Elisabeth Chan

         Title: Blending Tradition and Innovation: Effective Practices for Language Learning

Summary:

How can TESOL professionals balance the institutional knowledge we build our best practices upon while welcoming a diversity of innovative ideas and changes? Being open to new perspectives and honoring traditions are not mutually exclusive. Building communication skills and connecting people together are at the core of what we do. With that in mind, let us reflect on our educational landscape that has been forever changed by the events of the past few years and what innovations may be needed to meet new challenges.

Keynote Biography:

Elisabeth Chan is a professor of ESL at Northern Virginia Community College and is currently serving on the Board of Directors for TESOL International Association (2022-2025). Her commitment as a scholar and practitioner is to criticality, intersectionality, and relationality. She has over 15 years of experience as an English language educator. She has advocated for, presented, researched, and published on social justice, diversity, equity, and inclusion in TESOL, where she draws upon her lived experiences as a second/fourth-generation Chinese American from the U.S. South. Her work has been featured in the International Journal of Qualitative Studies in Education, TESOL Journal, and elsewhere.