CILTER Newsletter 1(11) is published
Dear IELLI Staff and Students, and friends of CILTER,
It’s wonderful to be back with another issue, and I hope you’ve all been enjoying the summer so far. As always, I’m struck by the steady stream of innovation and collaboration coming out of our community. This is proof that even as the academic year winds down, our ideas certainly don’t.
In our last issue, we shared the news that CILTER has secured funding to support up to four projects within IELLI in the 2025/26 academic year, each with a budget of up to £1,000. We’re especially keen to support projects led by professional services staff and postgraduate students at IELLI, with two of the awards ring‑fenced just for you. Remember, your idea doesn’t need to be a formal research project; we welcome innovative and close‑to‑practice initiatives, anything from trialling new software or resources to creating podcasts, blogs, or tools that enrich your day‑to‑day work. We also encourage collaborations across teams to make your proposals even stronger. If you haven’t yet shared your thoughts, please do so by 31 July. Your feedback will help us shape a funding scheme that truly supports the creativity and needs of our community.
Alongside this call, you’ll find plenty of inspiration in this issue. Our colleagues and students continue to make their mark: Dr Xuan Minh Ngo has published on teacher agency, while Michela Gronchi and Dr Sarah Hopkyns offer a scoping review of teacher identity in EMI. DProf students Virginia Parker and Jack Hsiao have been sharing their insights at AsiaTEFL, and Thomas Stringer’s work in Japan is a wonderful example of research in action, connecting local students with international peers. Add to that a brilliant new podcast episode and a fresh blog on arts‑based inquiry, and you have a rich tapestry of work to explore.
Before I sign off, I’d like to offer a special congratulations to Cathy Faulkner, an MSc TESOL graduate and EAP Coordinator at the University of Bristol, who has won the 2025 BALEAP Master’s Dissertation Award for her beautiful poetic autoethnography on creative writing within EAP provision. What a fantastic achievement, Cathy! Thank you for showing us how powerful and creative scholarship can be.
As always, thank you for being such an engaged, inspiring community. I can’t wait to see the ideas you put forward for the Edu‑X Research Fund. Let’s make this something that truly reflects our shared mission and vision.
Best regards,
Sin-Wang
CILTER Director, IELLI Director of Research and Director of Impact and Innovation