Achilleas Kostoulas

Applied Linguistics & Language Teacher Education

About me

I am an applied linguist, specializing in language education and (second language) teacher development. I teach at the University of Thessaly in Greece, and I am also affiliated with the Hellenic Open University. My research focuses on various aspects of language education, often seen through the lens of Complex Systems Theory.

This page provides some information about my teaching and research, my published work and by academic background. Elsewhere in the site, you can find various resources about language teacher education, TESOL/ELT, and applied linguistics. You can also find more detailed information about my publications, as well as pre-prints that you can download.

Picture of Achilleas Kostoulas

Research and Publications


Copy of Challenging Boundaries in Language Education displayed in bookcase
Challenging Boundaries in Language Education

I am interested in a wide range of phenomena related to teaching and learning languages. These include topics such as plurilingualism, language policy, and the psychological aspects of language education.

I often approach these topics through a complexity perspective, which helps me to draw connections between diverse phenomena. In 2018, I published a research monograph, A Language School as a Complex System, which shows how complexity thinking can work as a metatheoretical framework in language education.

More recently (2021), I co-authored a volume entitled The Intentional Dynamics of TESOL (with Juup Stelma), where we extend this thinking.


Academic appointments


I work at the Department of Primary Education, at the University of Thessaly in Greece. In this role, I am involved in the delivery of applied linguistics and language education courses. I also take an active role in coordinating the teacher practicum.

In addition, I am in charge of the teacher practicum at the Language Education for Refugees and Migrants postgraduate programme at the Hellenic Open University.

Some of my previous academic roles included:

  • Visiting Research Fellow at The University of Manchester (UK) (up to February 2020).
  • Post-doctoral research associate in the Department of English Studies at the University of Graz (Austria).
  • Adjunct teaching posts at the University of Manchester (MA supervision) and the Epirus Institute of Technology (which has since been merged the University of Ioannina).

Before that, I worked in various teaching and managerial capacities in primary and secondary schools in Greece. The most recent of these appointments was at the University of Ioannina 2nd Model/Experimental Primary School (Β’ Πρότυπο Πειραματικό Δημοτικό Σχολείο Ιωαννίνων).

University of Thessaly in Volos, as seen from Agios Konstantinos
University of Thessaly
University of Graz Campus
University of Graz campus

Academic background


University of Manchester, Whitworth Building
Whitworth Building, by Mike Peel | CC BY-SA

I completed my doctoral studies at The University of Manchester, from where I received a PhD in Education (TESOL) in 2015. I also hold an MA in Teaching English to Speakers of Other Languages from The University of Manchester, and a BA in English Studies from the University of Athens.

You can find additional information about my academic background by clicking on the button below:


Find out more

In this site, I have put together some information about myself and my academic work, which I hope you find of interest. This site also hosts my (irregularly updated) blog, where I record information that I find interesting, as well as comments on English language education and research methods. You can also access my podcast [in Modern Greek], which explores introductory linguistics concepts.


Recent blog posts

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Podcast


Miscellaneous

Web of Science

I-1951-2019


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