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Dr Olive Nabukeera

Dr Olive Nabukeera

  • Position: Lecturer in English (EAP)
  • Areas of expertise: English for Academic Purposes; TESOL; Race and Racialisation, Blackness, Critical Race Theory and 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 research interests.

Research interests

My research 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). Recent work includes The Visible Invisibility of Black Educators in ELT (Bloomsbury, 2025), Teaching while Black: Navigating Performativity and Authenticity (Patterns of Practice, 2025), Teaching Implicit Bias in Foundation EAP (InForm, 2026) and Reimagining EAP through (Dis)comfort: Race, Identity and Emotion in Academic English ( Routledge, 2026).

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.

I am available for supervision of postgraduate research students, especially for projects on race, Black studies, critical literacies and decoloniality.

Qualifications

  • Bachelors- 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- Healthcare/ Academic Literacies for postgraduate teaching and research/ Graduate Academic Writing in Sociology- Essays and Dissertations/ Masters pre-sessional Academic English for PGTs

Research groups and institutes

  • Language Centre