You are cordially invited to the hybrid research seminar organized by the Department of Educational Sciences.<\/p>\n
This seminar is a requirement for Curriculum & Instruction students who are enrolled in GE 500 Module 3.<\/p>\n
Title: Creating space for wellbeing in pre-service language teacher education<\/p>\n
Speaker: Mehmet Sak (TED University)<\/p>\n
Date: Feb 13, 2026
\nTime: 16:30-17:30
\nLocation: G-160 & Zoom (Hybrid)<\/p>\n
This is an online seminar. To request event details please send a message to department.<\/p>\n
Abstract: Explorations of language teacher wellbeing have begun to gather pace in recent years in an attempt to achieve a better understanding of the support they need to cope with the challenges of their profession
\nand flourish across personal and professional domains. In particular, initial teacher education has been
\nrecognized as a critical phase for developing a sense of wellbeing to promote trainees\u2019 academic and
\nemotional development in ways that catalyze resilience, motivation, and professional engagement. In
\nthis talk, I will discuss the relevance and significance of taking initiatives to support the wellbeing of pre-
\nservice teachers in initial language teacher education, followed by an account of the role language
\nteacher educators (LTEs) play in this endeavor. In so doing, I will also share findings from my recently
\npublished study (Sak, 2026) focusing on the perceived roles and reported practices of LTEs in promoting
\nwellbeing among pre-service teachers.
\nKeywords: language teacher wellbeing, language teacher educators, pre-service teachers, teacher education<\/p>\n
Bio: Mehmet Sak (PhD in ELT from METU, 2025) is an Assistant Professor in the Department of English
\nLanguage Education at TED University, where he serves as the Vice Head of the department and teaches
\nundergraduate- and graduate-level courses. He previously worked at TED University as a Lecturer and
\nResearch Assistant, at the University of Edinburgh as a Visiting Postgraduate Researcher, and at TOBB
\nUniversity of Economics and Technology as an English Language Instructor. He has received his BA (2013-
\n2017) and MA (2017-2020) degrees in ELT from Hacettepe University. Mehmet\u2019s research mainly deals
\nwith the psychology of language learners, teachers, and teacher educators with a particular focus on
\ntheir wellbeing, motivation, and emotions from complexity and ecological perspectives. His articles have
\nappeared in various international journals such as System, ReCALL, TESOL Quarterly, Language Teaching,
\nForeign Language Annals, International Journal of Applied Linguistics, Language Teaching Research, and
\nInnovation in Language Learning and Teaching. He has been a member of the Junior Editorial Board of
\nTESOL Quarterly (Wiley) and was the recipient of the \u201cYoung Researcher Award\u201d at the ICPLTL-2025
\nConference.<\/p>\n
Curriculum & Instruction
\nEducational Sciences
\nGraduate School of Education<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
You are cordially invited to the hybrid research seminar organized by the Department of Educational Sciences. This seminar is a requirement for Curriculum & Instruction students who are enrolled in GE 500 Module 3. Title: Creating space for wellbeing in pre-service language teacher education Speaker: Mehmet Sak (TED University) Date: [\u2026] <\/p>\n