Keynote Speakers

Dr. Wayne E. Wright is the Associate Dean for Research, Graduate Programs, and Faculty Development and the Barbara I. Cook Chair of Literacy and Language with a focus on English language learning in the College of Education at Purdue University. He has worked as a teacher educator in California, Arizona, Texas, and Indiana, and has provided workshops and other professional development training for educators across the United States and around the world. He has been co-principal investigator on $9M in federal grants focused on improving ELL and bilingual education for multilingual learners. He was a Fulbright Scholar in Cambodia, and was ESL and bilingual teacher in Long Beach, California, where he helped establish one of the first Cambodian bilingual programs in the country.

Dr. Wright is the author of over 100 research articles and books on language and education policy and practice. He currently serves as the Co-Editor (with Hyun-Sook Kang) of the Journal of Language, Identity, and Education, Editor of the Journal of Southeast Asian American Education and Advancement, and Co-Editor (with Nancy Hornberger) of Multilingual Matters’ Bilingual Education and Bilingualism book series. His recent books include Foundations for Teaching English Language Learners: Research Theory, Policy, and Practice (2025, 4th ed.), Foundations of Bilingual Education and Bilingualism (with Colin Baker, 2025, 8th ed.), Innovating the TESOL Practicum in Teacher Education: Design, Implementation, and Pedagogy in an Era of Change (with Chang Pu, 2022), and the Handbook of Bilingual and Multilingual Education (with Sovicheth Boun and Ofelia Garcia, 2015). He is the recipient of several honors and awards, including the James E. Alatis Prize for Research on Language Planning and Policy in Educational Contexts (2023) and the Charles A. Ferguson Award for Outstanding Scholarship (2016).

Presentation Title: Foundations for Teaching ELL-Classified Students

In this presentation, Dr. Wayne E. Wright will draw from the new 4th Edition of his bestselling book, Foundations for Teaching English Language Learners: Research, Theory, Policy, and Practice (2025, Brookes Publishing), which has been a key text for training mainstream, ESL and bilingual teachers and providing support and guidance for education programs for multilingual learners classified as ELLs across the United States. In particular, this presentation will focus on the most recent research and policy developments in the field, and their implications for providing effective practices for ELL-classified students. We will first explore our current understandings of second language teaching and learning. Next, we will consider recent federal and state policy shifts in the United States surrounding the Every Student Succeeds Act, reversal of state restrictions on bilingual education, and the expansion of the Seal of Biliteracy, along with important considerations for oral language and literacy development for ELL-classified students within the “Science of Reading.” We conclude with a focus on effective classroom assessment and instruction practices for ELL-classified students.