Dr Elina Stylianou

Profile

I am a Student Development Coach at the Faculty of Social Sciences and I currently provide coaching sessions to undergraduate students at the School of Education. I support students to develop their confidence and self-efficacy to thrive at the university and work with them to co-create clear development plans, to enable their academic and personal growth. Before this, I was a Teaching Fellow in TESOL at the School of Education and taught modules on the MA TESOL and MA TESOL Studies programmes, covering the areas of research methods, analysing language teaching and language teaching methodology. I supervised postgraduate students and I was an Academic Personal Tutor. Before joining the University of Leeds, I worked as an Academic Skills Tutor and a Research Associate at the University of York. 

I gained my PhD in TESOL; I designed and delivered a novel intervention to explore the use of a culturally familiar literary text to teach English as a foreign language. My academic experience also includes delivering EAP lectures to PhD students, supervising students on their empirical studies in TESOL and Early Years Education, and designing and delivering seminars in Education.

My other teaching experience includes designing and delivering English sessions to primary and secondary school students. I supported SEN students in the classroom and delivered interventions to visually impaired students. As EAL coordinator, I managed the EAL department of a secondary school and worked with EAL students from Europe, Asia and Africa. 

I am a Fellow of the Higher Education Academy. 

Research interests

My PhD research explored the use of a culturally familiar literary text in teaching English as a foreign language. I designed and delivered an intervention: I integrated Homer’s Odyssey, as a culturally familiar literary text for teaching English as a foreign language to Year 2 secondary school students, in a Cypriot context. I used a Reader-Response theory as theoretical framework to explore students’ engagement with the text.

As a Research Associate, I explored academic skills provision in Higher Education. I wrote up the journey from implicit to embedded academic skills provision in the School for Business and Society, at the University of York; I analysed students’ evaluations and the experience of three key stakeholders in the skills development journey.

I am particularly interested in using literary text as a resource in second language teaching, using creative materials to promote students’ engagement in the classroom and enhance their higher order thinking skills. I am also interested in academic skills provision and coaching in Higher Education.

Qualifications

• PhD in TESOL
• MA English Literature
• BA English Language and Literature

Professional memberships

• ALDinHE
• UKAT