Dr Neil McMillan
- Lecturer: English for Academic Purposes (Systems Power & Energy)
email:
Neil.McMillan@glasgow.ac.uk
pronouns:
He/him/his
https://orcid.org/0009-0007-8363-3290Biography
As a lecturer of English for Academic Purposes within the James Watt School of Engineering I work on a Transnational Education partnership between the University of Glasgow and the University of Electronic Science and Technology of China. Accepting this post in 2024 involved a return to Glasgow as I completed my doctorate in Scottish Literature here in 2001. Following that, I moved into language teaching and have been teaching English, training teachers and designing courses in FE, HE and private contexts across the world for 25 years. In 2014 in Spain, I co-founded the language services cooperative Serveis Lingüístics de Barcelona, where I developed and ran an online training course on Task-Based Language Teaching (TBLT) alongside Geoff Jordan, Roger Gilabert and Mike Long. I have long been a practitioner and advocate of TBLT and in recent years I have worked on introducing this approach both to EAP provision at Glasgow College UESTC and to vocational training contexts across Europe.
Research interests
I am mainly interested in TBLT which involves language learning through participation in meaning-focused tasks, identified by a thorough Needs Analysis of the target population. Specifically, I am focused on the transfer from Needs Analysis results to task and curriculum design. To that end I am currently co-lead on an extensive Needs Analysis and curriculum upgrade project focusing on undergraduate Engineering students at Glasgow College UESTC.
I have also conducted research into the practices of teachers with Generative AI, with the aim of informing curriculum development and training on AI literacies for students and staff.
Publications
2026
McMillan, Neil 
ORCID: https://orcid.org/0009-0007-8363-3290, Macdougall, Jennifer ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-5652-1943 and Qi, Linyi
(2026)
What, How and Why: GenAI and the EAP Practitioner.
24th AsiaTEFL International Conference 2026, Xi'an, China, 29-31 May 2026.
(Submitted)
McMillan, Neil ORCID: https://orcid.org/0009-0007-8363-3290 and Macdougall, Jennifer ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-5652-1943
(2026)
Taking Genre to Task in English for Academic Purposes (Needs Analysis).
TBLT in Asia 2026, Waseda University, Tokyo, Japan, 5-7 June 2026.
(Unpublished)
McMillan, Neil ORCID: https://orcid.org/0009-0007-8363-3290
(2026)
Plenary: Big asks and uphill tasks: making a case for TBLT.
In: Bullock, Deborah (ed.)
IATEFL 2025 Edinburgh Conference Selections.
IATEFL, pp. 26-35.
ISBN 9781912588589
2025
McMillan, Neil ORCID: https://orcid.org/0009-0007-8363-3290
(2025)
Big Asks and Uphill Tasks: The Case for TBLT.
IATEFL 2025 58th International Conference, Edinburgh, Scotland, 8-11 April 2025.
Macdougall, Jennifer ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-5652-1943 and McMillan, Neil ORCID: https://orcid.org/0009-0007-8363-3290
(2025)
Task Based Needs Analysis: a Vehicle for Interdisciplinary Curriculum Development in a Transnational Education EAP Context.
EAP and Beyond: Interdisciplinary Encounters, St Andrews University, 8 August 2025.
(Unpublished)
Book Sections
McMillan, Neil ORCID: https://orcid.org/0009-0007-8363-3290
(2026)
Plenary: Big asks and uphill tasks: making a case for TBLT.
In: Bullock, Deborah (ed.)
IATEFL 2025 Edinburgh Conference Selections.
IATEFL, pp. 26-35.
ISBN 9781912588589
Conference or Workshop Item
McMillan, Neil ORCID: https://orcid.org/0009-0007-8363-3290, Macdougall, Jennifer ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-5652-1943 and Qi, Linyi
(2026)
What, How and Why: GenAI and the EAP Practitioner.
24th AsiaTEFL International Conference 2026, Xi'an, China, 29-31 May 2026.
(Submitted)
McMillan, Neil ORCID: https://orcid.org/0009-0007-8363-3290 and Macdougall, Jennifer ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-5652-1943
(2026)
Taking Genre to Task in English for Academic Purposes (Needs Analysis).
TBLT in Asia 2026, Waseda University, Tokyo, Japan, 5-7 June 2026.
(Unpublished)
McMillan, Neil ORCID: https://orcid.org/0009-0007-8363-3290
(2025)
Big Asks and Uphill Tasks: The Case for TBLT.
IATEFL 2025 58th International Conference, Edinburgh, Scotland, 8-11 April 2025.
Macdougall, Jennifer ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-5652-1943 and McMillan, Neil ORCID: https://orcid.org/0009-0007-8363-3290
(2025)
Task Based Needs Analysis: a Vehicle for Interdisciplinary Curriculum Development in a Transnational Education EAP Context.
EAP and Beyond: Interdisciplinary Encounters, St Andrews University, 8 August 2025.
(Unpublished)
Prior publications
Book Section
McMillan, Neil, Jordan, Geoff, Ahmadian, Mohammad Javad, Long, Michael H.Editors (2021) Training for Tasks the Cooperative Way: An Online Tutored Task-Based Language Teaching Course for Teachers, Managers and Course Designers The Cambridge Handbook of Task-Based Language Teaching Neil McMillan.
Neil McMillan (2003) Heroes and Zeroes: Monologism and Masculinism in Scottish Men’s Writing of the 1970s and Beyond Posting the Male: Masculinities in Post-war and Contemporary British Literature Neil McMillan. ISBN 9789042009769 (doi: 10.1163/9789004456655_006)
Neil McMillan (1999) On the road to a world language: Hugh MacDiarmid, Jack Kerouac and the discourse of colonialism Odd Alliances: Scottish Studies in European Contexts Neil McMillan.
Neil McMillan (1997) Junked exiles, exiled junk: Irvine Welsh and Alexander Trocchi Space & Place: The Geographies of Literature Neil McMillan.
Douglas Gifford, Neil McMillan, James N. Alison (1997) PART I. SCOTTISH LITERATURE Teaching Scottish Literature Neil McMillan. (doi: 10.1515/9781474470483-002)
Other
Neil McMillan, Neil McMillan (2020) Enfoque por Tareas (EPT) Universitat Oberta de Catalunya Neil McMillan.
Neil McMillan, Neil McMillan (2020) Task-Based Language Teaching (TBLT) Universitat Oberta de Catalunya Neil McMillan.
Article
Neil McMillan, Neil McMillan, Neil McMillan (2001) Wilting, or the ‘Poor Wee Boy Syndrome’: Kelman and Masculinity Edinburgh Review Neil McMillan.
Book
McMillan, Neil., Stirling, Kirsten. (1999) Odd alliances : Scottish studies in European contexts Odd alliances : Scottish studies in European contexts Neil McMillan. ISBN 1873448155
Grants
Grant for a 3-year Needs Analysis and curriculum upgrade project (2026-2029) awarded by the Glasgow College Teaching Innovation Fund of the University of Glasgow (TNEB10022026).
Teaching
My current teaching load includes delivering lectures on the following Glasgow College UESTC courses:
- English for Academic and General Purposes (UESTC1033 & UESTCHN1012)
- Engineering Communication and Career Skills (UESTC2029 & UESTCHN2005)
I am also responsible for delivering professional development workshops to the English teaching team at Glasgow College UESTC, designing materials for all our EAP courses there, and designing, marking and moderating assessments.
Professional activities & recognition
Selected international presentations
- 2025: IATEFL (Edinburgh)
