In this page you can find information about books I have (co)authored or (co)edited. The content of this page is organised into four sections:
In the sections for each book, you can find links to additional information that might be useful, such as additional content, references, reviews and more. If you can’t find what you’re looking for, feel free to contact me.
Monographs
The Intentional Dynamics of TESOL
This monograph is a collaboration with Juup Stelma (University of Manchester). The intentional dynamics model that we describe in the book brings together complex systems theory and ecological theory. By putting these two perspectives together, we propose a model that can account for how teaching and learning activity emerges in TESOL, and how (once produced) it goes on to shape structures, beliefs and expectations.
Stelma, J. & Kostoulas, A. (2021). The Intentional Dynamics of TESOL. Berlin: De Gruyter Mouton.
A Language School as a Complex System: Complex Systems Theory in English Language Teaching
This monograph shows how phenomena of interest in language education might be described using Complex Systems Theory as a theoretical lens.
Using a language school in Greece as an example, I suggest we can think of the school as a complex dynamic system. I then go on to present such a description, which I argue should contain four components:
- a delineation of all the forms of teaching and learning conceivably available to the school (its state space);
- a description of the forms of teaching and learning that are more likely, taking into account the resources available (or affordances);
- an overview of the main motivational drivers that in the school (the intentionalities); and finally,
- a presentation of the forms of teaching and learning that actually take place (the attractors).
This four-component frame can be used to describe similar phenomena that take place at different levels of analysis, whether our focus is on individual learners and teachers, or on nation-wide educational systems.
Kostoulas, A. (2018). A Language School as a Complex System: Complex Systems Theory in English Language Teaching. Berlin: Peter Lang.
Edited Collections
Doctoral Study and Getting Published: Narratives of Early Career Researchers
Doctoral Study and Getting Published is a collection of narratives, edited by Richard Fay and me, which discusses the experiences of early career researchers as they engaged with publishing, during, after or as part of their doctoral studies. The volume is organised in five sections, which deal with topics such as finding (or constructing) a researcher identity, the writing experience, collaborations, joining (or building) an academic community, and dealing with publishers. Each section contains several narratives, followed by an ecologically-framed commentary. The book also includes three framing chapters (by the editors, Jane Andrews and Mira Bekar), which introduce, contextualise and discuss the narrative contrubutions.
Fay, R. & Kostoulas, A. (2025). Doctoral study and getting published: Narratives of early career researchers. Leeds: Emerald.
Ideologies, Linguistic Communication and Education
This Greek-language edited collection brings together papers that were originally presented in the Ideologies, Linguistic Communication and Education (Ιδεολογίες, γλωσσική επικοινωνία και εκπαίδευση) conference, which was organised by the University of Volos on 6th November 2019.
The volume comprises 10 peer-reviewed chapters that discuss themes such as the connections between language and the ideology it encodes, ideological beliefs about language, and the way linguistic ideology is expressed in education and public discourses.
Motsiou, E., Vassilaki, E., Gana, E. and Kostoulas, A. (Eds). (2021). Ideologies, linguistic communication and education. Athens: Gutenberg.
Μότσιου, Ε., Βασιλάκη, Ε., Γκανά, Ε. και Κωστούλας, Α. (επιμ.). (2021). Ιδεολογίες, γλωσσική επικοινωνία και εκπαίδευση. Αθήνα: Gutenberg.
Challenging Boundaries in Language Education
This edited collection traces its origins to the Language Education Across Borders international conference, which took place in Graz in December 2017.
The 15 peer-reviewed chapters that make up this volume are intended to challenge readers’ perceptions of language education, and to prompt them to rethink the aims, methods, content and populations involved.
The book is part of the Springer Second Language Teaching and Learning series.
Kostoulas, A. (ed.). (2019). Challenging Boundaries in Language Education. Cham: Springer.
Language Teacher Psychology
To date, the majority of work in language learning psychology has focused on the learner. In contrast, relatively little attention has been paid to teacher psychology. This volume seeks to redress the imbalance by bringing together various strands of research into the psychology of language teachers. It consists of 19 contributions on well-established areas of teacher psychology, as well as areas that have only recently begun to be explored. This original collection, which covers a multitude of theoretical and methodological perspectives, makes a significant contribution to the emerging field of language teacher psychology as a domain of inquiry within language education.
Available formats include hardcover, softback, and ebook (Kindle, pdf and epub). Available through Multilingual Matters and Amazon.
Mercer, S. & Kostoulas, A. (Eds). (2018). Language Teacher Psychology. Bristol: Multilingual Matters.
Reviews of Language Teacher Psychology
In contrast to the study of learners, the study of teachers in the field of second language acquisition has been noticeably rare. In this masterful collection of recent research, Mercer and Kostoulas draw together a compelling rationale for attention to teachers as central players in language learning. The chapters in the book are compulsory reading for anyone wishing to gain deeper insights into language teacher psychology. (Anne Burns, University of New South Wales, Australia)
The chapters in this book have succeeded in laying out a rich, colourful and textured landscape of research into language teachers. With its diverse conceptual frameworks and innovative methodologies, the book is bound to become a primary reference for anyone wishing to orient themselves in this terrain and/or contribute to it. (Maggie Kubanyiova, University of Leeds, UK)
This book convincingly establishes a new field of enquiry, showing that language teacher psychology – though frequently neglected – really matters! Sarah Mercer and Achilleas Kostoulas have assembled a rich array of expert contributions, uniting hitherto disparate areas in a coherent, ground-breaking collection. The book will inspire new research and action for teacher well-being and learner achievement. (Richard Smith, University of Warwick, UK)
Special Issues
Migration and Multilingual Education: An Intercultural Perspective
This is a collection of articles that explore how multilingual and intercultural perspectives on education can shape a classroom space where different identities, values, and practices co-exist.
Contributions to the issue brings into focus how migrant and refugee students are marginalised, and alternative ways of structuring education are discussed.
Palaiologou, N. & Kostoulas, A. (Eds.). (2023). Migration and multilingual education: An intercultural perspective. Societies.
Fifteen years of research
on the self in System
This is a collection of articles on the self and identity, which appeared in System between 2000 (when Bonnie Norton’s seminal book Identity and Language Learning appeared) and 2015. The introductory article, which surveys the field, can be accessed here (paywall, sorry!).
Kostoulas, A. & Mercer, S. (Eds). (2016). Fifteen years of research on the self in System (Virtual Special Issue). System.
Other
A complex systems perspective on English Language Teaching (PhD Thesis)
- The British Library EThOS listing of the thesis is here.
- You can download a copy of my thesis from eScholar, the University of Manchester institutional repository, by clicking on the button below.
Kostoulas, A. (2014). A complex systems perspective on English Language Teaching: A case study of a language school in Greece. PhD thesis, The University of Manchester.
Dynamics impacting ELT learning materials (MA Dissertation)
- Reading copies are available from the John Rylands University of Manchester Library.
- You can access the WorldCat listing here.
Kostoulas, A. (2007). Dynamics impacting ELT learning materials in the Greek context: A complexity perspective. MA dissertation, The University of Manchester.
Structure and Insight (Transl.)
- This book was translated under contract in 2001.
- ISBN 960-99459-5-3 ; ISBN 13: 978-960-99459-5-0.
- To date, the book has been reviewed by TO VIMA.
Van Hiele, P. (2011). Δομή και διορατικότητα. Μια θεωρία για τη μαθηματική εκπαίδευση. / Structure and Insight: A theory of mathematics education (A. Kostoulas, transl., E. Koleza, ed.). Athens: Liberal Books.
This page was last updated in April 2025.
Image Credit: © Anna Creech (eclecticlibrarian@flickr) | CC BY-NC-SA