Michael Karas

Assistant Professor, Applied Linguistics

Michael Karas with a bookcase in the background.

PhD (University of Western Ontario)

Office: MCD 450H
905-688-5550 x3580
mkaras@brocku.ca

Michael Karas completed his PhD in Applied Linguistics at the University of Western Ontario in 2019. Before this, he worked as an English language teacher in South Korea, China and Canada. More recently, Michael has worked as a (language) teacher educator at the University of Western Ontario and Renison University College, University of Waterloo. He is a certified English language teacher (OCELT) and theory/methodology instructor with TESL Ontario. Michael’s work has been published in numerous refereed journals. A full list of his publications can be found on his Google Scholar page.

Research Interests

  • Language teacher self-efficacy
  • Language teacher education (LTE)
  • Reflective practice
  • Language teacher proficiency
  • Learner silence and reticence
  • Synthesis and meta-analysis

Publications

Refereed Articles

  • Chen, L., Karas, M., Shalizar, M., & Piccardo, E. (2022). From ‘promising controversies’ to negotiated practices: A research synthesis of plurilingual pedagogy in global contexts. TESL Canada Journal/Revue TESL Du Canada, 38(2), p 1-35. https://doi.org/10.18806/tesl.v38i2.1354
  • Karas, M., & Uchihara, T. (2021). Silence: A duoethnography. Journal of Silence Studies in Education, 1(1), 64-75. https://doi.org/10.31763/jsse.v1i1.5
  • Karas, M., & Faez, F. (2021). Self-efficacy of English language teachers in Ontario: The impact of language proficiency, teaching qualifications, linguistic identity, and teaching experience. Canadian Modern Language Review/La Revue Canadienne des Langues Vivantes, 77(2), 110-128. https://doi.org/10.3138/cmlr-2020-0012
  • Faez, F., Karas, M., & Uchihara, T. (2021). Connecting language proficiency to teaching ability: A meta-analysis. Language Teaching Research, 25(5), 754-777. doi: 10.1177/1362168819868667
  • Huang, P., & Karas, M. (2020). Artefacts as “co-participants” in duoethnography. TESL Canada Journal/Revue TESL Du Canada, 37(3), 64-74. https://doi.org/10.18806/tesl.v37i3.1344
  • Faez, F., & Karas, M. (2020). Teacher perceptions of best practices in English language teaching. Asian Journal of English Language Teaching, 29, 77-94.
  • Karas, M., & Faez, F. (2020). What level of proficiency do teachers need to teach English in different settings? Perceptions of novice teachers in Canada. TESL-EJ, 24(2), 1-21.
  • Karas, M. (2020). Book Review of Bao, D. (Ed.) (2018). Creativity and innovations in ELT materials development: Looking beyond the current design. Bristol, UK: Multilingual Matters. TESOL Journal, 11(1), 1-3. doi: https://doi.org/10.1002/tesj.428
  • Faez. F., & Karas, M. (2019). Language Proficiency Development of Non-native English-Speaking Teachers (NNESTs) in an MA TESOL Program. TESL-EJ, 22(4), 1-16.
  • Faez, F., & Karas, M. (2017). Connecting language proficiency to (self-reported) teaching ability: A review. RELC Journal, 48(1), 135-151. doi: 10.1177/0033688217694755
  • Karas, M. (2017). Turn-taking and silent learning during open class discussions. ELT Journal, 71(1), 13-23. doi: 10.1093/elt/ccw051

Book Chapters

  • Karas, M., Uchihara, T., & Faez, F. (2024). Language teacher self-efficacy surveys: What have we learned? Where are we going? In M. Wyatt & F. Faez (Eds.) Building the self-efficacy beliefs of English language learners and teachers: New perspectives for research, teaching, and learning (pp. 22-43). Routledge. doi: 10.4324/9781003379300-3
  • Karas, M., Martini, J., & Faez, F. (2022). Duoethnography for reflective practice: Triumphs and challenges. In Z. Tajeddin & Y. Watanabe (Eds.) Teacher Reflection: Policies, practices and impacts – Studies in honor of Thomas S.C. Farrell (pp. 120-134). Multilingual Matters.
  • Faez, F., & Karas, M. (2021). Preparation of teachers of EAL in Canada: Research, policy, curriculum, and practice. In N. Polat, L. Matalingappa & H. Kayi-Aydar (Eds.) Preparation of teachers of English as an additional language (EAL) around the world: Research, policy, curriculum, and practice (pp. 32-51). Bristol, UK: Multilingual Matters.
  • Karas, M., & Faez, F. (2020). Communicative language teaching and silence: Chinese (pre-service) teachers’ perspectives. In J. King & S. Harumi (Eds.) East Asian perspectives on silence in English language education (pp. 105-122). Bristol, UK: Multilingual Matters.
  • Faez, F., Cooke, S., Karas, M., & Vidwans, M. (2017). Examining the effectiveness of online discussion forums for teacher development. In T. Farrell (Ed.) TESOL voices: Insider accounts of classroom life – preservice teacher education (pp. 7-12). Virginia: TESOL Press.

Courses

Michael’s teaching at Brock has included:

  • LING 1F25 Study of Language
  • LING 3Q91 Second Language Acquisition and Learning
  • LING 4P25 Research Practicum
  • LING 4P83 Teaching Reading and Writing in a Second Language
  • LING 5P00 Foundations of Language Teaching and Learning
  • LING 5P01 Sociolinguistics Applied to Language Teaching and Learning
  • LING 5P02 Pedagogical Grammar: Theory, Research and Practice

Service

Michael has an active service record. He has served as Book Review Editor for the TESL Canada Journal since 2019, and before this, he served as an Editorial Assistant between 2017-2020. At the TESOL International Convention, he served as a Coordinator for the TESOL Doctoral Forum in 2017 and 2018. Currently, he is the TESL Ontario Academic Coordinator for the Department of Applied Linguistics.