PROF. BELMA HAZNEDAR

Belma Haznedar holds a PhD in Linguistics from Durham University, UK. She is currently a full Professor of Applied Linguistics at Boğaziçi University. Prof. Haznedar is an expert on early childhood bilingualism, with special reference to successive and simultaneous language acquisition in children. In her recent work Prof. Haznedar also investigates (i) language teaching to young children; (ii) literacy development in monolingual and bilingual children; (iii) heritage languages and migrant populations. Prof. Belma Haznedar has presented and published extensively on childhood bilingualism in international refereed journals and books and is the author of B. Haznedar (2021). İkidillilik ve Çokdillilik: Erken Çocukluk Döneminde Birden Fazla Dil Öğrenimi (Ankara: Anı Publications); co-editor of Current Trends in Child Second Language Acquisition (John Benjamins, 2008), co-editor of Handbook for Teaching Foreign Languages to Young Children in Primary Schools, (Anı Publications, 2010, reprinted in 2013, 2018), co-editor of Acquisition of Turkish in Childhood (John Benjamins, 2016). Prof. Haznedar has contributed to national and international projects on bilingualism/multilingualism, language teaching, migrant populations and heritage languages and served on the editorial board of scholarly recognized international journals.

ASST. PROF. DİLEK İNAL

Asst. Prof. Dilek İnal is an English Language Teaching (ELT) specialist at Istanbul University. With a Ph.D. in American Culture and Literature, her expertise bridges literary studies and pedagogical methods. Her qualifications encompass not only teaching English but also curriculum development, ensuring a well-rounded approach to language acquisition. Asst. Prof. İnal's educational background in American literature provides a strong foundation for understanding cultural nuances within the language. Furthermore, her dedication to professional development is evident through various training programs, including those focused on effective strategies for teaching English to young learners.

HILARY SHIELA MCKEY - AUTHOR, MENTOR, COORDINATOR, TEACHER

Hilary Shiela Mckey, mother of two, born and educated in Cape Town, South Africa has taught children from kindergarten up to and including secondary school levels. She has been teaching in Turkey for 20 years and the majority of this time has been spent in the kindergarten, her area of expertise, passionately teaching the leaders of tomorrow. For the past 10 years she has been working at the top school in Bursa where she has held the title of Foreign Language Coordinator for the kindergarten. She leads her team of teachers and ensures that the students have a solid foundation in the English Language. She both mentors and teaches. She has also held positions like International Baccalaureate PYP Coordinator as well as Foreigners and Foreign Affairs Coordinator guiding a team of 20+ foreign teachers.

She has written and co-authored material for very young learners: Errol The Eagle Volume 1, Errol The Eagle Volume 2, and the 3 level Ready Steady Series. She has also written the very detailed accompanying material for teachers as well as designed the Ready Steady’s classware and newly released online platform for home-use. On behalf of Pregon Publishing she travels around Turkey conducting well received seminars and workshops.

TERESA DOĞUELLİ

Teresa Doğuelli has been a teacher and trainer since 1976 - teaching adults, teenagers and children; advising and mentoring teachers, teacher trainers, ELT inspectors and parents. She has been living and working in and from Turkey since 1979. She has a DTEFLA and an MA in Applied Linguistics from the University of Reading and is currently a freelance Senior ELT Consultant.