Innovation in Language Learning

Dr M. Gregory (Greg) Tweedie is Associate Professor of Language and Literacy at the Werklund School of Education, University of Calgary, Canada.

He holds a PhD in Education with a focus on Applied Linguistics from the University of Southern Queensland. Dr Tweedie's teaching and research has been shaped by his experiences as a language education teacher and trainer across various regions, including East, Southeast, and Central Asia, the Middle East, Canada, and his native Australia.

Dr Greg’s research interests lie primarily in the field of applied linguistics, with a particular focus on the role of English as a communicative tool in international professional contexts. His work explores how individuals from diverse linguistic backgrounds use English as a lingua franca, especially in healthcare settings. He is also keenly interested in the potential of technologies such as natural language processing, machine learning, and deep neural networks to enhance language teaching, learning and assessment.

Dr Greg’s work in technological innovations for language teaching and testing led to his acceptance into the Google Research Innovators program, where he served both as a member and mentor. His research project on machine learning predictive technologies for language testing, funded by the Google Research Education Credits program, was recently featured in the Google Cloud blog. Other recent funded research projects include explainable artificial intelligence for language testing (MITACS Canada), and cross-assessment test correlation for measuring language proficiency of international healthcare professionals (Social Sciences & Humanities Research Council of Canada).

With research interests intersecting applied linguistics, healthcare communication and technology, his research work has resulted in the publication of three books, along with multiple book chapters and journal articles. Dr Greg recently served as Guest Editor for a Special Issue on International Medical English for the English for Specific Purposes journal, and is a frequent contributor to national and international conferences on language teaching and assessment.

In addition to his research, Dr Greg is a passionate educator. He has received several accolades for his teaching, including the University of Calgary Award for Teaching in Online Environments from the Taylor Institute of Teaching and Learning, and he was a nominee for the Dedicated Teacher Award by Cambridge University Press in 2022. He is a member of the University of Calgary’s Teaching Academy, and currently serves as Director of the Centre for Teaching and Learning at the University’s Qatar campus. Dr Greg teaches a variety of courses at the University of Calgary, including Program & Practice Evaluation; Teaching English as an Additional Language; Language Testing; Language Curriculum Design; Professional Learning for K-12; and Educational Research. Dr Tweedie is a certified secondary school teacher with the Queensland (Australia) College of Teachers.

A lifelong entrepreneur, Dr Greg is co-founder and CEO of TestPredikt™, an innovative technology startup, focusing on the research and development of explainable artificial intelligence tools for education and healthcare.

Area/s of Expertise: Artificial intelligence in education; Explainable artificial intelligence in education and healthcare; English as a lingua franca; medical English as a lingua franca; English for specific purposes; English for academic purposes; applied linguistics.