Cover letter

I have graduated from the School of English Language and Literature of Aristotle University of Thessaloniki. I have completed the Master of Arts in Syntax (Dissertation with distinction) in the Department of Language and Linguistics at the University of Essex, UK. I have obtained my PhD degree in usage-based first-language acquisition (FLA) from the School of English Language and Literature of Aristotle University of Thessaloniki. My research interests lie in the fields of Cognitive Linguistics and Developmental Psycholinguistics and more specifically in usage-based language, cognitive grammar, plural-mass nouns, linguistic relativity, thinking-for-speaking, and universal ontology, as well as in the field of learning strategies in English for Specific Purposes (ESP). Regarding my research activity, I have published in international journals and conference proceedings and have served as research assistant to projects funded from the UK and Sweden. I have also been granted an Erasmus-placement internship in Newcastle University, UK, during my doctoral study. Additionally, I have conducted research on the learning strategies employed by ESP university undergraduates of different schools across the four English-language skills. Regarding my professional activity, I have lectured on English, ESP, English for Academic Purposes (EAP), and Computer Literacy and Research Skills in Aristotle University of Thessaloniki, the International Hellenic University, the Merchant Marine Academy of Macedonia, and state institutes for vocational training. On December 2024, I have been appointed as Special Teaching Personnel in the Department of Psychology at the University of Crete.

Professional Development 

  • December 2024-present. Special Teaching Personnel. Department of Psychology. University of Crete, Greece.
  • October 2021 – January 2025. ESP lecturer on ‘Maritime English’. Merchant Marine Academy of Macedonia. Thessaloniki, Greece.
  • February 2023 – June 2024. Lecturer in ESP and EAP on ‘Technical English’. Department of Food Science and Technology. International Hellenic University. Thessaloniki, Greece.
  • April 2022 – June 2024. English-language lecturer. Department of Agriculture. International Hellenic University. Thessaloniki, Greece.
  • October 2019 – January 2020. Lecturer in ESP, EAP, and the English language on ‘Business English’. Mediterranean College. Thessaloniki, Greece.
  • February – June 2013. Lecturer on ‘Computer Literacy and Research Skills’. School of English Language and Literature. Aristotle University of Thessaloniki, Greece.
  • November 2012 – January 2013. Lecturer on ‘Introduction to the English language’ for the Bachelor degree. DEI College. Thessaloniki, Greece.       
  • February – June 2011. Task assistant to university staff. School of English Language and Literature. Aristotle University of Thessaloniki, Greece.

Research Interests 

   My research interests lie in the following fields: 

  • The investigation of the dynamic relationship between language (acquisition) and conceptual development in child and adult speakers of different languages.
  • The investigation of the learning strategies employed by university students of different schools in learning English for Specific Purposes (ESP) across the four skills of English-language reception and production.

Επιλεγμένες Δημοσιεύσεις

  • Athanasiadou, Ifigeneia, Griva, Eleni, and Retali, Karolina. 2025. Learning strategies of ESP undergraduates across the English-language skills (in preparation).
  • Athanasiadou, Ifigeneia. 2024. Plural-mass nouns and the construal of individuation in first-language acquisition: crosslinguistic evidence from verbal and nonverbal behaviour in labelling and non-labelling contexts (in preparation).
  • Athanasiadou, Ifigeneia and Athanasopoulos, Panos. 2017. Plural-mass nouns and the construal of individuation: crosslinguistic evidence from verbal and nonverbal behavior in labelling and non-labelling contexts. Cognitive Semantics, 3, 62-94.
  • Athanasiadou, Ifigeneia and Lampropoulou, Martha. 2014. A conceptual-metonymy account of count and non-count nouns: a study of Modern-Greek nouns from the domains of eating and drinking. In Lavidas, T. Alexiou, and A.-M. Sougari (Eds.), Major Trends in Theoretical and Applied Linguistics: Selected Papers from the 20th International Symposium on Theoretical and Applied Linguistics (233-48). Vol.1. London: Versita.

Teaching activity 

The subjects I have been teaching in the Undergraduate level are the following:

English for Specific Purposes (ESP) 

  • English language and Terminology in Psychology
  • Technical English in Food Science and Technology
  • Maritime English
  • Business English

English for Academic Purposes (EAP)

Computer Literacy and Research Skills