About me
Merhaba - Hello! I am a lecturer in English Language Teaching Department at Erzincan Binali Yıldırım University. I hold a Ph.D. in Linguistics from Lancaster University (2022), where I also received my MA in Applied Linguistics and TESOL in 2017. Both are funded by the Turkish Ministry of National Education.
I am broadly interested in the socio-phonetic basis of (second) language learning and processing. In my thesis, I studied how regional dialects and L1 phonology influence L2 English speech production of Turkish learners.
In my MA thesis, I looked at how employing various task types for speaking performance evaluation affects L2 performance in terms of accuracy, complexity, and lexical proficiency.
Additionaly, I am interested in language variation and change in Turkish. Currently I am currently working on three projects;
Here you can find my CV
Education
- PhD: Linguistics, Lancaster University, 2022
- MA: Applied Linguistics and TESOL, Lancaster University, 2017
- BA: English Language Teaching, Marmara University, 2014
Skills
ELAN
Praat
R
Publications
3. Carr, Anne, Aksu, Bahar, et al. (2025) Chapter 'Collaborative Partnerships: Epistemic Fluency, Transcultural Competence and the Sustainability of Identity' In: (eds) Beelen, J. & Agnew, M., Critical Internationalization in Higher Education: An evidence-Based Approach to Ethical Global Engagement. Routledge
2. Aksu, Bahar (2023) Regional Dialect Influence on L2 English Production: BATH-STRUT-LOT Triangle for L1 Turkish Speakers. In: Radek Skarnitzl & Jan Volín (Eds.), Proceedings of the 20th International Congress of Phonetic Sciences (pp. 2632–2635). Guarant International. [pdf]
1. Aksu, Bahar (2023) Türkçe Sesbilim Araştırmaları için Kapsamlı Bir Metin Arayışı: "Rüzgar ile Güneş" ve "Yalancı Çoban" Metinlerinin Karşılaştırılması. Akademik Dil ve Edebiyat Dergisi 7(1) [pdf]
Oral Presentations
2. Aksu, Bahar (August, 2023) Individual variation of the voiced affricate among young speakers of Trabzon Turkish (Conference Presentation) ICTL: 21st International Conference on Turkish Linguistics,Johannes Gutenberg University, Mainz, Germany
1. Aksu, Bahar (2022) Voiced affricate variation in L2 speech production: does native dialect play a role? (Conference presentation). BAAP 2022: Colloquium of the British Association of Academic Phoneticians, University of York (online), York, United Kingdom. [pdf]
Teaching
My experience in teaching varies greatly. I have two years experience of teaching English to young learners between 2012 - 2014. From 2014 to 2016, I worked as an English instructor at Karadeniz Technical University and in private language schools respectively. I have 4 years of experience in teaching English to different age and proficiency level of L2 speaekers.
I am the convenor of the following modules at EBYU ELT department.
- Listening and Pronunciation I-II
- Linguistics-I/II
- World Englishes and Cultures
- Community Service Practices
- Second Language Acquisiton
- Teaching Practicum