Biography

Dr. Balyasnikova is a critical applied linguist, adult educator, and community activist. Her research explores the complexity of language and literacy education for immigrants, with a current focus on the discourses surrounding older immigrants' language learning in community-based settings. In her research, she combines traditional ethnographic data generation procedures with the facilitation of diverse creative work such as storytelling, theatre and poetry.

Her public scholarship has been featured in prominent media outlets such as The Globe and Mail, Toronto Star, CBC, and The Conversation. Beyond her academic work, Dr. Balyasnikova serves as a Board Member of Parkdale Project Read, a Toronto-based non-profit dedicated to promoting literacy.

Areas of research:

Narrative, biography, life-story, educational gerontology, English as an additional language, community-based education, critical intercultural communication, creative research methods, discourse. 

Latest publications: 

• Rodrigues, N., Entigar, K., Balyasnikova, N. (in press). (Re)collecting and (re)turning to ourselves: Creative feminist and queer praxes with migrants in adult learning. Canadian Journal for Studies in Adult Education.
• Ahn, C., Balyasnikova, N., Liu, S., & Akpomuje, P. (2025). Immigrant seniors’ multiliteracies at a crossroad: pandemic, infodemic, and digital competencies. International Journal of Lifelong Education, 1–15. https://doi.org/10.1080/02601370.2024.2448442
• The ARTEM Research Collective * Balyasnikova, N., Wong, M., Ortega, Y., Kumar, M. (2024). Collaborative Creative Inquiry: A new approach to arts-informed transdisciplinary research, The Qualitative Report, 29(10), 2826-2847.
• Balyasnikova, N. (2024). Discursive construction of age in older immigrants’ narrations of language learning. ELAD-SILDA. Études de Linguistique et d’Analyse des Discours–Studies in Linguistics and Discourse Analysis,10. https://doi.org/10.35562/elad-silda.1563

 Current research projects:

• Principal Investigator, SSHRC Partnership Engagement Grant: Creative Programming as a Strengths-Based Framework for Community-Based Adult Literacy Development.
• Principal Investigator, SSHRC Explore Grant, York University: Exploring Age and Language-Based Stereotypes Affecting Older Immigrants’ Language Learning.
• Co-Investigator, SSHRC New Frontiers for Research Fund: Phoneme App: Innovative Approaches to Community Literacy.
• Co-Investigator, SSHRC Partnership Engagement Grant: Strengthening Immigrant Seniors’ Digital Literacy in the COVID-19 Infodemic Through Social Support Networking.

Scholarly Interests

• Adult education: Contesting neoliberalization of adult learning and exploring alternative models of learning in the workplace. 
• Educational gerontology: Understanding learning as a lifelong process with particular attention to learning in later life. 
• Teaching English as an additional language: Challenging "nativespeakerism" in English language learning and critically analyzing processes of intercultural communication. 
• Community-engaged/action research: Pushing research towards collaboration with communities and advocating for stakeholder-led research. 
• Creative research methods: Expanding methodological boundaries in qualitative research, drawing on storytelling and poetry. 
  

Faculty & School/Dept

• Faculty of Education -

Courses Taught

• Adult and Community Education (GS/EDUC 5449)
• Educating for Activism (ED/EDST 4010)
• Leadership and Community Engagement Capstone Project (GS/EDUC 7035)
• Situated Learning and Education (ED/EDST 1100)

Selected Publications

• Balyasnikova, N., & Gillard, S. (2021). "They gave me back my power": Strengthening older immigrants' language learning through arts- based activities Studies in the education of adults , 1-18.
• Balyasnikova, N., & James, K. (2021). PhoneMe Poetry: Mapping Community in the Digital Age Engaged Scholar Journal , 6 (2), 107-134 . doi:https://doi.org/10.15402/esj.v6i2.69984.
• Balyasnikova, N. (2020). An insider view: Understanding volunteers' experiences within a peer-to-peer language learning program in Vancouver's downtown eastside. BC TEAL Journal, 5 (1).
• Vasileva, O., & Balyasnikova, N. (2019). (Re) Introducing Vygotsky's thought: From historical overview to contemporary psychology. Frontiers in Psychology, 10.
• Balyasnikova, N., Higgins, S., & Hume, M. (2018). Enhancing teaching English as an additional language through playfulness: Seniors' (Ethno) Drama Club in Vancouver's Downtown Eastside. TESOL Journal, 9 (3).
• Balyasnikova, N., & Gillard, S. (2018). "I Love to Write My Story": Storytelling and its role in seniors' language learning. Canadian Journal for the Study of Adult Education,, 30 (2).

Selected Presentations

• Gillard, S., Balyasnikova, N., Alkenbrack, B. (2020, May). Something Fun: Enhancing English learning for adult immigrants through the arts.. Presented at: Adult Education in Global Times, (online due to COVID-19). Canadian Association for the Study of Adult Education.
• Balyasnikova, N., Gillard, S. (2019, June). Storytelling Club: An arts-based approach to older adult language learning. . Presented at: Canadian Association for the Study of Adult Education.
• Balyasnikova, N., Gillard, S., & Korcheva, G. (2018, May). Circles within circles: Storying pedagogical practice, literacy research and community engagement. . Presented at: Canadian Association for the Study of Adult Education.

Professional Affiliations

• TESOL International Association : Chair-Elect of Intercultural Communication Interest Section; Coordinator of Culture and Intercultural Communication Research Strand
• Canadian Association for Studies of Adult Education
• Canadian Association on Gerontology
• The Canadian Association for Curriculum Studies: Program Co-Chair

Service/Community Activities

• Parkdale Project Read: Board Member, Programming Committee