CamTESOL offers plenary talks and plenary panel discussions by leading international ELT experts, local and international researchers and teachers of English. CamTESOL promotes the sharing and networking among classroom teachers, teacher trainers, researchers in the fields of ELT and linguistics and administrators of English language schools.
The plenary and panel discussion speakers at the 22nd Annual CamTESOL include:
Plenary Speakers
Sponsored by 
Dr. Willy A. Renandya
Language Teacher Educator
NIE-NTU, SUSS and RELC
Singapore
“Pedagogy First, Technology Second: Rethinking ELT Priorities”
Technology is now a common feature in language classrooms, from mobile apps to virtual and augmented reality tools. While it offers clear benefits in areas like pronunciation and increased language use, its overall impact on language proficiency remains unclear. Some studies report strong gains in vocabulary, writing, and speaking, but closer analysis often reveals weak research designs. For example, improvements seen in AI-supported tasks, Wiki-based writing, AR- supported speaking tasks (as reported in recent meta-analysis studies) are often due to collaborative learning or interactive practice, not the technology itself. This presentation argues that the use of technology must be guided by key ELT principles such as meaningful input and output, fluency practice, learner engagement, form- focused instruction and a commitment to prolonged language practice. Without grounding in these core ELT principles, technology alone is unlikely to lead to significant or lasting language learning gains.
Biography:
Dr. Willy A. Renandya is a language teacher educator with extensive teaching experience in Asia. He currently teaches language education courses in Singapore, including at NIE-NTU, SUSS and RELC. He is also a visiting professor at Chulalongkorn University and Wuhan University. He has given numerous keynote presentations at international ELT conferences, including AsiaTEFL, CamTESOL, IATEFL, KOTESOL, SEAMEO RELC and ThaiTESOL. He has published extensively in the area of second language education and second language acquisition. His publications include Language Teaching Methodology: An anthology of current practice (2002, Cambridge University Press) and Student-centred cooperative learning (2019, Springer International). He maintains a large teacher professional development forum called Teacher Voices:
https://www.facebook.com/groups/teachervoices/
Website: Willy’s ELT Corner: https://www.willyrenandya.com
Google Scholar: https://scholar.google.com.sg/citations?user=gHW1fVIAAAAJ
Sponsored by
Pro Wayne E. Wright
Associate Dean for Research, Graduate Programs, and Faculty Development
College of Education, Purdue University
USA
“Viewing and Teaching English Language Learners from a Multilingual Lens”
Traditionally researchers in second language acquisition (SLA) and teachers of English to speakers of other languages (TESOL) have viewed language learners as incomplete monolingual speakers of the target language (e.g., English). In this presentation I will highlight the “multilingual turn” in SLA and TESOL which has been growing in acceptance since the 2010s to challenge these traditional views and their associated practices. This multilingual turn has introduced new concepts such as plurilingualism, dynamic bilingualism, and translanguaging. These concepts help us to better understand students as emerging bilinguals and multilingual learners. These language learners have rich and growing linguistic repertories from which they can draw upon for effective learning and for engaging in meaningful communication in bilingual and multilingual contexts. I will share the findings from my own research in primary schools and higher education institutions in the United States of American and in the Kingdom of Cambodia to highlight the power of teaching language learners from a multilingual lens. The presentation will end with practical suggestions for ways you can integrate translanguaging pedagogy in your own classrooms.
Biography:
Pro Wayne E. Wright 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 in the College of Education at Purdue University. Dr. Wright completed his BA and MA degrees at California State University Long Beach, and his PhD at Arizona State University. He is a former ESL and bilingual teacher in Long Beach, California, where he helped establish one of the first Cambodian bilingual programs in the country. Dr. Wright has over 25 years of experience as a teacher educator, preparing both pre-service and in-service teachers to work effectively with students classified as English language learners, and other multilingual learners. Dr. Wright has over 100 publications in the areas of language, education, and assessment policy and programs for language minoritized students.
Sponsored by 
Ms. Gae NASTASI
EAL/D Coordinator for Metropolitan Region / President of QATESOL
Department of Education Queensland
“Developing a Critical Lens: Building Metacognitive Awareness in Language Learners for an AI-Driven World”
As artificial intelligence becomes increasingly embedded in education, English
language teachers face a critical challenge: how do we help learners engage with AI
to enhance their language learning while cultivating a critical awareness of the
content and feedback AI provides? This plenary considers essential strategies for
developing learners’ critical and metacognitive awareness so that so that AI
serves as a support — not a shortcut — for the deeper thinking and meaning-making
that real learning requires.
AI can enhance learning by modelling vocabulary, providing feedback, and
generating examples of written or spoken language. Yet these outputs are often
context-blind, lacking the subtle connotations, cultural perspectives, and pragmatic
intent that shape real communication. Teachers therefore need to embed
metacognitive and critical literacy strategies that enable students to question,
interpret, and evaluate AI-generated text —what is produced, how meaning is
constructed and the contextual appropriateness of AI-generated language.
Drawing on EAL/D and TESOL contexts, this session explores classroom
approaches for building AI literacy, encouraging reflection, and cultivating a critical
lens in learners. It is essential that language education in an AI-driven world must
continue to privilege human judgment, intercultural understanding, and the capacity
to engage thoughtfully with language. AI can support and enrich the process, but it
cannot replace the intellectual and emotional work of learning to communicate with
purpose, empathy, and depth.
Biography:
NASTASI Gae is currently EAL/D Coordinator for Metropolitan Region, Department of Education Queensland and President of QATESOL. Having trained as a French and English language teacher, she has been teaching English as an Additional Language for 40 years, mainly in Brisbane secondary schools, from on-arrival to Senior English. She has also taught English overseas at all levels, from beginners to advanced, and with both adolescents and adults. She is interested in curriculum and pedagogy supporting language learning.