PROGRAM CONSULTANTS
DR. SENEM YILDIZ
Senem Yıldız was one of the start-up consultant for the program. She plays an active role in the Foreign Language Education Department at Boğaziçi University, Türkiye. Here she teaches both undergraduate and graduate courses on materials design and development and the use of technology in language education.
She received her doctorate from Indiana University in the United States and she has taught online graduate courses on computer assisted language teaching and English for specific courses at Indiana University.
Her research interests include technology enhanced language teaching, blended and distance learning, materials design and evaluation in English for general and specific purposes and she has publications in these areas in international journals.
DR. MUSTAFA POLAT
Mustafa Polat, a former consultant for the program is currently working as a full-time assistant professor at Bahcesehir University (BAU) Faculty of Educational Sciences. He is also a trainer as a part-time teacher at National Geographic Learning and a visiting instructor at Bogazici University. He is a summa cum laude graduate of Middle East Technical University (METU) at the department of Foreign Language Education and he also received a minor diploma of general management at the department of Business Administration.
Having taught English at various foundation universities in Turkey for several years, he started a PhD program as a Fulbright scholar in Second Language Acquisition and Teaching (SLAT) at the University of Arizona. He earned another MA degree in SLAT as a Fulbright scholar and he also holds a PhD degree in SLAT specializing in language learners’ use of technology and diffusion of innovation within the framework of user intention theories.
He has expertise in language pedagogy and educational technology. Currently, he offers educational technology and English language teaching classes as an assistant professor at BAU ELT both at graduate and undergraduate levels. He has an administrative duty as the chair of the department of English Language Teaching at BAU and works as the coordinator of the MA thesis program at BAU ELT with over a hundred students.
He also offers classes at Bogazici University for senior year students as a visiting instructor. He also does training sessions and workshops for educators employed by colleges and higher education institutions all around Turkey.
