Theme, rationale, structure, and the community we are building
English Language Teaching stands at a meaningful crossroads. Research continues to generate rich insights into how people learn, teach, and use language — yet the distance between academic findings and everyday classroom realities remains a persistent challenge in the field.
ELT Conference 2026 is built around a simple but powerful conviction: that researchers, teacher educators, and practitioners learn best when they learn together. The conference does not privilege one voice over another. Instead, it creates genuine conditions for dialogue — where a classroom teacher's question shapes a researcher's thinking, and where a theoretical insight finds its way into tomorrow's lesson.
Hosted by the ELT Program at Yeditepe University, this national conference invites participants from across Türkiye to share their work, challenge their assumptions, and strengthen the professional communities that make teaching and learning possible.
While artificial intelligence and educational technology may appear as topics within sessions, they are not the central theme of this conference. Our focus remains the human dimensions of language teaching: teacher development, community, and the relationship between knowledge and practice.
Submissions are welcomed across these broad areas
Studies and presentations that bridge academic research and classroom realities, including practitioner research and evidence-based teaching.
Pre-service and in-service teacher education, mentoring, reflective practice, professional identity, and teacher wellbeing.
Action research, classroom-based inquiry, collaborative research, and the role of teachers as knowledge producers.
Curriculum reform, language assessment practices, learner evaluation, and programme development in ELT contexts.
Test design and validation, classroom-based assessment, large-scale testing, and assessment literacy in ELT.
Design, evaluation, and adaptation of teaching materials, coursebooks, and supplementary resources for ELT contexts.
Integration of digital tools, e-learning platforms, and educational technology in language teaching and learning.
The role of artificial intelligence in teacher preparation, professional development, and pedagogical decision-making.
Self-regulated learning, learner agency, motivational strategies, and fostering independence in language learners.
Teaching diverse learners, addressing learning differences, and creating equitable and accessible ELT environments.
EAP and ESP programme design, needs analysis, genre-based approaches, and discipline-specific language teaching.
World Englishes, Global Englishes, language attitudes, and the implications of linguistic diversity for ELT practice.
Genre-based pedagogy, academic writing instruction, discourse analysis, and text-focused approaches to language teaching.
Using language corpora in teaching and research, corpus-informed materials design, and data-driven learning.
Intercultural competence, cross-cultural awareness, identity in language learning, and culturally responsive teaching.
Teacher narratives, professional identity, career pathways, and the personal dimensions of language teaching.
ELT within International Baccalaureate programmes, international school contexts, and globally-oriented curricula.
Emerging challenges and current debates in the field, including post-pandemic teaching, wellbeing, and policy developments.
Partnerships between schools, universities, and professional bodies; policy implications; and community-building in ELT.
A tribute to a life's work in teacher education
Dedicated to
This special panel honours Professor Ayşe Akyel's extraordinary contribution to English Language Teaching and teacher education in Türkiye and beyond. The panel will feature former graduate students of Professor Akyel who are now active researchers and educators in the field — carrying forward a tradition of rigorous, humane, and deeply committed teacher inquiry.
The panel will explore themes at the heart of Professor Akyel's scholarly legacy:
ELT Conference 2026 is designed not only as a space for dialogue, but as a platform for lasting scholarly contribution. Participants will have two publication opportunities connected to the conference.
All accepted submissions will be compiled in a digital Book of Abstracts, distributed to all participants and archived on the conference website.
Selected presenters will be invited after the conference to submit a full paper for consideration in Edu7, the faculty journal of the Faculty of Education at Yeditepe University. Submitted papers undergo standard peer review.
This conference is designed for everyone involved in English Language Teaching