Harnessing the Power of Community in ELT

Rana Khan is a doctoral candidate in Education at the University of Bath, UK and holds a master’s degree in English Literature and Business Administration, besides a certificate in CELTA and IELTS (TTT). Rana has extensive experience in teaching and curriculum design. She is a frequent presenter and keynote speaker at international conferences. She served as Secretary and Conference Chair to TESOL Kuwait in 2017. Additionally, she has hosted two consecutive international conventions in Denver (2020) and in Houston (2021) as Chair, Conferences Professional Council of TESOL International Association, one of the world’s largest English teachers’ associations. Rana took the initiative of establishing TEFL Kuwait, the first IATEFL Association in Kuwait, and is currently serving as President of TEFL Kuwait. Rana is currently working as Academic Chair to the School of Foundation and General Education at Canadian College Kuwait. She believes in lifelong learning and has several research papers to her credit.

Mrs. Venice Irving is the CEO of Happy Teachers. She is also a researcher and lecturer specialising in Generative AI and Language Education. She has 24 years’ experience in English Language Teaching in Taiwan, United Kingdom, Jamaica, Japan and China. Her research interests include Teaching English in Multinational teams, Online Language Acquisition and Language Teacher and Student Wellbeing. She is currently researching the emerging pedagogy of Generative AI and its impact on language learning.

Anna Ciriani-Dean is co-creator of The Teacher Think-Aloud Podcast, a podcast for reflective practice for teachers of English around the world, and Learning and Development Coordinator at English Language Programs, funded by the U.S. Department of State, where she develops orientations and professional development courses on specialized topics in English language teaching for participants in teaching exchange programs worldwide. She previously worked as an English Language Fellow to Armenia and Ukraine, an ESL/EFL instructor and writing consultant at various institutions in the Seattle and New York Metro Areas as well as abroad, and an assessment developer for both small- and large-scale tests (TOEFL, TOEIC). Her interests include teacher development, instructional design, and cross-cultural communication. She is a native bilingual speaker of English and Italian and an avid language learner, with proficiency in French, German, and Hindi.

Shélynn Riel is Bridge's Expert Series Moderator and regularly contributes articles and ELT news reports to the BridgeUniverse blog. She has served as an English language instructor for over a decade, a program coordinator in both university and community-based programs, and an English Language Fellow with the U.S. Department of State. Her interests include holistic teacher development, learner identity, and decolonial ethics in the language classroom. She is the co-creator of The Teacher Think-Aloud Podcast, which focuses on reflective practices for teachers around the world.