INTERNATIONAL CONFERENCE SPEAKERS

Dr. Bertha Ramos Holguín

Plenary Speaker

Dr. Bertha Ramos Holguín holds a PhD in Educational Sciences from Universidad Pedagógica y Tecnológica de Colombia - RUDECOLOMBIA, an M.A. in Applied Linguistics to the Teaching of English as a Foreign Language, and a B.A. in Modern Languages from Universidad Distrital Francisco José de Caldas. She is a full-time professor in the B.A. in Modern Languages with emphasis on English at Universidad Pedagógica y Tecnológica de Colombia (UPTC), where she is affiliated with the M.A. in Language Teaching and the Ph.D. in Educational Sciences. She also serves as the Editor of UPTC Press. She is the leader of the TONGUE Research Group, an Associate Researcher recognized by the Colombian Ministry of Science (Minciencias), an academic peer reviewer for SINAES (Costa Rica), and a member of the CONACES evaluation panel (Colombia).

Dr. Ryuko Kubota

Plenary Speaker

Dr. Ryuko Kubota is a Professor in the Department of Language and Literacy Education in the Faculty of Education at the University of British Columbia, where she teaches courses on applied linguistics and language teacher education. She previously taught in the United States and Japan. Her research focuses on antiracism, intersectional justice, critical multiculturalism, language ideologies, and decolonial perspectives. She is a co-editor of Race, racism, and antiracism in language education (Routledge, 2025) and other volumes. Her work has also appeared in journals such as Applied Linguistics, Critical Inquiry in Language Studies, ELT Journal, Journal of Second Language Writing, Modern Language Journal, TESOL Quarterly, TESOL Journal, and World Englishes. She currently serves as Past President of the American Association for Applied Linguistics.

Dr. Samantha Curle

Plenary Speaker

Dr. Samantha Curle (DPhil, FRSA, FHEA) is a Reader in Education (Applied Linguistics), Director of MRes programmes (Faculty of Humanities and Social Sciences), and Institutional Academic Lead for the South-West Doctoral Training Partnership at the University of Bath. She is also Adjunct Professor at Khazar University (Azerbaijan) and an Associate Member of the English Medium Instruction (EMI) Oxford Research Group. Her research focuses on factors affecting academic achievement in EMI, including English proficiency and psychological constructs. She has published seven edited books on EMI (with four forthcoming), led a global EMI report for the British Council, and published in leading journals such as Language Teaching, Applied Linguistics Review, and Studies in Higher Education.

Dr. Dario Luis Banegas

Plenary Speaker

Dr. Dario Luis Banegas is a Senior Lecturer/Associate Professor in Language Education at the Moray House School of Education and Sport, University of Edinburgh, where he is also Director of Postgraduate Research. He leads a master's course on second language curriculum development. He is an active member of professional associations in Latin America (e.g., FAAPI in Argentina) and the UK (e.g., BAAL). Dario is an international speaker and author. He has delivered talks in, for example, Argentina, Colombia, France, Germany, Singapore, and Spain. He has published edited volumes and articles, and has led research groups and curriculum transformation teams with a focus on making language education more meaningful, transformative, and equitable. His most recent book is "Developing Curriculum for TESOL" published by Bloomsbury. His main interests are: CLIL, action research, social justice, and pre-service language teacher education. He loves bread, cheese, and naps!

Dr. Yesid Ortega

Plenary Speaker

Dr. Yecid Ortega has over 20 years of international experience across Colombia, the United States, Canada, and the United Kingdom in the field of Language and Literacies education. His scholarly work is grounded in critical, creative, anti-racist, and decolonial worldviews that inform both research and pedagogy. Dr. Ortega’s research explores the social, cultural, and linguistic pluriversality of structurally marginalized communities—including immigrants, refugees, 2S/LGBTQIA+ individuals, neurodivergent people, and older adults—through alternative critical, arts-based, and community-oriented approaches.  He is the founder of the Liminal Research and Education Centre and a co-founder of the Artem Research Collective. His current research focuses on arts-based, creative, critical, and post-material methodologies as ways of understanding relationality, place, and lived experience.