Chapters & journal articles

Complex Dynamics Systems Theory
in Language Education

Kostoulas, A. & Stelma, J. (2026). Complex Dynamic Systems Theory in Language Education. In H. Nesi & P. Milin (Eds.), International Encyclopedia of Language and Linguistics (3rd Edn). Elsevier.

This encyclopedia article provides an introduction of CDST, as a metatheory (or ‘theory of theories’) for language education. The article begins with a historical overview of CDST showing how the theory has moved towards theoretical maturity as a meta-theory. We then go on to describe language education from a CDST perspective, building on the framework we developed in our latest book (Stelma & Kostoulas, 2021). In the third, final part of the article, we describe three strands of CDST scholarship in applied linguistics and language education: to describe specific language learning phenomena, to generate holistic descriptions, and to outline CDST-compatible research methods.

Classroom-based Research
in Language Education

Kostoulas, A. (2026). Classroom-based research in language education. In H. Nesi & P. Milin (Eds.), International Encyclopedia of Language and Linguistics (3rd Edn). Elsevier.

This encyclopedia entry presents classroom-based research as an alternative to the research that is carried out by universities and research centres. The article begins by defining classroom-based research, and listing features that are usually associated with it. Following that, Action Research, Exploratory Practice and Practice-Based Research are presented, as examples of classroom-based research. The article concludes by discussing the benefits associated with such work, and by proposing criteria for evaluating the output of such projects.

Teacher research engagement

Kostoulas, A., Ntai, C., & Diakogianni, P. (2026). Research engagement among language teachers for refugees and migrants in Greece. Social Sciences, 15(2), 127. https://doi.org/10.3390/socsci15020127

This study investigates research engagement among teachers specializing in language education for people with refugee and migrant backgrounds in Greece. Given the non-standardized and relatively unstructured nature of language education in such settings, it is expected that reading academic and professional publications (engagement with research) and conducting classroom-based inquiries (engagement in research) can provide structure and guidance to teaching practice. A questionnaire-based survey was conducted to document the teachers’ (N = 48) workplace conditions, personal factors, beliefs about research, as well as the features of research that they deem desirable and their actual research engagement practices. Although the data are inconclusive regarding the relative effects of each variable, they do suggest that teachers can be grouped into three profiles based on their perceived workplace conditions. Implications of this finding for providing targeted instruction are discussed.

Foreign language teachers’ research literacies

Blume, C., Dikilitaş, K., García López, R., Hüttner, J., Kostoulas, A., Marsden, E., Ringel, C., Saricaoglu, A., Schabio, S. & Schauwecker, Y. (2025). Shaping the reality of foreign language teachers’ research literacies. In Y. Choubsaz, P. Díez-Arcón, A. Gimeno-Sanz, V. Morgana, A. C. Murphy & F. L. Seracini (Eds.), Advancing CALL: New research agendas – EUROCALL 2025 Short Papers (pp. 361-370). https://doi.org/10.4995/EuroCALL2025.2025.21255

This short paper presents an overview of the work conducted in the Research Literacy of Teachers project (ReaLiTea). It begins by defining the concept of research literacy of teachers of second, additional and foreign languages, and discusses the benefits associated with it and challenges teachers face. Following that, we present the teacher research literacy framework that we have developed as part of the project. We also showcase resources that are under development, such as professional development materials and a virtual community of practice for teachers who have a shared interest in developing research literacy.

Towards more intentional language policy in Higher Education

Kostoulas, A. & Motsiou, E. (2025). Towards more intentional language policy in Higher Education: A case study of a Greek University. Neofilolog, 65(2), 267-272. https://doi.org/10.14746/n.2025.65.2.1

This article examines language policy in Greek higher education through a case study of the University of Thessaly, focusing on how power, ideology, and institutional practices shape the linguistic ecology of the university. Drawing on intentional dynamics theory, it shows how Standard Modern Greek and English function as hegemonic languages: Greek as the unmarked default of instruction and administration, and English as the dominant foreign and academic lingua franca. Other languages (i.e., heritage, minority, and less widely taught) are largely invisibilised or confined to marginal, contingent provision. The analysis reveals that language policy operates mostly through normative and ad hoc dynamics, which stabilise existing hierarchies rather than promote linguistic justice or diversity. In response, the argument is put forward for a more purposeful language policy, including the creation of a strengthened language centre, coordinated planning of language education, and greater recognition of linguistic diversity as a matter of social justice rather than neutrality.

Research Literacy Framework for Language Teacher Education

Kostoulas, A., Motsiou, E., & Vleioras, G. (2025). Developing a teacher research literacy framework for language teacher education.
European Journal of Teacher Education, 1–21. https://doi.org/10.1080/02619768.2025.2562212

This article presents the research literacy framework for teachers of second, foreign and additional languages that we developed as part of the Research Literacy of Teachers (ReaLiTea) project. The framework is introduced by a brief overview of research literacy, as seen through an ecological lens. Following that, the five components of the framework are presented, namely: foundational aspects, the ability to use research, the ability to theorise, the ability to produce professional knowledge empirically, and the ability to communicate professional knowledge. The article also reports on a small-scale validation project.

Narrative and ecological perspectives

Fay, R. & Kostoulas, A. (2025). Doctoral study and getting published: Narrative and ecological perspectives. In R. Fay & A. Kostoulas (eds.), Doctoral study and getting published: Narratives of early career researchers. Emerald.

This chapter, co-authored with Richard Fay, is the editors’ introduction to the volume Doctoral Study and Getting Published (2025, Emerald). The chapter provides a very brief overview of the narrative and ecological perspectives that inform the volume, and introduces the contributions that follow.

Liquid racism in Modern Greek Language textbooks

Moustakas, S. & Kostoulas, A. (2024). Tracing the ideological contours of Modern Greek language textbooks: Uncovering liquid racism. Journal of Applied Linguisitcs, 37, 105-128. https://ejournals.lib.auth.gr/jal/article/view/10396/9613

This article, which is based on my colleague, Spiros Moustakas’ dissertation, takes a critical look at the textbooks used to teach Modern Greek in high schools. Using a novel methodological approach, which combines content analysis, critical discourse analysis and the grammar of visual design, we demonstrate that the content of these books is often essentialist and conforms to ideals of a monolingual and monocultural nation-state. Because such ideological content is objectionable when stated openly, it often surfaces as ‘liquid racism’, a form of essentialist discourse that hides its overtones.

Educating the Linguistically-Othered

Kostoulas, A. (2024). Challenging normative influences in refugee and migrant language education: Reflections of a trainee teacher cohort. Teaching and Teacher Education, 139, 104454.

In this article, I describe how a cohort of participants in the Language Education for Refugees and Migrants MA programme engaged with their first teacher placement among linguistically-othered learners. For many trainee-teachers, this experience involved a transition shock, as they moved from the ‘ecology of ideas’ of the MA programme to the ‘ecology of ideas’ of real schools. One way in which they coped with this transition was by reverting to transmissive pedagogy or performative teaching. However, as they grew in confidence, more transformative ways of enacting education began to emerge.

Revisiting Complex Dynamic Systems Theory in TESOL

Stelma, J. & Kostoulas, A. (2024). Revisiting complex dynamic systems theory: Empowering language teachers and teaching. TESOL Journal, 15(3), e790.

In this article, Juup Stelma and I present a straightforward way of using complex dynamics system theory (CDST) in language education. We argue that while previous attempts to use CDST have helped to make headways in applied linguistics research, the uptake of such theoretical work in language education has been less pronounced. We suggest that a holistic perspective, which focuses on four configurations of dynamics, might be a productive way forward. We also argue that such a perspective can help understand TESOL as a balance of stability and change, which is intuitively familiar to people who work in education.

Migration and Multilingual Education:
An Intercultural Perspective

Palaiologou, N. & Kostoulas, A. (2024). Editorial for the Special Issue on Migration and Multilingual Education: An Intercultural Perspective. Societies, 14(1), 1.

This is an editorial contribution to the Societies Special Issue entitled Migration and Multilingual Education: An Intercultural Perspective. The special issue brings together 13 contributions from scholars around the world, who discuss aspects of migrant and refugee education against a backdrop of plurilingualism.

Multilingualising
Early Childhood Education

Gkaintartzi, A., Kostoulas, A. & Vitsou, M. (2024). ‘Multilingualising’ language education: A teacher training programme for English as a ‘Bridge Language’ in early childhood education. Journal of Education and Training, 11(1), 59-78.

This article describes a language teacher education programme that I designed and delivered with colleagues at the University of Thessaly. The programme was a response to the TEYL initiative of the Greek government, which introduced English language courses to pre-schools across the country, without little regard for teacher education.

A distinctive feature of the programme was that it tried to help teachers challenge linguistic hegemony, by reconceptualising TEYL as a space where all languages would be given voice and valued.

Translanguaging interaction phenomena

Motsiou, E. & Kostoulas, A. (2023). Φαινόμενα διαγλωσσικής αλληλεπίδρασης στη δίγλωσση/πολύγλωσση επικοινωνία [Translanguaging phenomena in bilingual / translingual communication]. In K. Diakogiorgi, S. Selimis, D. Papadopoulou & G. Andreou (Eds), Διγλωσσία: Γλωσσική ανάπτυξη και εκπαιδευτικές προεκτάσεις [Bilingualism: Language development and educational implications] (pp. 246-265). Athens: Gutenberg.

This book chapter reviews research in the linguistic output of bilingual and multilingual speakers, which is variously described as code-switching, code-mixing and translanguaging. The chapter discusses overlaps and key differences between the terms, and juxtaposes form-focused and usage-focused perspectives.

English in the Kindergarten

Gkaintartzi, A., Kostoulas, A. & Vitsou, M. (2023). “English in the Kindergarten: Towards multilingual education”: Good practices from a teacher training program in Greece. In J. L. E. Chichón & F. Z. Martínez (eds), Handbook of research on training teachers for bilingual education in primary schools (pp. 67-89). Hershey, PA: IGI-Global.

This chapter presents a teacher education course that aimed to prepare early childhood educators and English language teachers to collaboratively introduce multilingual learning opportunities in pre-school education in Greece.

The course was designed to support education policy that introduced the English language into the curriculum of Greek state preschools, had four goals. Firstly, it aimed to approach English as a bridge language that can help promote multilingual meaning-making. Secondly, it encouraged the use of pedagogical translanguaging in order to support teachers to challenge prevalent monolingual instruction patterns and build upon the children’s entire linguistic repertoires. Teachers were also trained in experimenting with and employing arts-based learning and creativity.

Family Language Policy
in Mixed-Language Families

Kostoulas, A. & Motsiou, E. (2022). Family language policy in mixed-language families: An exploratory study of online parental discourses. International Journal of Bilingual Education and Bilingualism, 25(2), 696-708. https://doi.org/10.1080/13670050.2020.1715915

• In this article we describe the language policies of mixed language families. We conceptualise family language policy as having two components: language ideology, i.e., beliefs and attitudes about language and plurilingualism, and language transmission and management, i.e., the practices used in these families to help children learn multiple languages.
• Data were drawn from two online communities for mixed-language family parents / caregivers. One of these communities consisted mostly of plurilingual families living in Greek-speaking communities (Greece and Cyprus). The other community was more international in scope, but we focussed only on families where Greek was one of the family languages.
• An early version of this paper was presented in the 40th Annual Meeting of Greek Linguists. This article builds on the conference presentation, by adding more data and a more refined theoretical frame.

Resilience in language teaching:
Adaptive and maladaptive outcomes

Kostoulas, A. & Lämmerer, A. (2020). Resilience in language teaching: Adaptive and maladaptive outcomes in pre-service teachers. In C. Gkonou, J. King, & J.-M. Dewaele (Eds), The Emotional Rollercoaster of Language Teaching (pp. 89-110). Bristol: Multilingual Matters.

This chapter is part of the resilience project that I coordinated during my tenure at the University of Graz.

In the chapter, we argue that, as individuals-who-teach develop resilience, their coping mechanisms might make them more suitable, or less, suitable for their professional roles as teachers. We call these processes adaptive and maladaptive resilience.

We go on to describe a theoretical model of resilience that brings together all the resources that produce resilience, and push individuals towards adaptive or maladaptive developmental trajectories.

Educators’ Attitudes towards Research and Professional Development

Kostoulas, A., Babić, S., Glettler, C., Karner, A., Mercer, S., & Seidl, E. (2019). Lost in research: Educators’ attitudes towards research and professional development. Teacher Development, 29(3), 307-324. https://doi.org.10.1080/13664530.2019.1614655

This paper reports on a study that examined how educators in Austria conceptualise research, how they engage with academic literature, and what attitudes they have towards academic development.

This paper grew out of a research methods seminar, conducted by Prof. Mercer at the University of Graz. Most authors were participants in the seminar, and were involved in conducting the literature review, formulating the research design and generating the data, under Prof. Mercer’s guidance. I was invited to provide statistical expertise and write up the article.

Editorial contributions to Challenging Boundaries in Language Education

• Kostoulas, A. (2019). Conceptualizing and problematizing boundaries in language education. In A. Kostoulas (Ed.), Challenging Boundaries in Language Education (pp. 1-11). Cham: Springer. [download a preprint]
• Kostoulas, A. (2019). Boundaries crossed, and new frontiers: Ongoing theoretical, empirical and pedagogical issues in language education. In A. Kostoulas (Ed.), Challenging Boundaries in Language Education (pp. 247-255). Cham: Springer. [download a preprint]

Repositioning
language education theory

Kostoulas, A. (2019). Repositioning language education theory. In A. Kostoulas (ed.), Challenging Boundaries in Language Education (pp. 33-50). Cham: Springer.

This is a conceptual contribution that puts forward a framework for describing language education theory as an interdisciplinary synthesis of applied linguistics, language education psychology, and pedagogy.

The chapter builds on the invited plenary talk I delivered in the ELT Connect 2017 conference in Graz.

TESOL researchers
reflecting on complexity

Kostoulas, A. & Mercer, S. (2018). TESOL researchers reflecting on complexity. Theory and Practice in Second Language Acquisition, 4(2), 109-127. 

This article synthesises reflective narratives from eight researchers and educators (including the authors), who take stock of the impact of Complex Dynamics Systems Theory in language education.

Written on the occasion of the tenth anniversary of the publication of Dianne Larsen-Freeman and Lynne Cameron’s seminal volume Complex Systems in Applied Linguistics, the article explores how complexity thinking evolved in the field of language education, the challenges it poses and the opportunities it affords us.

Editorial contributions to
Language Teacher Psychology

• Mercer, S. & Kostoulas, A. (2018). Introduction to Language Teacher Psychology. In S. Mercer & A. Kostoulas (Eds), Language Teacher Psychology (pp. 1-17). Bristol: Multilingual Matters.
• Kostoulas, A. & Mercer, S. (2018). Conclusion: Lessons learned, promising perspectives. In S. Mercer & A. Kostoulas (Eds), Language Teacher Psychology (pp. 330-337). Bristol: Multilingual Matters.

Resilience as a process of growth

Kostoulas, A. & Lämmerer, A. (2018). Making the transition into teacher education: Resilience as a process of growth. In S. Mercer & A. Kostoulas (Eds), Language teacher psychology (pp. 247-263). Bristol: Multilingual Matters.

In this chapter, which appears in Language Teacher Psychology, Anita Lämmerer and I look into the construct of resilience, i.e., the ability people have to bounce back after adversity.

In the chapter, we put forward a conceptualisation of resilience as an emergent process, which comes into being from the interaction of trait-like characteristics, relationships and learned coping strategies.

We then use a case study of a teacher educator, who was going through a transition phase in her career, in order to illustrate how resilience functions in the face of low-level but persistent stressors.

Complex Systems Theory
as a Shared Discourse Space for TESOL

Kostoulas, A., Stelma, J., Mercer, S., Cameron, L., & Dawson, S. (2018). Complex systems theory as a shared discourse Space for TESOL. TESOL Journal, 9(2), 246-260. https://doi.org/10.1002/tesj.317

In this article, we explore how insights from complex systems theory might resonate with the experience of TESOL practitioners and argue that complexity can function as a shared discourse space where connections might be drawn between research and practice.

The article grew out of a meeting between TESOL practitioners and researchers at the Manchester Roundtable on Complexity Theory and English Language Teaching.

It builds on that discussion by exploring how language education practices and processes that are familiar to education practitioners and researchers can be understood in complexity-informed terms. To that end, we outline elements of complex systems theory that can be shown to resonate with what TESOL educators already know. These include a discussion of what complex systems are, how they operate, and how they evolve, all of which are illustrated with examples from research and language education experiences.

We show that the complexity-informed perspective they outline can provide teachers and researchers alike with an interpretive frame that may make more accessible the interconnected, sometimes unpredictable, invariably creative, and intuitively recognisable nature of language education.

Understanding curriculum change in an ELT school in Greece

Kostoulas, A. & Stelma, J. (2017). Understanding curriculum change in an ELT school in Greece. ELT Journal, 71(3), 354-363. https://doi.org/10.1093/elt/ccw087

This article reports on a case study of a language school in Greece, with a view to putting forward an understanding of the drivers that sustain or delay curricular innovation. Key to this understanding is the construct of intentionality, defined as ‘purposes’ that drive teaching and learning activity. In the article, we describe three main intentionalities that were present in the language school: (1) ‘credentialism’, an imperative to provide learners with certification; (2) ‘supplementation’, a drive to attain learning outcomes that students failed to attain in the state school system; and (3) ‘protectionism’, an unstated agenda of maintaining the status of local Greek L1 ELT practitioners. We describe how these intentionalities generated fluctuating dynamics, from which different pedagogical patterns emerged. Finally, we discuss the implications of this perspective for understanding and managing change and innovation in ELT settings.

The article builds on previous work that was presented at the Manchester Roundtable and 7th BAAL LLT SIG conference, and draws on data that were originally published in my thesis.

Fifteen years of research on self & identity in System

Kostoulas, A. & Mercer, S. (2016). Fifteen years of research on self & identity in System. System, 60, 128-134. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.system.2016.04.002

This is the second in a series of Virtual Special Issues published by System, which showcase selected articles that have appeared in the journal. In this issue, we focus on the psychological construct of the self in language teaching and learning, as viewed from diverse theoretical perspectives. Forty articles published in the last 15 years were reviewed, of which ten were selected for inclusion in this issue, taking into account their impact, their conceptual salience or their potential to exemplify theoretical developments in the field.

Intentionality & Complex Systems Theory

Kostoulas, A., & Stelma, J. (2016). Intentionality and complex systems theory: A new direction for language learning psychology. In C. Gkonou, D. Tatzl, & S. Mercer (Eds), New directions in language learning psychology (pp. 7-23). Cham: Springer.

This chapter examines the combined potential of the concept of ‘intentionality’ and ‘complex systems theory’ as a new theoretical direction for language learning psychology. The explanatory and predictive utility of the combined constructs for language learning psychology is then illustrated by juxtaposing two case studies, from Norway and Greece.

Intentional Dynamics in TESOL:
An Ecological Perspective

Stelma, J., Onat-Stelma, Z., Lee, W. & Kostoulas, A. (2015). Intentional dynamics in TESOL: An ecological perspective. Teachers College, Columbia University Working Papers in TESOL and Applied Linguistics [Currently: Studies in Applied Linguistics], 15(1), 14-32.

This paper puts forward a conceptual model of intentionality, which builds on previous work on ecological psychology. A re-analysis of previously published data is used to demonstrate the relevance of the model to TESOL.

Understanding and Challenging
‘the Known’

Kostoulas, A. (2014). A Greek tragedy: Understanding and challenging ‘the Known’ from a complexity perspective. In D. Rivers (Ed.), Resistance to the Known: Counter-Conduct in Foreign Language Education. Houndmills: Palgrave Macmillan.

This chapter synthesises empirical data and post-modern theorisations in order to describe English Language Teaching (ELT) as a locally embedded global phenomenon. The overall aims of the chapter are to encourage teaching professionals to reflect on how established practice (the ‘Known’) sustains and is sustained by vested interests, and to encourage them to move beyond (or ‘resist’) it through pedagogically and politically appropriate praxis.

If you are interested in getting a copy of the book, please consider clicking on the button above to make your purchase. I reclaim 4.5% of the cover price for every purchase made from my referrals, which I use to fund this blog.

Constructing small-t theories
in Greek ELT

Kostoulas, A. (2011). From applying Theory to theorising practice: Constructing small-t theories in Greek ELT. Aspects Today, 32, 14-21.

This invited article builds on the talk delivered at ‘Empowering Language Teaching’ professional development day, which was organised by the Panhellenic [Greek National] Association of State School Teachers of English [ΠΕΚΑΔΕ].

In the article, I contrasted (Capital-T) Theory, or research-driven narratives about language education, with (small-t) theory, for a practice-first approach to developing personal understandings of our professional existence.

Navigating a pathway to partnership

Breen, P. B., De Stefani, M. & Kostoulas, A. (2011). Navigating a pathway to partnership through turbulent seas of adversity. In P. Tripathi & S. Mukerji (Eds.), Cases on innovations in educational marketing (pp. 273-294). Hershey PA.: IGI Global.

This chapter was a collaborative project written with two close colleagues during the early stages of my PhD studies. All authors contributed equally to the publication and are listed in alphabetical order.

The chapter was short-listed for The University of Manchester Student Partnership Awards 2010.

The chapter describes aspects of our collaboration as we engaged with our assessed coursework, using the Community of Practice framework.

English as a Lingua Franca & Methodological Tension

Kostoulas, A. (2010). English as a Lingua Franca & methodological tension in a language school in Greece. in esse, 1(1), 91-112.

• This is the first article I published. Despite its imperfections, it is one that I am still very fond of.
• In the article, I use qualitative methods to juxtapose official policy in a language school in Greece, which adhered closely to normative assumptions about the standard language, and actual practice, which was closer to the ELF model.
• This article is a revised and expanded version of the paper presented at the ‘Said and Unsaid’ conference at the University of Vlorë in September 2011.
• You can read some information about the peer-review process that shaped the final form of the article in this blogpost.