Founded in 1988, Bilkent University’s Master of Arts in Teaching English as a Foreign Language (MA-TEFL) offers an academically rigorous graduate curriculum that aligns advanced empirical research with real-world educational practice. Rooted in Bilkent’s tradition of research excellence and with a legacy of almost 500 thesis graduates, the program is led by an active research faculty who widely publish in top-tier journals informing the future of applied linguistics and English language teaching. The current expertise in MA-TEFL lies in multimodal conversation analysis, language processing, and psychology in language education, marking the three research clusters. To accommodate varied professional paths, the program operates through a dual-track structure: a Research Track geared toward expertise in research methodology and publication-oriented thesis work; and a DELTA Track designed for experienced educators seeking to combine classroom practice with research excellence. Supported by tuition waivers and evening scheduling, the program trains graduates to lead, innovate, and contribute original research to the field of English language education.
- published in Bilingualism: Language and Cognition; Linguistic Approaches to Bilingualism; Journal of Psycholinguistic Research; Second Language Research; Studies in Second Language Acquisition; Language Teaching; Journal of Multilingual and Multicultural Development; Innovation In Language Learning and Teaching; Language Teaching Research; Foreign Language Annals; European Journal of Education; Journal of Pragmatics; English for Academic Purposes; International Journal of Applied Linguistics; Applied Linguistics; Learning, Culture and Social Interaction; European Journal of Teacher Education; Language and Intercultural Communication; Linguistics and Education; Health Communication; Computer Assisted Language Learning; Language Assessment Quarterly; ReCALL; Applied Linguistics Review; SYSTEM; TESOL Quarterly; Pragmatics; Research on Language and Social Interaction; Text & Talk; Language Learning & Technology (this list only includes the team’s papers published in SSCI-indexed journals).
- hold editorial seats in TESOL Quarterly; SYSTEM; Linguistics & Education.
- published books and chapters in Springer, Routledge, Palgrave.
- led projects funded by the European Union, TÜBİTAK; DFG (Germany), DFF (Denmark), British Council.
- received research awards from Bilim Akademisi (BAGEP), IAPLL, International CALL, Hacettepe University
- supervised postgraduate theses of more than 30 MA & PhD students
- are well-networked with Applied Linguistics, ELT, SLA, TEFL, and LTE researchers worldwide.
News
- MA-TEFL Faculty-Student Gathering: Meet the New Team Event
The MA-TEFL faculty and students were gathered in a beginning-of-the-semester event on the 17th of September, 2026. Following the program director’s plenary on the new program components and expectancies from the students. Strongly emphasizing the research-oriented structure of the MA-TEFL program, each faculty member featured the newly established research clusters… Read more: MA-TEFL Faculty-Student Gathering: Meet the New Team Event - EVENT: Meet the New MA-TEFL TeamWe are organizing the “Meet the New Team” event on the 17th of September, 16:30 at Room, 160, G-Building to introduce the structural and academic changes in the department and the MA in TEFL program. The event will also cover the orientation for the new cohort students. All MA-TEFL students… Read more: EVENT: Meet the New MA-TEFL Team
- Mehmet Sak joins the MA-TEFL program as an Assistant Professor
As of 1st of September 2026, Dr. Mehmet Sak has joined the Faculty of Education and the MA-TEFL Program as an Assistant Professor. Dr. Sak’s research draws on the psychology of language learners, teachers, and teacher educators with a particular focus on their wellbeing, motivation, and emotions from complexity and… Read more: Mehmet Sak joins the MA-TEFL program as an Assistant Professor - Ufuk Balaman joins the MA-TEFL program as a Full Professor and the Head of Department
As of 1st of September 2026, Prof. Dr. Ufuk Balaman has joined the Faculty of Education and the MA-TEFL Program. Dr. Balaman will act as the program director. Balaman’s research draws on multimodal Conversation Analysis for L2 learning, teaching, and teacher education mainly in digital spaces and aims to contribute to the… Read more: Ufuk Balaman joins the MA-TEFL program as a Full Professor and the Head of Department - Demet Sertdemir Kabakçı defends her thesis in the MA-TEFL Program
Sertdemir Kabakçı’s thesis explores teachers’ perceptions and experiences of LLM use in EFL writing instruction. Using an explanatory sequential mixed-methods design, Sertdemir Kabakçı presented EFL instructors’ familiarity with and use of LLMs, as well as their perceptions and experiences in writing instruction, combining an online questionnaire with follow-up semi-structured interviews.… Read more: Demet Sertdemir Kabakçı defends her thesis in the MA-TEFL Program - Gizem Açıkkan defends her thesis in the MA-TEFL Program.
Açıkkan’s thesis examines middle school EFL teachers’ beliefs about oral corrective feedback in form-focused instruction. Using an explanatory sequential mixed-methods design, Açıkkan presented a two-phase analysis of teachers’ beliefs and their origins, combining a Likert-scale questionnaire with follow-up interviews. Findings reveal generally positive but conditional beliefs, with teaching experience as… Read more: Gizem Açıkkan defends her thesis in the MA-TEFL Program.