The European Center for Multilingualism in Teacher Education

Her research interests focus on multilingualism and plurilingual education, language teacher education, European language policy, and language learning in higher education. She has authored and co-authored articles in international and Polish journals (e.g. European Journal of Teacher Education, Ibérica, Advances in Cognitive Psychology, Roczniki Humanistyczne) and published book chapters in e.g. Teaching and Learning in Multilingual Contexts: Sociolinguistic and Educational Perspectives (edited by Agnieszka Otwinowska-Kasztelanic and Gessica De Angelis), Teacher of the 21st Century: Quality Teaching for Quality Education (edited by Linda Daniela), or Coping with Diversity: Language and Culture Education (edited by Hanna Komorowska and Lucyna Aleksandrowicz-Pędich).

She co-organized the Seventh International Conference on Third Language Acquisition and Multilingualism at the University of Warsaw under the auspices of the International Association of Multilingualism and presented her research at numerous international conferences hosted by the University of Luxembourg, the University of Latvia, the University of Bremen, the University of Pécs, Vilnius University, Universitat Jaume I in Castelló, Georgetown University, the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA), CEU San Pablo University in Madrid, and the University of Warsaw.

Since April 2025, he has served as the Dean of the School of Humanities and Fine Arts at VIZJA University. In addition, since December 2025, he has held the position of the Rector of the International University of Logistics and Transport in Wrocław. In his scholarly publications and numerous presentations at international academic conferences, both in Poland and abroad – including in Greece, Croatia, Canada, and Turkey – he addresses issues such as the role of the teacher in contemporary education, students’ expectations of modern educators, the dynamic changes in educational systems, and the importance of emotional well-being in the school environment. This latter aspect is particularly significant from both psychological and professional-didactic perspectives. He is a certified Business English teacher and has completed postgraduate studies in Educational Management. In 2023, he obtained the prestigious Instructional Leadership certificate from the Harvard Graduate School of Education. In 2026, he completed postgraduate studies, earning the title of Executive Master of Business Administration (EMBA).

He is a Professor (Profesor uczelni, in Polish) at VIZJA University, Poland, and a Book Series Co-Editor of the Cambridge Elements in Language and Power (Cambridge University Press) and Contemporary Perspectives on Learning Environments book series (Emerald Publishing), as well as Co-Editor of Tapestry: A Multimedia Journal for Teachers and English Learners, and Associate Editor of Language Teacher Education Research. Further, he is a Fulbright Scholar and Specialist, and an English Language Specialist with the U.S. Department of State. Previously, he served as the 38th President of Maryland TESOL from 2018 to 2019, and earned the rank of Sergeant while serving in the United States Marine Corps (USMC). Two of his professional accolades include the '30 Up and Coming Emerging Leaders in TESOL', awarded by TESOL International Association in 2016, and the J. Estill Alexander Future Leader in Literacy Award, awarded by the Association of Literacy Educators and Researchers (ALER) in 2018, when his dissertation was chosen as ALER's 2018 Outstanding Dissertation of the Year. Dr. Pentón Herrera's current teaching and research projects are situated at the intersection of identity, emotions, and well-being in language and literacy education, social-emotional learning (SEL), autoethnography and storytelling, refugee education, and language weaponization. His books can be found in the University of Michigan Press, Routledge, Springer, Brill, De Gruyter, TESOL Press, Bucharest University Press, and Rowman & Littlefield. Originally from La Habana, Cuba.

Her publications include two monographs (Third or Additional Language Acquisition, 2007; Multilingual Testing and Assessment, 2021), three edited volumes, and several journal articles and book chapters. She has given invited and plenary lectures across Europe, and she is the former Vice-President of the International Association of Multilingualism (2009-11; 2012-2014). She is currently actively involved in multilingual education research, with a particular focus on multilingual testing and assessment, and trauma-informed teaching.

He is former president of the International Association of Multilingualism, the European Second Language Association and the International Association for the Psychology of Language Learning. He is General Editor of the Journal of Multilingual and Multicultural Development. He won the Equality and Diversity Research Award from the British Association for Counselling and Psychotherapy (2013), the Robert Gardner Award from the International Association of Language and Social Psychology (2016) and the Distinguished Scholar Award from the European Second Language Association (2022). He was ranked as the 2nd most influential linguist in the world in the Stanford rankings 2025. 

She co-authored the bilingual children’s textbook series Learn Polish with Ania (Lublin–Chicago, 2015–2016) and the textbook Bilingual Language Communication Handbook for Emergency Services in the Polish–Slovak Border Region (Lublin, 2016). She also developed the methodological framework for the television language-learning series Play with the Words and the multimedia educational project Polish? We Say: Yes!, both designed to support the teaching of Polish language and culture to young members of the Polish diaspora.

At the John Paul II Catholic University of Lublin (KUL), she managed the Bachelor’s Programme in Polish Studies for students from China. She has supervised two doctoral dissertations in the field of foreign language teaching and learning, while two additional doctoral candidates are currently completing their research under her supervision.

In addition to teaching Polish to international students in Poland and abroad, she has conducted numerous courses and workshops on Polish language and culture for Polish diaspora communities in the United States, Canada, France, the United Kingdom, and Brazil. As a recipient of a Kościuszko Foundation scholarship, she spent a semester at the University of Notre Dame (USA), where she taught courses within the Polish Studies programme.

He serves as an expert for the European Commission in Marie Skłodowska-Curie Actions, and as Deputy Secretary of the Research Group on Management and Language (GEM&L). He has received numerous awards, including the “Prime Minister’s Award” for outstanding scientific achievement in 2022 (the book Intercultural Experience in Narrative, John Benjamins) and the “AEH Lecturer of the Year 2023/2024” award. He has extensive research experience at leading national and international universities, including the University of Warsaw, the University of Bologna, Copenhagen Business School, and ESADE Business School. Michał Wilczewski is the author of numerous scientific publications in prestigious journals, such as Applied Linguistics (Oxford); Multilingua: Journal of Cross-Cultural and Interlanguage Communication; Higher Education, Journal of Studies in International Education; Journal of Global Mobility; Culture & Psychology; Cross-Cultural Research; and Cross Cultural & Strategic Management.