Gary Motteram worked full-time at the University of Manchester from 1985 to 2021, where he pioneered courses that integrated digital technology with teaching and learning, particularly in language education and teacher training for English language teachers. During his tenure, he contributed to numerous funded research projects addressing these themes.

Initially, his work centred on the intersection of language learning and digital technologies. Over time, he specialised in distance teacher education, leading projects in countries such as Indonesia, Poland, Mexico, and China, where remote collaboration with teachers was a primary focus. Notably, he co-authored two influential reports for Cambridge University Press and Assessment in 2008. One presented findings from a large-scale survey, while the other featured case studies, significantly shaping the organisation’s approach to digital tools in education.

Following the success of his British Council publication Innovations in Learning Technologies for ELT (2013), Gary honed his expertise in technology-supported teacher education in low-resource contexts. His involvement in the Punjab English and English Language Initiative (PEELI) project in Pakistan marked a turning point, inspiring the development of innovative teaching practices. These practices informed his later work with teachers using platforms such as WhatsApp, Telegram, Zoom, and Padlet, including pioneering research into WhatsApp discussion groups.

Since leaving the University of Manchester, Gary has continued to advance teacher development and technology integration, collaborating with the British Council in the Americas, Sub-Saharan Africa, and India. He also served as a research advisor for Immerse, contributing to systematic reviews on virtual reality applications in education.

With the release of ChatGPT, Gary has explored its potential in teacher education, particularly through his role as manager of the British Council Sub-Saharan Teacher Support Community. As part of this initiative, he authored a short literature review on generative AI in ELT, available on his blog: garymotteram.net. This work, produced for a Cambridge University Press and Assessment English meeting, highlights emerging applications of AI in language teaching. Additional research and project details are accessible via his profile: University of Manchester Research Portal.