Conference presentations, reviewing, organisation and professional development have been part of my academic work alongside teaching and research. I present this record selectively: not as a catalogue of attendance, but as evidence of the settings in which ideas were presented, questioned, reviewed and developed with other scholars.
Academic exchange through presentation, review, organisation and continuing professional development.
Upcoming confirmed engagement
MATSDA · Humanising the Coursebook
30 October 2026 · Online
An Evening with Brian Tomlinson: Humanising the Coursebook
A confirmed international academic engagement in the MATSDA online discussion on humanising the coursebook. The event sits directly alongside my continuing work in materials evaluation, language education and the relationship between designed materials and the human experience of learning.
Scholarly contribution
Why discussion of coursebooks matters beyond the event itself
Debates about humanising the coursebook raise a substantive educational question: to what extent can designed materials accommodate learners’ identities, experiences and purposes without leaving teachers unsupported? The answer is unlikely to lie in treating either the published book or teacher improvisation as sufficient in every setting. Materials provide a structure for learning, but their value depends on how tasks, representations and opportunities for interaction are interpreted and adapted in context.
The forthcoming MATSDA discussion is therefore relevant to a wider research agenda in materials evaluation and teacher judgement. Participation in such an exchange should be understood as an opportunity for scholarly dialogue, not as evidence that a particular pedagogical model has already been empirically established or formally endorsed by the event organisers.
Selected conferences & academic service
Presentation, review and organisational roles
2015
3rd Global Conference on Linguistics and Foreign Language Teaching
Paper presentation; Conference Chair; scientific reviewer / academic service.
2015
Alzahra University First Postgraduate Conference on Applied Linguistics
Paper presentation.
2014
7th Biennial Conference on Issues in English Language Teaching in Iran
Presentation / academic participation.
2013
First International TESOL Persia Conference
Academic participation.
2011
9th International TELLSI Conference
Presentation / academic participation.
2011
4th Postgraduate Conference, University of Tehran
Paper presentation.
2012 / 2011
University of Tehran IELTI Conferences
Conference organiser / executive committee roles at IELTI 6th and IELTI 4th.
Professional development
Selected specialist workshops and seminars
Curriculum for English Language Teaching
Professional development with Professor Jack C. Richards, 2012.
Corrective Feedback in the Second Language Classroom
Professional development led by Mostafa Mehdizadeh, 2014.
Speaking and Writing Assessment in IELTS
Professional development with Amir Kaviani, 2011.
Introduction to RASCH Measurement with WINSTEPS
Professional development with Purya Baghaei, 2011.
Concordancing
Professional development with S. S. Marandi, University of Tehran, 2011.
Recasts and Their Implications in EFL Context
Professional development with Hamideh Marefat, 2011.
Why this matters
Academic engagement is not decoration around research.
Presenting a paper, reviewing the work of others, organising a scholarly event or returning to a workshop as a learner all create forms of answerability that solitary writing cannot provide. They expose assumptions, sharpen questions and place professional judgement in relation to a wider community. For that reason, I treat academic engagement as part of scholarly practice rather than a separate list of credentials.
Scholarly participation is meaningful when it sustains critical dialogue
Conferences, professional associations and invited discussions can make an important contribution to academic work, not simply by increasing visibility but by exposing an argument to other theoretical and contextual perspectives. This is especially relevant in language education, where materials or teaching approaches that appear effective in one environment may require critical adaptation in another. Participation becomes more valuable when it leads to questions that inform subsequent research and professional reflection.
The themes of humanising education and supporting meaningful learner participation also connect with the Golden Talent project, although participation in a scholarly event should not be mistaken for empirical endorsement of a proposed model. Academic engagement is best represented through clearly identified roles, dates and contributions, with the distinction between established activities and future plans preserved.
For a fuller account of the proposed framework and its limitations, see Golden Talent and the methodology.
