George Whitehead

Dr. George Whitehead

Lecturer

he / him / his

Biography

George E.K. Whitehead is Full-time Lecturer in the Language & Literacy Education Department at the University of British Columbia. He completed his B.A. (Linguistics) at Simon Fraser University, his M.A. (TEFL/TESL) at the University of Birmingham, and his Ph.D. (Education) at the University of Leicester. Prior to joining UBC, George was Associate Professor and Chair of the English Language Teaching Department  in the Graduate School of TESOL at Hankuk University of Foreign Studies in South Korea where he resided for 16 years.  

George’s specialization and research interests lie in areas related to L2 teacher education and context-specific language teaching and learning practices around the world. In understanding the complex and dynamic nature of language teaching and learning, his work focuses on seeking to better understand what works for whom and in what situations. His published work has appeared in journals such as The Modern Language Journal, System, Language Teaching Research, and TESOL Quarterly. 

Selected Projects, Media, or Publications

Whitehead, G. E., & Hiver, P. (2025)

Rethinking the language-teacher knowledge base: Exploring core pedagogical content competencies in Korean public secondary-school language teachers. Language Teaching Research, 0(0). https://doi.org/10.1177/13621688251352281

Whitehead, G. E. & Arslan, S. (2025)

Bridging the theory and practice divide in pre-service language teacher education: A focus on teacher educators’ expertise from in-service teachers’ vantage point. Social Sciences & Humanities Open, Volume 12. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ssaho.2025.101656

Whitehead, G. E. & Greenier, V. (2025)

Nurturing Leadership in Language Teachers: Exploring the Why, What, and How in Pre-Service Education Programs. Second Language Teacher Education. https://doi.org/10.3138/slte-29423-Whitehead

Whitehead, G.E.K., Moodie, I. & Al-Hoorie, A.H. (2025)

“I’m going to stay…”: Exploring Factors Impacting English Language Teachers Occupational and Organizational Commitment. English Teaching & Learning. https://doi.org/10.1007/s42321-025-00209-z

Whitehead, G. E., & Ryu, Y. (2023)

“I am not a native speaker…”: Exploring the perceived pronunciation teaching difficulties faced by Korean public elementary school English teachers. System, 103056.

Jones, A. G., Whitehead, G. E., & Bang, H. (2022)

Exploring the impacts of a South Korean alternative school on North Korean refugees’ educational attitudes, satisfaction, and behavior. Current Psychology, 1-19. https://doi.org/10.1007/s12144-021-02518-5

Arslan, S., & Whitehead, G. E. (2022)

Fostering pre-service teachers’ perceived ability to implement dialogic teaching in Turkey: Examining the contributing factors of an intensive short-term teacher education program from the teacher-learners’ vantage point. Language Teaching Research, Advance online publication. https://doi.org/10.1177/13621688221093755 

Lim, J., Whitehead, G. E., & Choi, Y. (2021)

Interactive e-book reading vs. paper-based reading: Comparing the effects of different mediums on middle school students’ reading comprehension. System, 97, 102434. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.system.2020.102434

Hiver, P., Solarte, A. C. S., Whiteside, Z., Kim, C. J., & Whitehead, G. E. (2021)

The role of language teacher metacognition and executive function in exemplary classroom practice. The Modern Language Journal, 105(2), 484–506. https://doi.org/10.1111/modl.12707

Whitehead, G. E., & Greenier, V. T. (2019). Beyond good teaching practices: Language teacher leadership from the learners’ perspective. TESOL Quarterly, 53(4), 960-985. https://doi.org/10.1002/tesq.526  

Whitehead, G., Ramos, I., & Coates, A. (2019). Developing effective teacher talk: A critical self-examination of an ESP syllabus designed for in-service teachers. Journal of Asia TEFL. 16 (1), 178-199. 

Hiver, P., & Whitehead, G. (2018). Sites of struggle: Classroom practice and the complex dynamic entanglement of language teacher agency and identity. System, 79, 70-80. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.system.2018.04.015 

Hiver, P., & Whitehead, G. (2018). Teaching metacognitively: Adaptive inside-out thinking in the L2 classroom. In C. Bjørke, M. Dypedahl, & Å. Haukås (Eds.), Metacognition in language learning and teaching (pp.241-262). Routledge.  

Greenier, V., & Whitehead, G. (2016). Towards a model of teacher leadership in ELT: Authentic leadership in classroom practice. RELC Journal, 47(1), 79–95. https://doi.org/10.1177/0033688216631203