:15Special Panel in honour of Prof. Ayşe S. Akyel
15:45Closing remarks

View Full Programme & Abstracts

Special Panel

The conference closed with a special panel honouring a distinguished voice in Turkish ELT and her legacy of teacher research and professional inquiry.

Professor Ayşe S. Akyel

Our heartfelt thanks to Prof. Akyel and to her former graduate students, now researchers and educators in the field, for a moving and inspiring close to the conference.

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