Aristotle University of Thessaloniki
Greece

E-mail: thalexiou@enl.auth.gr

DrThomaï Alexiou is an Assistant Professor at the Department of Theoretical and Applied Linguistics, School of English, Aristotle University of Thessaloniki, Greece. Her expertise is on early foreign language learning, methodology of teaching languages and material development for very young learners. She has been invited to give teacher training seminars and she has published several papers throughout Europe (books, journals and conference proceedings). She has also authored and edited textbooks for children learning English as a foreign language. One of these books, Magic Book 2 has been shortlisted for the MacMillan Education Award for New Talent in Writing (ELTons 2014).

Zayed University,
UAE

E-mail: David.Palfreyman@zu.ac.ae

Dr. David M. Palfreyman is an Associate Professor in the Department of English and Writing Studies at Zayed University, Dubai. He holds a PhD in Language Studies and is an active researcher in language, learning and teaching. As well as publishing work in international journals, he is the editor of three books: Learner Autonomy Across Cultures (with Richard C. Smith), Learning and Teaching Across Cultures in Higher Education (with Dawn L. McBride) and Academic Biliteracies (with Christa van der Walt). He also teaches, supervises research and assesses work in postgraduate study and educational development.

Higher Colleges of Technology
Dubai

Faculty – Education / English DWC ELTS Coordinator Dept. of EDUCATION Higher Colleges of Technology
E-mail: Maria.Brown@hct.ac.ae

Languages have always fascinated Maria. In fact, she started as a French teacher. She later became interested in child language acquisition and bilingualism at the interface between language and thinking. She is also interested in Ethnolinguistics. Nowadays, she is a lecturer in the Education Department, Dubai Women’s and specialises in language acquisition, child development theories, language teaching methods and assessment. More recently, she has become interested in Content Area Literacy and how questioning promotes Higher Order Thinking even in primary learners. Maria has a BA Hons and a M.Ed. She enjoys presenting at regional and international conferences both in the UAE and abroad. (103 words)

American University of
Sharjah

E-mail: Cindy.gunn@aus.ac.ae

Dr. Cindy Gunn is the Director of the Faculty Development Center and Professor of TESOL in the Department of English at American University of Sharjah (AUS). Her main research interests are effective technology use in education, reflective teaching and learning and materials development. She is the author and editor of three books on classroom research and has published more than 30 peer reviewed journal articles and book chapters. She has presented her research both internationally and locally in the UAE at conferences with a focus on Educational Technology, TESOL, Classroom Research and Educational Leadership.

Higher Colleges of Technology,
Dubai

E-mail: ltamarua@hct.ac.ae

Dr. Lavinia Tamarua is an Assistant Professor in Education at Dubai Women’s, HCT, UAE. Her qualifications include a BA in Education and Psychology, an MA in Education, and a PhD in Education, specialising in Child Development from The University of Auckland, NZ. Her teaching experience both in New Zealand and internationally has been in mainstream university, college and Indigenous educational settings. Her research interest areas are Early Childhood Education, action research, transitions, and processes of teaching and learning. She has presented extensively at both national and international conferences on a variety of themes in Early Childhood Education. (97 words)

Higher Colleges of Technology,
Dubai

E-mail: gpathare@hct.ac.ae

Gary Pathare (M.Ed. TESOL, Newcastle), a Foundations English teacher at Dubai Men’s College since 2001, is an experienced teacher trainer (CELTA and Trinity) and national and international presenter. He is author and co-author of many course books and materials, including Headway Academic Skills and Headway Plus writing components, (Oxford University Press), Milestones (OUP), Unlock Basic Literacy (Cambridge University Press), and Skillful (MacMillan), as well as in-house sets of materials for the Higher Colleges of Technology. Gary also has many years of experience as an IELTS , CEPA and EmSAT marker and exam Item writer for CEPA and the British Council.