Dr Shaila Sultana, Professor, Department of English Language, Institute of Modern Languages, University of Dhaka, Advisor to the Center for Language Studies and Adjunct Faculty of the department of English and Humanities, University of Liberal Arts Bangladesh, has been educated at Jahangirnagar University (Dhaka), Monash University (Melbourne), King’s College (London), and University of Technology Sydney (UTS, Sydney). Her research interests include - trans approaches to language and identity, sociology, critical geography, and the historical and sociocultural significance of English in post-colonial countries. She has authored articles in renowned international applied linguistics journals, such as Linguistics and Education, International Multilingual Research Journal, International Journal of Bilingual Education and Bilingualism, Journal of Asia Pacific Communication, Asian Englishes, Translanguaging and Translation in Multilingual Contexts, International Journal of Multilingualism, and Journal of Sociolinguistics. Her co-authored book titled Popular Culture, Voice and Linguistic Diversity: Young Adults On- and Offline has recently been published from Macmillan, Palgrave (UK). A chapter titled ‘Gender performativity in virtual space: Transglossic language practices of young women in Bangladesh’ and ‘Linguistic and multi-modal resources within the local-global interface of the virtual space: Critically aware youths in Bangladesh’ have also been published in Language and Culture on the Margins. Global/ Local Interactions and Critical Inquiries in the Studies of Sociolinguistics of Globalization from Routledge Critical Studies in Multilingualism (UK) and Multilingual Matters (USA) respectively.
Doctor of Philosophy (PhD)
Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences
University of Technology, Sydney (UTS), Australia
MA in ELT and Applied Linguistics
School of Social Science and Public Policy
King’s College, University of London, UK
Post -Graduate Diploma in TESOL
Monash University, Melbourne, Australia
Masters of Arts in English
Jahangirnagar University, Dhaka, Bangladesh
Bachelor of Arts (Hons) in English
Jahangirnagar University, Dhaka, Bangladesh
Professional Affiliation
- Member of the Editorial Board, The Journal of Asia TEFL, Journal of Institute of Modern Languages, and Journal of South East University
- Reviewer of international journals, such as Applied Linguistics, Journal of Bilingual Education and Bilingualism; Journal of Asia TEFL, Asia Pacific Journal of Education, Journal of Multilingual and Multicultural Development and national journals, such as Journal of Institute of Modern Languages, Journal of BELTA, Journal of South East University, Journal of Asiatic Society, Journal of Daffodil University, Crossing and so on.
- Executive Committee and General member of BELTA (Bangladesh English Language Teachers Association) (Membership No. 53)
- General member (Membership No. 16711) of IATEFL (International Association of Teachers of English as a Foreign Language)
Sultana, S. (2019). Linguistic and multi-modal resources within the local-global interface of the virtual space: Critically aware youths in Bangladesh. Critical Inquiries in the Studies of Sociolinguistics of Globalization (pp. 1 – 19). Tyler Barrett and Sender Dovchin (Eds.).
Date: 02/01/2019
Sultana, S. (2018). Gender performativity in virtual space: Transglossic language practices of young women in Bangladesh. Language and Culture on the Margins. Global/ Local Interactions (pp. 69 – 90). Sjaak Kroon and Jos Swanenberg (Eds.). New York and London: Routledge Critical Studies in Multilingualism.
Dovchin, S., Pennycook, A. & Sultana, S. (2017). A Popular Culture, Voice and Linguistic Diversity - Young Adults On- and Offline. New York: Palgrave Macmillan.
Sultana, S. (in press). Communities of practice dissected. Journal of Institute of Modern Languages, 28.
Date: 06/04/2019
Journal Articles [More Info, If Any]
Sultana, S. and Dovchin, S. (accepted). Out of classroom digital language pratices of university students in Asian peripheries. Digital language and literacies: practices, awareness, and pedagogy (special issue). Linguistic and Education.
Bolander, Brook and Sultana, S. (2019). Ordinary English amongst Muslim communities in South and Central Asia. International Journal of Multilingualism 16(2), 162-174
Sultana, S. (2018). Language practices and performances of identity of young adults within spaces of a private university in Bangladesh. Bangladesh English Language Teachers Association Journal, 2: 1-28.
Sultana, S. (2016). Construction of others and negotiation of identification. Journal of Institute of Modern Languages, 27: 1-46.
Sultana, S. (2016). Language and identity in virtual space: Reconceptualisation of ELF: Virtual space in focus. Journal of Asia Pacific Communication, 26 (2): 216-237.
Dovchin, S., Sultana, S. and Pennycook, A. (2016). Unequal translingual Englishes in the Asian peripheries. Asian Englishes. 18(2), 92-108.
Sultana, S. (2015). Transglossic language practices: Young adults transgressing language and identity in Bangladesh. Translation and Translanguaging in Multilingual Contexts, 1(2), 68–98.
Sultana, S. (2015). English as a local practice: Young adults in Bangladesh. Journal of Institute of Modern Languages, 26: 1-26.
Sultana, S. & Dovchin, S. (2015). Popular culture in transglossic language practices: Young adults in Bangladesh and Mongolia. International Multilingual Research Journal, 12 (1): 93-108.
Sultana, S. and Dovchin, S. and Pennycook, A. (2015). Transglossic language practices of young adults in Bangladesh and Mongolia. International Journal of Multilingualism. 12(1): 93-108.
Dovchin, S., Sultana, S. and Pennycook, A. (2015). Relocalizing the translingual practices of young adults in Mongolia and Bangladesh. Translation and Translanguaging in Multilingual Contexts, 1 (1), 4-26.
Sultana, S. (2014). Heteroglossia and identities of young adults in Bangladesh. Linguistics and Education. 26, 40–56.
Sultana, S. (2014). Young adults’ linguistic manipulation of English in Bangla in Bangladesh. International Journal of Bilingual Education and Bilingualism. 17(1), 74-89.
Sultana, S. (2014). English as a medium of instruction in Bangladesh's higher education: Empowering or disadvantaging students? Asian EFL Journal, 16(1), 11-52.
Sultana, S. and Dovchin, S. and Pennycook, A. (2013). Styling the periphery: Linguistic and cultural takeup in Bangladesh and Mongolia. Journal of Sociolinguistics. 17(5), 687 – 710.
Sultana, S. (2012). Problematising the popular discourses about language and identity of young adults in Bangladesh. 3L: The Southeast Asian Journal of English Language Studies, Vol. 18 (4): 49 – 63.
Sultana, S. (2012). Language learning strategies (LLS) of EFL learners in Bangladesh. Journal of the Institute of Modern Languages, Vol. 23: 255-284.
Sultana, S. (2009). Universal Grammar (UG) and second language acquisition (SLA). Journal of the Institute of Modern Languages, Vol. 22: 25-38.
Sultana, S. (2007). Approaches to teaching writing. Journal of the Institute of Modern Languages, Vol. 21: 157-172.
Sultana, S. (2006). The ELT textbook: A source of cultural confrontation in the EFL classroom. Harvest: Jahangirnagar Studies in Language and Literature, Vol. 21: 103 – 120.
Sultana, S. (2005). Impact of peer feedback on writing in EFL classrooms. Journal of the Institute of Modern Languages, Vol.17 & 18: 83-110.
Sultana, S. (2004). Can formal instruction on grammar help EFL students in Bangladesh develop communicative competence? Panini: NSU Studies in Language and Literature, Vol. 2: 173-188.
Sultana, S. (2004). Teachers’ perception of grammar in English language teaching (ELT) in Bangladesh. Harvest: Jahangirnagar Studies in Language and Literature, Vol. 19: 129-139. [Jahangirnagar University]
Sultana, S. (2003). How inexperienced English language teachers can benefit from observation: A case study. Journal of the Institute of Modern Languages, Vol.16: 45-60.
Sultana, S. (2003). Teachers’ role in minimising students’ English reading anxiety at the tertiary level of education in Bangladesh. The Jahangirnagar Review Part C, Vol. XIII & XIV: 325-351.
Sultana, S. (2003). Second/foreign language (SL/FL) teachers: Why should and how can they Be extended practitioners? Critique: Islamic University Studies in Literature, Vol. 01: 113-128.
Spoke as a panellist on the role of medium of instruction in the education system in Bangladesh at ‘12th BELTA Teachers Helping Teachers’ Seminar on 15th September 2018 at Eastern University
Date: 09/15/2018
Conference Proceedings [More Info, If Any]
Presented a paper entitled Bakhtin’s Theory of Dialogue and its relevance to Applied Linguistics at a seminar for the teachers and research students in the department of English, East West University on 5th August, 2018
Presented a paper entitled TV advertisements in Bangladesh: Emerging ‘transsemiotic’ arena in an invited colloquium “The factors of everyday globalization, mediascapes and technoscapes in everyday multilingualism” chaired by Dr. Emi Otsuji (University of Technology, Sydney, Australia) in Sociolinguistics Symposium 22: Borders: South, North, East, West, held in the University of Auckland, New Zealand from 27th June 2018 to 30th June 2018
Presented a paper entitled Khaet (Hick) and the construction of others: Negotiation of identification of young adults in Bangladesh in Sociolinguistics Symposium 22: Borders: South, North, East, West, held in the University of Auckland, New Zealand from 27th June 2018 to 30th June 2018
Presented a paper entitled Invisibility as Performativity: Transgressive Gender Identity of a South Asian Woman Academic in Sociolinguistics Symposium 22: Borders: South, North, East, West, held in the University of Auckland, New Zealand from 27th June 2018 to 30th June 2018
Presented a co-authored paper entitled Transglossia and sports: Men talk and masculinity (Co-presenter: Dr. Sender Dovchin, Curtin University, Australia) in an invited colloquium “The sociolinguistics of sport: From the local to the transnational” chaired by Nick Wilson (Macquarie University) in Sociolinguistics Symposium 22: Borders: South, North, East, West, held in the University of Auckland, New Zealand from 27th June 2018 to 30th June 2018
Organised and presented a paper in a colloquium titled English, Bangla, or Both in Tertiary Education in Bangladesh arranged for the key policy-maker from the University Grant Commission of Bangladesh, scholars, academics, and research students from public and private universities in Bangladesh held on 31st March 2018
Presented a paper entitled From Heteroglossia to Transglossia: Possibilities for translinguistic movement in Sociolinguistics as a featured speaker in the 8th BELTA International Conference, held in Independent University, Dhaka, Bangladesh from 12 January to 14th January 2018
Spoke as a panellist on English Medium Instruction (EMI) in tertiary education in Bangladesh in 8th BELTA International Conference, held in Independent University, Dhaka, Bangladesh from 12 January to 14th January 2018
Presented a paper entitled Transglossia and liberated women identity in a peripheral South Asian country: Bangladesh in AILA 2017, the 18th World Congress of Applied Linguistics, held in Rio de Janeiro from 23rd July 2017 to 28th July 2017
Presented a co-authored paper entitled Youth digital practices in Asian peripheries: Transmodality, relocalization and metapragmatic awareness in a language classroom in an invited symposium “Digital language practices and critical language/media awareness for the digital age” organized by Jannis Androutsopoulos (Universität Hamburg) in AILA 2017, the 18th World Congress of Applied Linguistics, held in Rio de Janeiro from 23rd July 2017 to 28th July 2017
Presented a paper entitled Engaging with multimodal resources: Bangladeshi young adults’ emerging identities in virtual space in an invited colloquium “The sociolinguistics of global and/or globalized youth” chaired by Janus Møller (University of Copenhagen) in the 2017 conference of the American Association for Applied Linguistics (AAAL), held in Portland, Oregon, USA from 18th March to 21st March, 2017
Presented a paper entitled Lingua Franca English (LFE) in emergence: Virtual space in Sociolinguistics Symposium 21 on 16th June 2016, Murcia, Spain
Presented a co-authored paper entitled Popular Culture in Transglossic Language Practices of Young Adults with Dr. Sender Dovchin in Sociolinguistics Symposium 21 on 15th June 2016, Murcia, Spain
Presented a paper entitled Young adults transgressing language and identity in Bangladesh in the 7th BELTA International Conference, 2015 on 3rd January 2015, Dhaka, Bangladesh
Presented a paper entitled Education background: A marker of identification in Flow, 2012 FASS Postgraduate Research Student Conference on 2nd November 2012, UTS, Australia
Presented a paper entitled Multivocality and young adults’ language practices in Bangladesh in 7th University of Sydney TESOL Research Network Colloquium on 1st September, 2012, University of Sydney, Australia
Presented a paper entitled Heteroglossic language of young adults in Bangladesh in the NSW Institute of Educational Research (IER) Conference held on 19 October 2012, University of Notre Dame, Australia
Presented a paper entitled The practice turn in research on identity in the conference Canberra Langfest 2011 arranged by ALAA, ALANZ, and ALS on 30th November – 2nd December, 2011, Australia
Presented a paper entitled Language practices of a group of young adults in Bangladesh in the Postgraduate Research in Education Conference at the University of New South Wales on 4th November, 2011, Australia
Presented a paper entitled Communities of Practice (COP) dissected in FASS Research Student Seminar arranged by FASS, UTS on 4th and 5th June, 2010
Presented a paper entitled Redressing balance in the classroom: How medium of instruction can either include or exclude in a seminar “8th International Language and Development Conference 2009: Socio-cultural Issues and Challenges” arranged by British Council, Bangladesh and DFID (Department for International Development)
Presented a paper entitled Teachers’ role in minimising students’ English reading anxiety at the tertiary level of education in Bangladesh in a seminar “Views and Reviews 2003” arranged by the department of English, Jahangirnagar University
Presented a paper entitled The impact of peer feedback on writing in an EFL classroom at the tertiary level of education in Bangladesh in the 3rd international conference 2005, “The Effective Teaching of English in Bangladesh: Pedagogy and Best Practices” organised by the department of English, Stamford University
Presented a paper entitled EFL textbooks and cultural confrontation in EFL classrooms in the 3rd international conference 2005, “ELT in Context: Future Direction” organised by BELTA (Bangladesh English Language Teachers Association) at British Council, Dhaka, Bangladesh
Attended a workshop “Strengthening teachers’ association” from 1st April - 5th April, 2007 at BCDM Rajendrapur arranged by British Council, Bangladesh
Conducted a workshop on how to develop critical language awareness of secondary English language teachers in Bangladesh organized by the University of Liberal Arts and American Cultural Centre, US Embassy, Bangladesh on 23rd September, 2018
Date: 09/23/2018
Works [More Info, If Any]
Conducted a workshop on how to write research proposals for English language and literature and applied linguistics teachers at the tertiary level of education in Bangladesh organised by American Cultural Centre, US Embassy, Bangladesh and BELTA (Bangladesh English Language Teachers Association) on 15th March, 2018
Conducted a day-long workshop for the teachers in English Discipline at the American Internationals University of Bangladesh (AIUB) in 5th September, 2017
Conducted a workshop on how to develop research questions for English language and literature and applied linguistics teachers and students at the tertiary level of education in Bangladesh organised by University of Liberal Arts on 31st May, 2017
Regularly arrange workshops on different aspects of research design for MA and PhD students in the Department of English Language, Institute of Modern Languages, University of Dhaka