Parisa Mehran, PhD
Applied Linguist | Lecturer in Business Communication | Learning Futurist | Educational Technologist | AI Advisor | Interdisciplinary & Equity-Minded Educator-Researcher
Applied Linguist | Lecturer in Business Communication | Learning Futurist | Educational Technologist | AI Advisor | Interdisciplinary & Equity-Minded Educator-Researcher
Welcome to my digital academic portfolio!
I am a learning futurist dedicated to exploring and designing technologies that can better shape the future of education. I have taught English at universities in Iran and Japan, and I currently serve as a tenured lecturer in Business Communication and an AI advisor on the Ed-Tech Team at the International School of Business, HAN University of Applied Sciences, in Arnhem, the Netherlands.
My educational journey began at Alzahra University in Tehran, where I earned a BA in English Language and Literature and an MA in Teaching English as a Foreign Language (TEFL). My passion for integrating technology into language teaching and learning led me to Osaka University in Japan, where I completed my PhD in Computer Assisted Language Learning (CALL). In 2014, I obtained the Japanese Government Scholarship (MEXT), which provided me with the opportunity to pursue further education in Japan.
My research interests are interdisciplinary and include online and blended course design, mixed, augmented, and virtual realities (MAVR), AI in language education, as well as social justice in education, leading to my role as a DEI advisor, where I advocate for diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI), Global Englishes, and multilingualism at my international school. I have contributed to these fields through multiple publications and presentations at international conferences.
When I am not in the classroom, you can find me boxing, Sama dancing, playing Tanbur, enjoying Persian poetry, particularly the works of Forough Farrokhzad, doing embroidery, learning new languages, and blogging about language teaching and learning.
My first name is Parisa (پریسا) /ˈpærɪsā/, which is an Iranian name meaning “like a fairy”, and easy to remember: “Paris” plus “a” 🙂
My last name, Mehran (مهران) /ˈmehrān/, is derived from the term mehr (sun), relating to Mithra, an ancient Zoroastrian Persian deity.