Rob Sharples
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Lecturer
Lecturer in English for Academic Purposes across Global Academy Academic English and Pre-sessional Programmes
Areas of interest
My teaching and learning interests centre on EAP in higher education contexts, particularly supporting students at undergraduate and postgraduate level with academic language and literacy development, and language assessment literacy.Background
I joined the University of Reading in 2026 as a Lecturer in English for Academic Purposes, working across the Academic English Programme and the pre-sessional programme in the Global Academy.Prior to Reading I coordinated preparatory language programmes and supervised MA dissertations at the Institute of Ismaili Studies, London, validated by SOAS, University of London. My UK higher education experience also includes EAP teaching at University College London, the University of Manchester, and Coventry University, and credit-bearing undergraduate teaching in English Language and Linguistics at the University of Portsmouth.
My earlier career included ELT capacity-building work with the British Council in teaching and training roles across the Middle East, Africa, and Asia, including a curriculum and teacher development project in Palestine. I also undertake freelance language assessment consultancy for Ecctis, working with clients including government ministries, examination boards, and international education organisations on CEFR benchmarking and linguistic analysis.
Before moving into higher education, I taught general and business English across Western Europe and spent several years at the British Council in Egypt, where I also worked as an IELTS examiner.
I speak Spanish at advanced level and have working knowledge of Arabic and French.
Academic qualifications
MPhil in Applied Linguistics (University of Portsmouth)MA in Applied Linguistics with Distinction (University of Birmingham)
BA (Hons) in Philosophy and Politics (University of Leeds)
Cambridge DELTA (Cambridge Assessment)
Cambridge CELTA (Cambridge Assessment)