Bringing Research into Your Classroom – with Amira Salama

Bringing Research into Your Classroom – with Amira Salama

Author: TESOL Pop February 11, 2025 Duration: 15:26

Amira Salama shares insights on practitioner research and how everyday classroom experiences can contribute to meaningful research. She challenges traditional notions of research and highlights how teachers are already engaging in research without realising it.


Watch with closed captions.


TALKING POINTS

1. Research doesn’t have to be complex—any teacher reflecting on and improving their practice is engaging in research.

2. Sharing findings with colleagues, at conferences, or within schools is just as valuable as publishing in journals.

3. Teachers can use simple methods like student feedback, classroom observations, and collaborative discussions to gather insights.

4. Research helps educators take control of challenges like AI integration and curriculum development.

5. Contextualised, bottom-up approaches to teaching and research are more effective than applying generic ‘best practices.’



ABOUT

Amira Salama is the Chair of the TESOL International Research Professional Council (2024-2025) and the Past President of Africa ELTA. She has an MA TESOL from the American University in Cairo with a research focus on teacher leadership and is currently pursuing her Ph.D. in inclusive education. Amira is the winner of the TESOL Outstanding Advocate Honor Award in 2024. She has given a number of plenary and featured talks at local and international conferences and developed teacher training programs in Egypt and Africa with a focus on association leadership in low-resource contexts, classroom research, and women leadership.



REFERENCES

TESOL Research Report

Africa ELTA (Mentoring programmes)



SUPPORT US

💻 Sponsor us

Buy us a coffee

⭐ Leave a review


THE PRODUCER'S EDIT

Get inspired to record more. Weekly stories, insights, and content tips for standout educators delivered to your inbox.

👉 Subscribe here


CREDITS

Producer Laura Wilkes

Editor Haven Tsang

Thanks to our lovely guest, Amira Salama

Production by Communicating for Impact


Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.


Ever feel like the best teaching ideas come from a quick chat in the staffroom, but your schedule never allows for it? TESOL Pop captures that spark. Designed for the busy English language teacher, this mini podcast delivers compact, meaningful conversations with TESOL, TEFL, and ESL educators globally. Each episode is a focused interview, kept under fifteen minutes, packed with practical ideas and personal insights that can genuinely shift your approach in the classroom. You’ll hear stories about career pivots, reflections on what actually works with students, and clever uses of technology, all shared in a casual, accessible tone. It’s the audio equivalent of a refreshing coffee break with a colleague who gets it. The podcast understands that profound professional development doesn’t always require a lengthy seminar; sometimes, a single, well-timed insight is enough to reinvigorate your teaching. By tuning in, you join a global conversation that feels both personal and immediately useful, making it easy to integrate new perspectives into your daily routine without overwhelming your calendar.
Author: Language: English Episodes: 100

TESOL Pop
Podcast Episodes
Building Your Personal Brand on LinkedIn with Gina Rodriguez [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 13:19
ELT Marketing & Education Consultant Gina Rodriguez talks about the benefits of building a personal brand on a site like LinkedIn for teachers. Gina unpacks how to set up and maintain a LinkedIn profile in three steps an…
Is A Master's Degree in TESOL Worth It? with Thu Thu Naing [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 11:46
Teacher Thu Thu Naing talks about her recent experience studying for a master’s degree in TESOL with Educational Technology. Thu shares how she chose a course and provider, what the course was like, and what she plans to…
S5E8: How to Apply Inquiry-Based Learning with Michelle Worgan [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 14:27
Educator and materials writer Michelle Worgan talks about Inquiry-Based Learning (IBL) and the qualities that set it apart from Project-Based Learning. In this episode, Michelle provides examples of Inquiry-Based Learnin…
S5E7: The Know, Show, and Grow Stages of Teaching and Learning [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 14:05
Author André Hedlund discusses the "Know, Show, and Grow" phases in education and illustrates how they can be applied in the classroom. He also highlights how portfolios can be an effective tool for monitoring the progre…
S5E6: Three Simple Mindful Practices for Teachers with Justin Ricci [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 11:24
Founder of the Strength, Yoga, Freedom Community, Justin Ricci, talks about the positive impact mindfulness can have on the quality of our decision-making and interactions. To help fit mindfulness into our daily lives, J…
Using Technology to Give Great Feedback with Nihad Ćehić [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 14:59
Co-founder and CEO of the EdTech App Vibbl Nihad Ćehić talks about the vital role delayed feedback plays in the learning process, the challenges teachers often face in giving great feedback, and how technology like Vibbl…
Trailer: Learn about TESOL Pop with Laura Wilkes [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 1:26
Are you new to TESOL Pop? Learn about the podcast and how its bite-sized episodes are a source of professional development for educators who teach English to speakers of other languages.For a video version of this traile…
S5E4: Teaching Beginner-Level Learners with Julie Chen [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 12:01
Teacher and Quality Assurance Specialist Julie Chen reflects on challenges beginner-level learners often encounter when studying in a one-to-one or group setting. In this episode, Julie also shares practical tips on buil…
S5E3: Increasing Accessibility with UDL with Erin Vobornik [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 13:15
Teacher Erin Vobornik talks about key principles of Universal Design for Learning (UDL) and how they can be applied to the ESL classroom. Erin shares her own experience and examples of ways in which UDL can be applied to…
Technologies to Support Ongoing Learning with Steponas Dabužinskas [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 14:18
Teacher, writer, and developer Steponas Dabužinskas discusses common challenges learners face in continuing learning after lessons and suggests three online technologies to help engage teenage and adult students in furth…