CCPL Members

Funda Çetin (The Head of the Unit)

Funda Çetin is a graduate of Marmara University and taught at Bilkent University before joining Izmir University of Economics in 2002. She holds COTE (Certificate for Overseas Teachers of English-Cambridge University) and CEELT (Cambridge Examination in English for Language Teachers) certificates. She is an approved Cambridge ESOL Young Learners Oral Examiner, and a CELTA and ICELT tutor for Cambridge ESOL Teaching Awards. She holds the Cambridge ESOL DELTA qualification. She is involved in in-service training and teacher development in her current position.

Asst. Prof. Dr. Bahar Gün

Asst. Prof. Dr. Bahar Gün received her BA in ELT from the Education Faculty, Anadolu University in 1989; her MA from the MA TEFL Program at Bilkent University in 1991, and her PhD in ELT from Anadolu University in 1998. She is in charge of in-service teacher training and teacher development programs at SFL. Her research interests include EFL teacher education in general, and teacher cognition and reflective teaching and learning in particular.

Dr. Mehmet Haldun Kaya

Mehmet Haldun Kaya graduated with high honors from the Foreign Language Education Department, Faculty of Education, Middle East Technical University. He was awarded a Master of Arts degree by the Curriculum and Instruction Department, Institute of Educational Sciences, Dokuz Eylül University. He also holds the Cambridge Diploma in Teaching English to Speakers of Other Languages (DELTA with Distinction). He completed his PhD in ‘Educational Technologies’ at Bahçeşehir University, Institute of Educational Sciences, Computer and Instructional Technologies Department. He has publications on teacher development and educational technologies in ELT. Additionally, he is a Cambridge English-approved CELTA tutor. Dr. M. Haldun Kaya has been working as both an instructor and a trainer at the IUE School of Foreign Languages since 2002.

Anita Afacan

Anita Afacan has over 25 years teaching experience in universities in the United Kingdom and Turkey. After joining Izmir University of Economics in 2003, she has worked as a senior instructor and materials development member in the Freshman English Program. In September 2015, she became part of the teacher development unit for freshman instructors.

Kelci de Haas

Kelci is the current course coordinator for ENG 410. She started her career as an English teacher in Peru in 2015, before moving to Turkey and working at a university. She has taught all age groups and levels, and moved to a private language institution in 2018. She became a teacher trainer in 2020 and has worked on almost 15 CELTA courses, with candidates and students from around the world. She became certified as an online English teacher and trainer in early 2020. She completed all three modules of her Delta, and is interested in material development, language education for teachers, and learner autonomy.

Tuğçe Erkmen

Tuğçe Erkmen graduated from the Department of English Linguistics at Hacettepe University, Faculty of Letters, in 2011. She received a Pedagogical Formation Certificate from Hacettepe University, Faculty of Education, in 2010. From 2012 to 2016, she worked as a lecturer and a member of the Testing and Assessment Unit at the preparatory schools of various universities in Izmir. In 2013, she obtained a Certificate in Testing, Assessment, and Evaluation from the Norwich Institute for Language Education (NILE) and also holds the CELTA (Certificate in English Language Teaching to Adults) qualification. She completed her MA in English Language Teaching at Hacettepe University in 2022 and participated in several training programs, including the Cambridge Train the Trainer course and SLTEP at Sabancı University in 2024. In addition to her teaching responsibilities, she also serves as a coordinator and has recently joined the Centre for Continuous Professional Learning (CCPL). Tuğçe Erkmen has been working at the School of Foreign Languages at Izmir University of Economics since 2016.

Emrah Geniş

Emrah Genis received his BA and MA in the Department of American Culture and Literature from Ege University. He also holds a TESOL Certificate from Arizona State University. He has been teaching English since 2010. During his career so far, he has contributed to different academic units, including the Academic Writing Unit and the Student Support Unit. Additionally, Emrah has held positions as the SAT Test Coordinator and AP Coordinator. He became part of the CCPL in 2024.

Antonio Ramirez

Antonio Ramirez graduated from Universidad Rafael Urdaneta in Maracaibo, Venezuela and got a degree in Computer Engineering. He got a masters degree in Computer Information Systems from Southern New Hampshire University in the United States. It was here when he started pursuing teaching as a career opportunity by teaching Spanish to coworkers. His responsibilities as an analyst/trainer in a software company helped him develop his teaching skills. In 2000 he moved to Istanbul, Turkey where he began teaching Spanish and English to university students and since then he has held several teaching positions. He enrolled in a Teacher Formation Program and received a certificate from Instituto Cervantes in Istanbul. He worked as a Spanish instructor in foreign language schools such as Dilmer and Bati Dilleri in Istanbul. He worked as an English instructor providing English consultancy services to companies such as Carrefour, FOX TV, AstraZeneca, MultiTurk Development, and Turkiye Gazetesi. In 2010 he started working at Izmir University of Economics as a Spanish Instructor.

Necan Saygaç

Necan Saygaç graduated from Italian Language and Literature at Ankara University, in 2000. From 2000 to 2006, she worked as an Italian teacher at A.Ü.Tömer, language course centre. She attended the 'Teacher Trainer' training organized by Anatolia Training Institute (ATI) in 2015 and was entitled to receive a certificate. She has been working at Izmir University of Economics since 2006. She currently works as an Instructor of Italian language in Second Foreign Languages Department and she has a facilitator role at CCPL.

Nilcan Yavuz Sekkin

Nilcan Yavuz Sekkin graduated from Ankara University with a degree in Italian Language and Literature in 2000. She has worked for various international companies in İzmir. In 2003, she obtained a Certificate in Teaching Italian as a Second Foreign Language from Siena University for Foreigners. She completed a foreign language course at the University of Pisa in 1996 and received a Professional Licensed Tour Guide Certificate from the Ministry of Tourism in 2002. In 2011, she completed training to become a TELC and CELI examiner. In 2015, she participated in the Teacher Trainer program organized by the Anatolia Training Institute and received a certificate. Since 2004, she has been working as an Italian instructor in the Second Foreign Languages Department at İzmir University of Economics, where she also serves as a facilitator at CCPL.