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Dr Olive Nabukeera

Dr Olive Nabukeera

  • Position: Lecturer in EAP (Teaching and Scholarship)
  • Areas of expertise: English for Academic Purposes; TESOL; Race and Racialisation, Blackness, Critical Literacies; Inclusive pedagogies; Decoloniality
  • Location: Parkinson Building

Profile

I have worked at the University of Leeds since September 2023, teaching English for Academic Purposes (EAP) and engaging in scholarship at the Language Center. My passion for international education and English language teaching is deeply rooted in my academic and professional career across three continents. Originally from Kampala, Uganda, I have taught academic English for more than a decade at universities in the United States, Rwanda and England. This experience has profoundly influenced my teaching philosophy, classroom practices and scholarship interests.

Research interests

My scholarship focuses on the intersectionality of race, language, and identity in English language teaching, with a particular emphasis on the representation of Black identities. I began publishing in this area with an article on native speakerism and African teachers of English (2012), and later examined the positioning of Black ESL teachers in the United States in the CATESOL Journal (2022), as part of its special issue on anti-racist perspectives, policies, and practices in TESOL. Recent work includes The Visible Invisibility of Black Educators in ELT (Bloomsbury, 2025) and Teaching while Black: Navigating Performativity and Authenticity (Patterns of Practice, 2025).

Currently writing my first book, Race, English and Blackness (Palgrave Macmillan), and co-leading a PRiA-funded research study on Decoloniality in English for Academic Purposes (EAP), which explores how decolonial perspectives can reshape teaching and learning in EAP higher education. Through these projects, I aim to broaden understandings of race and representation in ELT and contribute to more inclusive approaches to language education, impacting not only academic debates but also the everyday practices of students, teachers, and institutions.

Qualifications

  • Bachelors- Education, English & Literature (Makerere University, Uganda)
  • Masters-TESOL (University of Bath, England)
  • Masters- International Educational Management (University of Leeds, England)
  • Doctorate - TESOL (Alliant International University, USA)

Professional memberships

  • TESOL International Association
  • British Association of Lecturers in English for Academic Purposes (BALEAP)
  • American Association of Applied Linguistics (AAAL)
  • British Association of Applied Linguistics (BAAL)

Student education

Foundation Year / Academic Literacies for postgraduate teaching (PGT) and research (PGR) / Masters pre-sessionals Academic English

Research groups and institutes

  • Language Centre