Louise Dearden

• MA Education (TEFL) (University of Birmingham)
• BA (Hons) English Literature (Goldsmiths, University of London)
• RSA Dip TEFLA (British Council, Athens)
• RSA Cert TEFLA (Anglo World, Cambridge)
• Diploma in Education and Training for Higher Education (Birmingham City University)

I have over 30 years’ experience teaching English Language, Literature and Drama in a range of diverse educational settings in Europe and the UK. This has included primary, secondary and tertiary contexts. During this time, I have been involved in teacher development courses and workshops as well as curriculum development. In addition to teaching, I have also been a Team Leader/Examiner for Cambridge English Assessment since 1991 working on Cambridge main suite exams.  More recently, I have joined Cambridge International English working as an examiner for English Literature exams.

• Foundation Pathways, Academic English and Study Skills
• EAP Postgraduate Presessional
• EAP Undergraduate Presessional

I am passionate about teaching but also about learning; I would describe myself as a committed life-long learner. When I returned to the UK in 2015, it was to pursue postgraduate study at the University of Birmingham. This experience has shaped my research interests since then.

My MA dissertation was a narrative inquiry into language teacher cognition, more specifically, the role of moral values in primary language teacher lives. This stimulated an interest in exploring the moral, ethical, social and political dimensions of language teaching and learning in an age of globalisation.

I am currently carrying out doctoral research at the University of Leeds. My project is a phenomenological study which explores the ethics of encountering the Other in the context of adult ESOL education.