Asst. Prof. Tijen Akşit

“English for Academic Purposes: Myths, Challenges and Opportunities”

Tijen Aksit has been affiliated with Bilkent University for more than 20 years. She has been the Director of the Faculty Academic English (FAE) Program since 2007, and a faculty member of the Graduate School of Education since 2011. Previously, she held appointments in the English Language Preparatory Program. Tijen teaches courses both in the Faculty Academic English and M.A. in Management in Education Programs. She also organizes and teaches FAE in-service teacher training certificate program courses in Teaching English for Academic Purposes.

Tijen received her B.Sc. and M.A. degrees in English Language Teaching, and earned her Ph.D. in Educational Sciences from Middle East Technical University. She also holds a Certificate for Overseas Teachers of English from Cambridge University.

Tijen is a member of International Congress for School Effectiveness and Improvement, English Language Teachers Association in Turkey, Global Forum for English for Academic Purposes Professionals, and European Lecturers of English for Academic Purposes. She serves as a reviewer for some Social Sciences Citation Indexed Journals such as International Journal of Educational Development, Gender and Education, and Journal of Mixed Methods Research

Tijen’s publications and paper presentations focus on topics such as school effectiveness and improvement, teacher appraisal systems, teacher action research, and teaching English for academic purposes. She is the author of the book entitled Characteristics of Effective Schools. Her other research interests include educational leadership, English language teacher development, and content based English for Academic Purposes instruction.

Tennis, yoga and meditation are among Tijen’s hobbies. Tijen is married to Asst. Prof. Dr. Necmi Aksit, Assistant Director of Bilkent University Graduate School of Education. The two met on the first day of their university freshman year, and have been together since then. Their son, Derin, is a sophomore in the department of Economics, Bilkent University.