Dr. Ziyad Ali

English for Academic Purposes (EAP) Tutor

Centre for English Language Education

• PhD in Applied Linguistics (TESOL): University of Bristol, School of Education, Bristol, UK.
• MA in ELT: University of Warwick, Centre for Applied Linguistics, Coventry, UK.
• PGDip in Educational Rehabilitation: Tishreen University, Department of Education, Latakia, Syria.
• PGDip in Linguistic Studies: Tishreen University, Department of English Language and Literature, Latakia, Syria.
• BA in English Language and Literature: Tishreen University, Department of English Language and Literature, Latakia, Syria.

I have always been fascinated by ‘language’, ‘cognition’ and ‘culture’ and the intricate relationship between these three topics. This passion began in my childhood when I heard amazing stories about 'Ugaritic', one of the oldest known alphabets, discovered in the ancient city of Ugarit located six miles north of Latakia (my hometown) on the Mediterranean coast of Syria. Driven by a genuine curiosity about how a new language can affect the way I perceive the world, I decided to study the English language. I started my university studies in Syria where I completed a BA in English Language and Literature followed by two PGDips: one in Linguistic Studies and the other in Education. Shortly after I earned my education diploma, I was awarded a scholarship to study in the UK where I obtained an MA in ELT and a PhD in Applied Linguistics. After receiving my doctoral degree, I worked as an assistant teacher at the University of Bristol where I contributed to the teaching and assessment of the full-time MSc TESOL programme. This was followed by my three-year journey of teaching EAP at the universities of Bath, Nottingham and Southampton. Most recently, I worked as an ESOL lecturer at City of Bristol College in Bristol before joining UNNC in February 2023. In my spare time, I like reading psychology books, Arabic poetry and perfume reviews. I also like running, although this often presents me with a big challenge: Where do I put my house keys!

• Applied Linguistics: I have the experience of teaching the following core units at different universities: ‘Intercultural Pragmatics and Communication’, ‘Analysing Language for TESOL’, ‘Second Language Learning’ and ‘Research Methods for TESOL’.
• EAP: I have the experience of teaching the following modules at UNNC: ‘RWAC’, ‘ESACa’, ‘OCSa’ and ‘OCSb’.

Cross-cultural, Intercultural and Interlanguage Pragmatics, Im/politeness Theory, Sociolinguistics, Second Language Acquisition, Teaching English For Academic Purposes, Translation.

• Ali, Z. and Woodfield, H. (2017). A Cross-sectional Study of Syrian EFL Learners’ Pragmatic Development: Towards a Taxonomy of Modification in Interlanguage Requests. In I. Kecskes and S. Assimakopoulos (Eds.), Current Issues in Intercultural Pragmatics (pp. 297-322). Amsterdam/Pheladelphia: John Benjamins. https://benjamins.com/catalog/pbns.274.14ali 

2014 • The 6th Intercultural Pragmatics Conference at Malta University, Valletta, Malta.    

2015 • AAAL Conference in Toronto, Ontario, Canada.    

2016 • EUROSLA 26 in Jyväskylä, Finland.