Lukasz Pakula

Lecturer for Business English and Intercultural Competence

• Business English (English for Macroeconomics, English for Business and Entrepreneurship)
• Intercultural Communication for Business and Management
• English for Specific and Academic Purposes (ESP/EAP)
• Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI) in Language Education and Business Contexts
• Curriculum Development and Language Assessment (CEFR, Pearson Global Scale of English)
• AI-Enhanced Language Teaching and Digital Competence

Selected professional roles and affiliations:

• Editorial Board member, Gender and Language (Equinox / University of Toronto Press), since 2020
• Language editor, Journal of Gender and Power (Adam Mickiewicz University Press), since 2014
• Peer reviewer for Cambridge University Press, SAGE Open, John Benjamins, and Equinox Publishing
• Pearson Global Scale of English (GSE) Ambassador
• Judge, Pearson English Language Teacher Awards 2025
• Member of the Academic Committee, 13th IGALA Conference (Montevideo, 2025)
• Member, British Association for Applied Linguistics (BAAL)
• Member, International Gender and Language Association (IGALA)
• Member, International Association of Teachers of English as a Foreign Language (IATEFL)

• Business English and Professional Communication
• Intercultural Communication for Business
• English for Academic Purposes (EAP) and Academic Writing
• English for Specific Purposes (ESP): Healthcare, STEM, Law, Retail
• English Grammar and Pronunciation (British English)

My teaching bridges applied linguistics and business practice. I bring over 15 years of experience in designing and delivering curricula for diverse learner cohorts across academia, healthcare, technology, and the corporate sector. My courses integrate task-based learning, real-world case studies, and reflective practice, drawing on current developments in intercultural communication, sociolinguistics, and AI-supported pedagogy. I actively incorporate tools such as the Pearson Global Scale of English alongside CEFR for formative and summative assessment. My aim is to equip students not only with language proficiency but with the critical intercultural competence and digital literacy they need to thrive in international business environments.

• Applied Linguistics and Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI)
• Critical Discourse Studies and Corpus Linguistics
• Lexicography and the Discursive Construction of Identity
• Language, Gender, and Sexuality in Educational Contexts
• Intercultural Communication and Business Discourse
• AI and Technology in Language Education

My research sits at the intersection of applied linguistics, critical discourse studies, and DEI. I investigate how language shapes and reflects identities in educational and professional settings, with a particular focus on how disenfranchised identities are represented in lexicographic works and educational materials. My doctoral research (Faculty of Educational Studies, Adam Mickiewicz University) examines how the publishing industry constructs gender and sexuality in dictionary microstructures. Building on this foundation, my future research programme will examine how for-profit companies and NGOs discursively construct themselves as inclusive organisations — an area largely overlooked by applied linguistic research. Drawing on corpus linguistics, critical discourse studies, and narrative enquiry, this work will analyse corporate communications, focus group data, and interviews with DEI leads, with the aim of producing actionable insights for talent attraction, retention, and organisational culture. I plan to seek funding from German and European bodies, including the DFG and Horizon Europe.

(selected)

Edited Volume

• Pakuła, Łukasz (ed.). 2021. Linguistic Perspectives on Sexuality in Education: Representations, Constructions and Negotiations. Language, Gender and Sexuality. Cham: Springer International Publishing.

Peer-Reviewed and Scholarly Contributions

• Chojnicka, Joanna and Łukasz Pakuła. 2021. "Polish LGBT Teachers Talking Sexuality: Glocalized Discourses," in: Pakuła (ed.), Linguistic Perspectives on Sexuality in Education. Springer, 275–313.
• Pakuła, Łukasz. 2021. "Heteronormativity and Dictionaries: A Look Back," in: Pakuła (ed.), Linguistic Perspectives on Sexuality in Education. Springer, 77–118.
• Pakuła, Łukasz. 2021. "Introduction: Language and Sexuality Studies are Crucial for Inclusive Education," in: Pakuła (ed.), Linguistic Perspectives on Sexuality in Education. Springer, 1–25.
• Pakuła, Łukasz and Joanna Chojnicka. 2020. "When the Obligation to be Neutral Becomes the Right to Discriminate: Discursive Struggles over LGBT+ Rights at Polish Universities," Trabalhos em Linguística Aplicada 59(3): 1758–1783.
• Pakuła, Łukasz. 2019. "Befriending the Risk(s) in Language, Sexuality, and Education Research: Blueprinting for a Taxonomy of Risks," in: Online Proceedings of the 51st BAAL Annual Meeting. York St John University, 86–90.
• Pakuła, Łukasz, Joanna Pawelczyk and Jane Sunderland. 2015. Gender and Sexuality in English Language Education: Focus on Poland. London: British Council.
• Pawelczyk, Joanna and Łukasz Pakuła. 2015. "Constructing Gender and Sexuality in the EFL Classroom in Poland," in: Mills and Mustapha (eds.), Gender Representations in Learning Materials. London: Routledge, 193–212.
• Pawelczyk, Joanna, Łukasz Pakuła and Jane Sunderland. 2014. "Issues of Power in Relation to Gender and Sexuality in the EFL Classroom," Journal of Gender and Power 1(1): 49–66.
• Pakuła, Łukasz. 2010. "Seeing through Dictionaries: On Defining Basic Colour Terms in English, Japanese and Polish Lexicography," in: Dykstra and Schoonheim (eds.), Proceedings of the XIV EURALEX International Congress. Ljouwert: Afûk.

Co-Edited Volume

• Połczyńska, Monika, Łukasz Pakuła and Dorota Jaworska (eds.). 2013. Young Linguists’ Insights: Taking Interdisciplinary Approaches to the Fore. Poznań: Faculty of English, Adam Mickiewicz University Press.

A full list of publications is available at lukaszpakula.com/publications

Current Research

• Discursive construction of sexual and gender identities and practices in pedagogical and general-use dictionaries of English (doctoral research, Adam Mickiewicz University in Poznań)
• In preparation: Inclusive organisations through the lens of applied linguistics: How companies and NGOs discursively construct DEI

Completed Projects

• British Council ELTRP-funded project: "Investigating Gender and Sexuality in the ESL Classroom: Raising Publishers’, Teachers’ and Students’ Awareness" (£15,000; with Prof. Jane Sunderland and Prof. Joanna Pawelczyk), 2013–2014
• Case study in language and social justice: Amplifying discursive resistance in higher education (with Prof. Joanna Chojnicka), 2020–2021
• Young Linguists’ Meeting in Poznań — international conference series (founder and head organiser, 2009–2014; up to 350 participants from 25 countries)

Academic Education

2025-present: Ph.D. in Educational Studies, Faculty of Educational Studies, Adam Mickiewicz University in Poznań, Poland (viva scheduled 2026). Advisor: Prof. dr hab. Agnieszka Gromkowska-Melosik

2009–2015: Ph.D. studies in English Linguistics, Faculty of English, Adam Mickiewicz University in Poznań, Poland. (no viva) Advisor: Prof. dr hab. Arleta Adamska-Sałaciak

2010–2011: ERASMUS Research Stay, Department of Linguistics and English Language, Lancaster University, UK. Supervisor: Prof. dr Paul Baker

2012: EU-funded Research Stay, Institut für Anglistik und Amerikanistik, Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin, Germany. Supervisor: Prof. Lothar Peter

2012: Clifford & Mary Corbridge Trust Research Stay, University of Oxford, UK

2007–2009: M.A. in English Linguistics, Faculty of English, Adam Mickiewicz University in Poznań, Poland

2004–2007: B.A. in English Linguistics, Faculty of English, Adam Mickiewicz University in Poznań, Poland

Professional Experience

2025–present: Adjunct Lecturer, Hochschule München / Munich University of Applied Sciences, Germany. Teaching Business English at HM Business School (English for Macroeconomics, English for Business and Entrepreneurship). Designing targeted materials, facilitating task-based learning, integrating AI-enhanced pedagogy.

2024–present: Adjunct Assistant Professor, University of Maryland Global Campus, Germany. Teaching Academic Writing, Research Writing, Advanced Technical Writing, and Introduction to Research for undergraduate students.

2015–present: Head of Studies and Co-Founder, choices® poland / choices global GmbH. Leading a team of 80+ teachers across Europe. Designing bespoke Business English and intercultural communication curricula for corporate clients including AB Agri (Associated British Foods), Żabka (CVC Capital Partners), Novartis, Mitsubishi Electric, and Spar. Delivering leadership workshops and DEI-focused talks at McKinsey & Company and Franklin Templeton. Overseeing recruitment process design with emphasis on English as a lingua franca.

2009–2016: Academic Researcher and Teacher (Ph.D. studies), Adam Mickiewicz University in Poznań, Poland. Teaching British English phonetics, Academic Writing, English Grammar (B2–C2), and communication skills. Organising international academic conferences (YLMP series).

2011–2013: ESP Lecturer, Poznań University of Technology, Poland. Teaching English for engineering, logistics, technical physics, and architecture.

2009–2012: English for Academic and Special Purposes Teacher, Poznań University of Medical Sciences, Poland. Teaching medical English and academic communication to university staff.

• Cambridge University Press (peer book reviewer)
• Gender and Language (Equinox Publishing)
• Journal of Language and Sexuality (John Benjamins)
• Journal of Language and Discrimination (Equinox Publishing)
• SAGE Open (SAGE Journals)
• Studia Anglica Posnaniensia

• British Association for Applied Linguistics (BAAL)
• International Gender and Language Association (IGALA)
• International Association of Teachers of English as a Foreign Language (IATEFL)
• IATEFL Business English Special Interest Group (BESIG)

Find more about me here: https://lukaszpakula.com/