LASIG Volunteers

Giovanna Tassinari is Director of the Centre for Independent Language Learning at the Language Centre of the Freie Universität Berlin, Germany. She works as a language advisor and teacher trainer. Her research interests are learner autonomy, language advising, and emotion and feelings in language learning. She is co-editor of several books and author of articles and book chapters in German, English and French.

Lawrie Moore is a lecturer and teacher trainer who has been living in Austria since 1997. Originally from a business background, Lawrie transitioned to teaching in 2008. She teaches mainly ESP and EAP at the tertiary level and is especially interested in encouraging students to collaborate and take responsibility for their learning. She holds a Cambridge CELTA and DELTA and is a CELTA tutor in Vienna, where she enjoys supporting new EFL teachers in creating learner-centered classes. Lawrie is Joint Coordinator of IATEFL’s Learner Autonomy Special Interest Group. She is currently a doctoral candidate at the University of St. Andrews.

Annika is the principal of the secondary school at the Montessori Campus Berlin-Köpenick/Germany, holds a MSc in behavioral and organizational psychology and is an AMI trained Montessori teacher. She has nearly 20 years of autonomous foreign language learning experience in different Montessori schools in grades 1-10. She develops foreign language materials for autonomy in prepared learning environments and has implemented an ELT Makerspace at her school.

Carmen is a Professor of English Language Education at TU Braunschweig in Germany. In her research she focuses on task development for multilingual foreign language teaching as well as learning for autonomy in prepared learning environments. She coordinates the first ELT Makerspace at her university.

Metin Esen is an Academic Skills Tutor at Arden University Berlin Campus. He holds an M.A. in Curriculum and Instruction at Bilkent University, Ankara, and DELTA Level 7 Diploma by Cambridge University Assessment. He is also doing a PhD in English Language Teaching at Middle East Technical University. His interests are teaching English as a foreign language, English for academic purposes, professional development, teacher training, advising in language learning, and technology in language education.

Tracie MacKenzie is Co-Director of the Academic Literacies Program at Franklin University Switzerland, where her interests are focused on the teaching of writing, learner training and development, and sociolinguistics. She has also worked extensively as an editor for publications from the Catholic University of Milan. Originally from the US,  she has lived in Italy since 1993. 

Dr Lesley June Fearn is an affiliate researcher with the Open University’s (UK) Faculty of Wellbeing, Education and Language Studies (WELS). She has also worked as an English teacher in a secondary school in southern Italy for over thirty years. As well as learner autonomy, Lesley’s research interests lie in education technology and online community projects.

Gamze A. Sayram has a background in TESOL and Applied Linguistics. She holds a Master of Applied Linguistics and PG Cert in Higher Degree Research with dissertation in Applied Linguistics from Macquarie University, Australia. Her research interests include Learner and Teacher Autonomy, Socio-Cognitive Linguistics, Digital Language Learning Ecologies in and out-of-the classroom.

Sandro John Amendolara teaches Autonomous Language Learning Modules (ALMS), Intercultural-Communication and Academic Writing to Masters and Doctoral students at the University of Helsinki, Finland. He has been deeply absorbed by Leaner Autonomy for well over a decade, and has been a member of the LASIG committee since Spring 2016.

Thomas Stringer has been involved with English language teaching in Japan for 16 years. He is a doctoral candidate in TESOL at the University of St Andrews, UK, a Fellow of the UK Higher Education Academy, and a full-time Instructor of English as a Foreign Language at the Language Center of Kwansei Gakuin University, Japan. He is Administrative Intern at Professional Development in Education journal, co-editor of the Annual Research Report of the Language Center (ARR), and co-editor-in-chief of the St Andrews Journal of International and Language Education (SAJILE). His research interests are broadly on language learner and teacher development, focusing on autonomy, and his work has appeared in peer-reviewed international journals such as Innovation in Language Learning and Teaching, Educational Action Research, and Learning: Research and Practice.