Stergiani Kostopoulou

I am a Lecturer in English for Academic Purposes (EAP) at the UCD Centre for English and Global Languages. I coordinate Pre-Sessional EAP Programmes and Pre-Master’s EAP modules and direct the MA/GradDip TESOL Programme (Stream 2). My role also includes overseeing the recruitment, training, and mentoring of EAP tutors, as well as ensuring quality assurance for stakeholders. Recently, I developed the Professional Certificate in English for Academics, designed to support Lecturers and Professors with English as a second language in enhancing their academic language skills for teaching in English-medium settings.

I hold a PhD and MPhil in Applied Linguistics from Trinity College Dublin, a ProfDip in University Teaching and Learning from UCD, and a ProfDip in Creativity and Innovation for Education from UCD Innovation Academy. I am currently pursuing BALEAP TEAP Senior Fellow Accreditation.

My research explores the intersection of Second Language Acquisition and TESOL Pedagogy with a focus on English for Academic Purposes, Applied Corpus Linguistics, and feedback and assessment practices in higher education. The research projects I have completed to date explore innovative approaches to language learning, teaching and assessment and provide solutions to real-world language-related challenges. Fostering autonomy both in learning and teacher development and building learning partnerships are the two common threads underpinning my scholarship and research activities.

I am currently exploring the intersection of Corpus Linguistics and Large Language Models as an active member of Working Group 5 of the ‘Language In The Human-Machine Era’ (LITHME; https://lithme.eu, January 2024 – present), and my pedagogical research focuses on implementing inclusive teaching, learning, and assessment strategies that align with Universal Design for Learning principles and support diverse student cohorts, in line with the University for All initiative.

My educational philosophy is grounded in the belief that learning is a transformative process of self-formation, where students are active agents in shaping their intellectual, personal, and ethical growth. I view education not merely as a means to acquire knowledge or prepare for a career, but as a journey of critical self-reflection, relational development and empowerment. In my teaching, I aim to create an environment that fosters autonomy, encourages curiosity and reasonable scepticism, and promotes lifelong learning. I believe in guiding students to think independently, engage meaningfully with diverse perspectives, and apply their learning to real-world contexts. Ultimately, I strive to empower students to become self-directed learners who contribute positively to society and embrace learning as an ongoing, evolving process.

In the 2021-2022 academic year, I was awarded the UCD Teaching and Learning Excellence Award, formally recognizing the value and impact of my teaching and contributions to student learning at UCD.

I am a member of Una Europa’s University Language Centres Working Group focusing on collaboration in language and intercultural communication courses. I also contribute to the Irish Universities Association's EAP Working Group, where in partnership with colleagues from Irish Universities, I developed a sector-wide initiative addressing the language needs of Ukrainian students in Irish Higher Education Institutions and authored a report on the Duolingo English Test for university admissions. I served as an External Examiner at University College Cork from 2020 to 2023 and currently hold the same role at Munster Technological University Cork (2022–2025).