Dr Tomasz John

Teaching Fellow

Strathclyde Institute of Education

Contact

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Personal statement

With degrees in Internationalisation of Higher Education and TESOL, I have comprehensive experience in international higher education, focusing on language policies, curriculum design, and intercultural communication. I've taught and supervised in the fields of Applied Linguistics and TESOL and currently serve as the Communications Officer for BALEAP EAP and BAAL Social Justice Special Interest Groups. At Strathclyde, I contribute to teaching on MSc TESOLIC and BA Education and TESOL programmess, as well as the iPGCE and MSc Education Studies courses. My research re-imagines the Internationalisation of Higher Education, challenging assumptions about international students and fostering a diverse academic culture. I specialize in implementing comprehensive internationalisation strategies and managing all aspects of research endeavors, from design to dissemination. I'm seeking opportunities to supervise research in areas like TESOL, globalisation of higher education, and social justice in ELT, aiming to foster inclusive and enlightened academic environments. I bring a meticulous, innovative approach to research, with a commitment to inclusive educational practices and the advancement of higher education.

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Professional Activities

EAL Core Session
Invited speaker
3/11/2025
Navigating Belonging through Multilingualism: Preliminary Insights from International Postgraduate Students in a Scottish Higher Education Institution
Speaker
30/6/2025
3rd International Symposium on Social Justice in ELT: Language Education at Times of Turmoil, Istanbul, Turkey.
Invited speaker
30/5/2025
IATEFL
Speaker
10/4/2025
Reimagining Partnership Teaching: A Collaborative Approach to Success
Speaker
23/3/2025
SATEAL Conference 2025
Speaker
22/3/2025

More professional activities

Projects

RELANZA: Redefining language education and multilingualism
John, Tomasz (Co-investigator) Querol Julian, Mercedes (Principal Investigator)
The RELANZA Project (Redefining Language Education: SDGs and Innovative Teaching Strategies) is an international research and innovation initiative designed to transform foreign and second language education by integrating sustainable development goals (especially SDG 4: Quality Education) with innovative pedagogical and digital practices. The project brings together academic researchers, educators, and practitioners from multiple institutions to address global challenges in language teaching and learning. Key components include:

A bilingual podcast series (English/Spanish) featuring expert interviews on language education, policy, adult education, and multilingual curriculum development, with AI-assisted automatic dubbing for wider accessibility.

Practical teaching guides accompanying each episode, containing ready-to-use classroom activities grounded in research and aligned with global competencies.

Interactive online materials (e.g., quizzes and reflections) developed to extend engagement with podcast themes and to support educators in diverse contexts.

With a focus on educational transformation through digital innovation, RELANZA aims to make language curriculum reform accessible, contextually relevant, and pedagogically effective across global educational settings
01-Jan-2025 - 30-Jan-2026
Multilingualism and International Student Capabilities for Belonging in UK Higher Education (£2000 - HaSS funded)
John, Tomasz (Principal Investigator) Adamson, Laela (Co-investigator)
03-Jan-2025 - 31-Jan-2025
Partnership Teaching
McPake, Joanna (Principal Investigator) John, Tomasz (Research Co-investigator)
This study investigates the implementation of a Partnership Teaching (PT) programme at Annette Street Primary School. Bourne & McPake (1991) developed the PT model to support collaboration between class teachers and teachers of English as an additional language (EAL) in English primary and secondary schools, as an outcome of research into ‘good practice’ in multilingual schools in the late 1980s.

The model supports pairs or teams of teachers planning, implementing and evaluating collective action research (AR) projects focused on enhancing pupils’ language, literacy and learning, while simultaneously contributing to teachers’ professional development through multiple AR cycles. The model has been widely adopted in England, over ensuing decades, but there has been limited subsequent research into the factors which have contributed to its success, or to what might now be appropriate, in terms of updating in response to current perspectives on learning and teaching, and of expanding the contexts for its use (e.g. in the Scottish school system).

The goal of the research is therefore to evaluate the effectiveness of the PT model, through a detailed study of its implementation in one school, over the course of one year, and to review its potential for future use.

The method of evaluation draws on collaborative ethnography (Campbell et al., 2018), in which stakeholders – ranging from pupils, staff and school management to the Glasgow City Council (GCC) EAL service and GCC Education Department officials – are collectively involved in researching, documenting and evaluating the impact of the intervention, along with the research team.
There are four interlinked objectives:
1. to evaluate (collectively) pupils’ language, literacy and learning gains;
2. to evaluate (collectively) gains made when teachers work collaboratively;
3. to identify factors which contribute to the success of the PT model in this instance;
4. to develop the model for future use in (and beyond) Scotland.

Reports on the outcomes of the project will initially be provided for these groups and then used to develop city-wide professional development projects, in collaboration with the Strathclyde School of Education.

Professional and academic outputs in the fields of EAL, socially just educational provision, teachers’ professional development and research methods will follow, collaboratively authored by the research team, school staff and other stakeholders as relevant, appropriate and feasible.

References
Bourne, J., & McPake, J. (1991). Partnership teaching: Co-operative teaching strategies for English language support in multilingual classrooms. HMSO.
Campbell, E., Lassiter, L. E., & Pahl, K. (2018). Collaborative ethnography in context. In E. Campbell, K. Pahl, E. Pente, & Z. Rasool (Eds.), Re-imagining contested communities. Policy Press. https://doi.org/10.1332/policypress/9781447333302.001.0001

01-Jan-2023 - 31-Jan-2026

More projects

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Contact

Dr Tomasz John
Teaching Fellow
Strathclyde Institute of Education

Email: tomasz.john@strath.ac.uk
Tel: Unlisted