NEWS

Lecturer Nesrin Neslihan Kocuk from the Foreign Languages Department at Istanbul Nişantaşı University presented her latest cross-cultural study at the 5th Paris Conference on Arts & Humanities and Education (PCAH/PCE 2026). Organised by the International Academic Forum (IAFOR) in conjunction with the IAFOR Research Centre at Osaka University, the event took place from June 15 to 19, 2026, at the Sorbonne University International Conference Center (CICSU) in Paris, France.

Bringing together delegates from diverse national, cultural, and linguistic backgrounds, the conference provided an interdisciplinary platform focused on key themes including Educational Sciences, Intercultural Education, Technology and Education, Language Education, Train the Trainer, Curriculum and Lesson Planning, and Recent Trends in Education.

Within this comprehensive academic framework, Lecturer Nesrin Neslihan KOCUK detailed her research on the pedagogical implications of English as a Lingua Franca (ELF) in higher education during the poster session on June 15. The study has also been successfully published as "Academic Lecturers' Perceptions of English as a Lingua Franca in the Eurasian Context" in the Q2 SCOPUS-indexed IAFOR Journal of Education: Language Learning in Education.

During the presentation, Lecturer Kocuk engaged in productive discussions with international participants regarding the current state, responsibilities, and prevailing theories of higher education stakeholders in English language teaching. There was a clear consensus on prioritizing communicative competence and practical usage to reflect the global reality of the English language. This research and the subsequent international dialogue underscore the growing need for flexible curricula in intensive language programs that bridge the gap between formal grammatical accuracy and real-world application.

As the Department of Foreign Languages at Istanbul Nişantaşı University, we congratulate our lecturer, Nesrin Neslihan Kocuk, on this achievement and reaffirm our commitment to supporting and encouraging academic research and scholarly engagement.