Faculty Profiles

Language, education, and assessment policies and programs for language minority students. Bilingual Education, mother-tongue-based multilingual education, English as a second/foreign language, second language teaching and learning, heritage languages, high-stakes testing, language assessment, Asian American Education, Southeast Asian American Education, Cambodian Americans, Education policy and practice in Cambodia.

Selected Publications

Books

• Wright, W. E. (2025). Foundations for Teaching English Language Learners: Research, Theory, Policy, and Practice (4^th ed.). Brookes Publishing.https://products.brookespublishing.com/Foundations-for-Teaching-English-Language-Learners-Fourth-Edition-P1650.aspx
• Wright, W. E. & Baker, C. (2025). Foundations of Bilingual Education and Bilingualism (8^th ed.). Multilingual Matters.link: https://www.multilingual-matters.com/page/detail/foundations-of-bilingual-education-and-bilingualism/?SF1=work_id&ST1=CVIEW-66f67a85c305e
• Wright, W. E., Chap, V., Uy, P. S., Sak-Humphry, C., Chhuon, V., & Worra, B. (Eds.). (2025). Research and Reflections on Southeast Asian American Education and Advancement. Purdue University Press.
• Rolstad, K., Wright, W. E., Liu, N., & MacSwan, J. (Eds.). (2025). Language Diversity, Policy, and Social Justice: In Honor of Terrence G. Wiley. Multilingual Matters.link: https://www.multilingual-matters.com/page/detail/language-diversity-policy-and-social-justice/?SF1=work_id&ST1=CVIEW-6745b791a5ec5
• Pu, C., & Wright, W. E. (Eds). (2023). Innovating the TESOL Practicum in Teacher Education: Design, Implementation, and Pedagogy in an Era of Change. Routledge.
• Baker, C., & Wright, W. E. (2021). Foundations of Bilingual Education and Bilingualism (7th Ed.). Multilingual Matters.
• Wright, W. E. (2019). Foundations for Teaching English Language Learners: Research, Theory, Policy, and Practice (3rd ed.). Philadelphia, PA: Caslon Publishing.
• Baker, C. & Wright, W. E. (2017). Foundations of Bilingual Education and Bilingualism (6th ed.). Bristol, UK: Multilingual Matters.
• Wright, W. E. (2015). Foundations for Teaching English Language Learners: Research, Theory, Policy, and Practice (2^nd ed.). Philadelphia, PA: Caslon Publishing.
• Wright, W. E., Boun, S., & Garcia, O. (Eds.). (2015). Handbook of Bilingual and Multilingual Education. Malden, MA: Wiley-Blackwell.
• Wright, W. E. (2010). Foundations for Teaching English Language Learners: Research, Theory, Policy, and Practice. Philadelphia: Caslon Publishing.
• Ramirez, D., Wiley, T. G., de Klerk, G., Lee, E., Wright, W. E. (Eds.). (2005). Ebonics in the Urban Education Debate. Bristol, UK: Multilingual Matters

Journal Articles

• Renn, J., Choi, W., Li, H., Wright, W. E., Morita-Mullaney, T. (2025). Unprecedented challenges and optimistic resilience: Dual language bilingual education teachers’ experiences during the COVID-19 pandemic. International Journal of Bilingual Education and Bilingualism, 28(3), 325-338. https://doi.org/10.1080/13670050.2024.2432509
• Chap, V. & Wright, W. E. (2025). Content and Language Integrated Learning in Cambodia's Higher Education: A Study of an Introduction to ASEAN Course. TESOL Journal, 16(1), e895 1-24. https://doi.org/10.1002/tesj.895
• Li, H., Wright, W. E. & Morita-Mullaney, T. (2024). Literacy instruction for English language learners in Indiana before and during the Covid-19 pandemic. Journal of English Learner Education, 16(2), 1-24. https://stars.library.ucf.edu/jele/vol16/iss2/1
• Uy, P. S., Chhuon, V., Worra, B. T., Sak-Humphry, C., Chap, V., & Wright, W. E. (2025). Editors’ Introduction to the 20th Anniversary Volume. Journal of Southeast Asian American Education and Advancement, 20(1), 1-9. https://doi.org/10.7771/2153-8999.1383
• Renn, J., Li, H., Choi, W., Wright, W. E., & Morita-Mullaney, T. (2023). Making “small waves of change”: Dual language and general education teacher transformation through instructional coaching. TESOL Quarterly, Early access, 1-30. https://doi.org/10.1002/tesq.3216
• Li, H., Wright, W. E., & Morita-Mullaney, T. (2023). Quality and Quantity of Literacy Instruction for English Language Learners in Indiana Elementary Schools. Educational Linguistics, 2(1), 72-99. https://doi.org/10.1515/eduling-2022-0014
• Wright, W. E. (2023). Translanguaging for a hopeful future. (Special Issue on Translanguaging as Pedagogy of Hope to Counteract Monoglossic Bias, edited by S. Sembiante and Z. Tian). International Journal of Bilingual Education and Bilingualism, 26(8), 924-927 DOI: 10.1080/13670050.2023.2212836
• Wright, W. E., Boun, S., & Chan, V. (2022). Implementation of multilingual mother tongue education in Cambodian public schools for indigenous ethnic minority students. Educational Linguistics, 1(1), 196-217. https://doi.org/10.1515/eduling-2022-0002.
• Choi, W. Kim, W. H., Wright, W. E., & Morita-Mullaney, T. (2022). Improving English language arts instruction in Indiana dual language bilingual education classrooms. Language and Education (Online first). https://doi.org/10.1080/09500782.2022.2032731
• Gao, F., & Wright, W. E. (2020). A systematic analysis of five years of research articles published in the Journal of Language, Identity, and Education (2015-2019). Journal of Language, Identity & Education, 19(1), 3-8. https://doi.org/10.1080/15348458.2020.1715760
• Wright, W. E., & Kang, H. S. (2020). Editor’s introduction. Journal of Language, Identity & Education, 19(1), 1-2. https://doi.org/10.1080/15348458.2020.1715759
• Renn, J., Morita-Mullaney, T., & Wright, W. E. (2020). Communities of practice in online teaching. TESOL Connections, June, 1-5. http://newsmanager.commpartners.com/tesolc/issues/2020-06-01/3.html
• Wright, W. E. (2016). Let them talk! Educational Leadership, 73(5), 24-31. https://www.ascd.org/el/articles/let-them-talk
• Wright, W. E. (2016). Language is a resource, not a problem: A letter of thanks to Richard Ruiz. Bilingual Research Journal, 39(3 & 4), 372-373. doi:http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/15235882.2016.1236762
• Wright, W. E., & Boun, S. (2016). The development and expansion of multilingual education in Cambodia: An application of Ruiz’s orientations in language planning. The Bilingual Review/La Revista Bilingüe, 33(3), 1-17. https://bilingualreviewjournal.org/index.php/br/article/view/267
• Lee, S. J., & Wright, W. E. (2014). The rediscovery of heritage and community language education in the United States. Review of Research in Education, 38, 137-165. https://doi.org/10.3102/0091732X13507546
• Wright, W. E., Boun, S. (2011). Southeast Asian American Education 35 Years After Initial Resettlement: Research Report and Policy Recommendations. Journal of Southeast Asian American Education and Advancement, 6, 1-120. https://docs.lib.purdue.edu/jsaaea/vol6/iss1/1/
• Wright, W. E. (2010). Khmer as a Heritage Language in the United States: Historical Sketch, Current Realities, and Future Prospects. Heritage Language Journal, 7(1), 117-147. https://doi.org/10.46538/hlj.7.1.6

Book Chapters

• Wright, W. E. & Chan (2025). Khmer heritage language in the linguistic and broadcast media landscape of Cambodia Town USA. In K. Rolstad, J. MacSwan, W. E. Wright, and N. Liu (Eds.), Language diversity, policy, and social justice: In honor of Terrence G. Wiley (pp. 40-65). Multilingual Matters.
• Choi, W., & Wright, W. E. (2025). Multilingual-Multimodal-Multigenre Translanguaging in Indiana High School English as a New Language Classrooms. In M. Christison & A. Krulatz (Eds.), Promoting Multilingual Practices with Linguistically Diverse Learners in Global Contexts. Routledge.
• Uy, P. Chhuon, V., Worra, B. T., Sak-Humphry, C., Chap, V., & Wright, W. E. (2025). Commemorating the 20th Anniversary of the Journal of Southeast Asian American Education and Advancement and 50 years of Southeast Asian American Refugee Resettlement. In W. E. Wright, V. Chap, P. S. Uy, C. Sak-Humphry, V. Chhuon, & B. T. Worra (Eds.), Research and Reflections on Southeast Asian American Education and Advancement (pp. 3-18). Purdue University Press.
• Wright, W. E. (2024). Ethical Research Considerations in Classroom and Online Spaces with Bilingual Students and Their Teachers. In P. De Costa, A. Rabie-Ahmed, & C. Cinaglia, (Eds.), Ethical Issues in Applied Linguistics Scholarship (pp. 218-234). John Benjamins. https://doi.org/10.1075/rmal.7.14wri
• Wright, W. E., & Choi, W. (2024). DLBE Program Types for Different Target Populations. In J. A. Freire, C. Alfaro, & E. de Jong (Eds.), The handbook of dual language bilingual education (pp. 94-114). Routledge. https://doi.org/10.4324/9781003269076-9
• Wright, W. E., Morita-Mullaney, T., *Choi, W., & *Li, H. (2023). Building bilingual teachers’ translanguaging repertoires in a new immigrant destination state. In Z. Tian & N. King (Eds.), Developing translanguaging repertoires in critical teacher education (pp. 123-144). De Gruyter Mouton. https://doi.org/10.1515/9783110735604-007
• Pu, C., & Wright, W. E. (2023). Introduction: Contextualizing the TESOL practicum in the field of TESOL. In C. Pu & W. E. Wright (Eds.), Innovating the TESOL practicum in teacher education: Design, implementation, and pedagogy in an era of change (pp. 1-14). Routledge.
• Wright, W. E., & Pu, C. (2023). Innovations, challenges, and future directions for the TESOL practicum. In C. Pu & W. E. Wright (Eds.), Innovating the TESOL practicum in teacher education: Design, implementation, and pedagogy in an era of change (pp. 237-246)/ Routledge.
• Kim, S.-a., & Wright, W. E. (2022). Translanguaging in writing as a recursive and collaborative process. In T. S. Hodges (Ed.), Handbook of research on teacher practices for diverse writing instruction. IGI Global. https://www.igi-global.com/book/handbook-research-teacher-practices-diverse/300306
• Wright, W. E., & Chan, V. (2022). Khmer language use and presence in the linguistic landscape of Greater Los Angeles’ Cambodia Town. In C. H. Chik (Ed.), Multilingual La La Land:  Language use in sixteen Greater Los Angeles communities (pp. 170-189). Routledge.
• Wright, W. E., & Li, H. (2022). What teachers need to know about Asian American students. In H. Smith & K. Iyengar (Eds.), Diversity in society and schools (pp. 93-100). Cognella.
• Boun, S. & Wright, W. E. (2022). K-12 schooling experiences of Southeast Asian American students. In H. L. Smith & K. M. Iyengar (Eds.), Diversity in society and schools (pp. 101-120). Cognella Academic Publishing. [Reprint of Boun & Wright (2013)].
• Boun, S., & Wright, W. E. (2021). Translanguaging in a graduate education programme in a Cambodian University. In B. Paulsrud, Z. Tian, & J. Toth (Eds.), English-medium instruction and translanguaging (pp. 108-121). Multilingual Matters.
• Morita-Mullaney, T., Renn, J., Garcia, A., & Wright, W. E. (2020). Preparing K–12 teachers for effective instruction of English learners: The transformation of a Purdue University online language teacher education program. In H. S. Kang, D. s. Shin, & T. Cimasko (Eds.), Online Education for Teachers of English as a Global Language (pp. 19-38). Routledge.
• Wright, W. E., & Chan, V. (2019). Multilingualism in North America. In S. Montanari & S. Quay (Eds.), Multidisciplinary perspectives on multilingualism: The fundamentals (pp. 77-100). De Gruyter Mouton.
• Wright, W. E. (2019). Language rights and policy in K-12 TESOL. In L. C. de Oliveira (Ed.), Handbook of TESOL in K-12 (pp. 55-68). Malden, MA: Wiley-Blackwell.
• Chik, C., & Wright, W. E. (2017). Overcoming the obstacles: Vietnamese and Khmer Heritage Language Programs in California. In O. Kagan, M. Carreira, & C. Chik (Eds.), A handbook on heritage language education: From innovation to program building (pp. 222-236). New York, NY: Routledge.
• Wright, W. E., & Ricento, T. (2017). Language policy and education in the United States. In T. McCarty & S. May (Eds.), Language policy and political issues in education (Vol 1., Encyclopedia of language and education) (3rd ed., pp. 285-300). New York: Springer.
• Wright, W. E., & Baker, C. (2016). Key Concepts in Bilingual Education. In O. Garcia, A. Lin, & S. May (Eds.), Encyclopedia of Language and Education, Vol. 5: Bilingual and Multilingual Education (3rd ed., pp. 1-15). New York, NY: Springer International Publishing.
• Wright, W. E., Boun, S. & García, O. (2015). Introduction – Key concepts and issues in bilingual and multilingual education. In W. E. Wright, S. Boun, and O. Garcia (Eds.), Handbook of Bilingual and Multilingual Education (pp.1-16). Malden, MA: Wiley-Blackwell.
• Wright, W. E., & Boun, S. (2015). Striving for Education for All through bilingual education in Cambodia. In W. E. Wright, S. Boun, and O. Garcia (Eds.), Handbook of Bilingual and Multilingual Education (pp. 515-528). Malden, MA: Wiley-Blackwell.
• Wright, W. E. (2014). Be wary of “value added measures” of teacher effectiveness. In K. Nemeth (Eds.), Young English language learners at school: A guide of early childhood and elementary administrators. Philadelphia, PA: Caslon.
• Wright, W. E. (2014). How are placement decisions made? In K. Nemeth (Ed.), Young English language learners at school: A guide of early childhood and elementary administrators. Philadelphia, PA: Caslon.
• Wright, W. E. (2015). Cambodian Americans and Mormonism. In J. H. X. Lee, F. Matsuoka, E. Yee, & R. Y. Nakasone (Eds.), Asian American religious cultures (pp. 260-269). Santa Barbara, CA: ABC-CLIO.
• Wright, W. E. (2014). Teaching English language learners in Post-Proposition 203 Arizona: Structured English immersion or sink-or-swim submersion? In G. P. McField (Ed.), The Miseducation of English learners: A Tale of three states and lessons to be learned (pp. 151-182). Charlotte, NC: Information Age Publishing.
• Wright, W. E. (2014). Khmer. In T. G. Wiley, J. K. Young, D. Christian, S. C. K. Moore, & N. Liu (Eds.), Handbook of Heritage and Community Languages in the United States: Research, Educational Practice, and Policy (pp. 284-296). Washington, DC & New York, NY: Center for Applied Linguistics & Routledge.
• Wright, W. E. (2014). Section Introduction – Heritage Language Maintenance and Development. In T. G. Wiley, J. K. Young, D. Christian, S. C. K. Moore, & N. Liu (Eds.), Handbook of Heritage and Community Languages in the United States: Research, Educational Practice, and Policy (pp. 311-314). Washington, DC & New York, NY: Center for Applied Linguistics & Routledge.
• Wright, W. E. (2014). Proposition 203 and Arizona’s early school reform efforts: The nullification of accommodations. In S. K. C. Moore (Ed.), Language policy processes and consequence: Arizona case studies (pp. 45-72). Bristol, UK: Multilingual Matters.
• Boun, S., Wright, W. E. (2013). K-12 Schooling Experiences of Southeast Asian American Students. In R. Endo & X. L. Rong (Eds.), Educating Asian Americans: Achievement, Schooling, and Identities (pp. 75-101). Charlotte, NC: Information Age Publishing.
• Wright, W. E. (2012). Bilingual Education. In Ritchie, W. C., & Bhatia, T (Eds.), Handbook of bilingualism and multilingualism. Malden, MA: Wiley-Blackwell.
• Wright, W. E. (2012). Has progress been made in raising achievement of English language learners since NCLB?. In R. Freeman & E. Hamayan (Eds.), English language learners at school: A guide for administrators (2nd ed., pp. 72-73). Philadelphia: Caslon Publishing.
• Wright, W. E. (2012). How can we use technology to support the academic, language, and learning needs of our English language learners?. In R. Freeman & E. Hamayan (Eds.), English language learners at school: A guide for administrators (2nd ed.). Philadelphia: Caslon Publishing.
• Wright, W. E., Sung, K. (2012). Teacher’s sheltered English immersion views and practices. In M. B. Arias & C. Faltis (Eds.), Implementing Educational Language Policy in Arizona: Legal, historical and current practices of SEI. Clevedon, UK: Multilingual Matters.
• Wright, W. E. (2012). What are some concrete strategies that administrators and teachers can use to guide advocacy for ELLs on the local level. In R. F. Field & E. Hamayan (Eds.), English language learners at school: A guide for administrators (2nd ed., pp. 234-236). Philadelphia: Caslon Publishing.
• Wright, W. E. (2012). What are the defining features of effective programs for English language learners?. In R. F. Field & E. Hamayan (Eds.), English language learners at school: A guide for administrators (2nd ed., pp. 100-103). Philadelphia: Caslon Publishing.
• Wright, W. E. (2012). What are the essential components of a sheltered English immersion (SEI) program?. In R. F. Field & E. Hamayan (Eds.), English language learners at school: A guide for administrators (2nd ed., pp. 108-110). Philadelphia: Caslon Publishing.
• Wright, W. E. (2012). What is the difference between English as a second language (ESL)/English language development (ELD) and sheltered instruction/specially designed academic instruction in English (SDAIE)?. In R. F. Field & E. Hamayan (Eds.), English language learners at school: A guide for administrators (2nd ed., pp. 110-111). Philadelphia: Caslon Publishing.
• Baker, C., & Wright, W. E. (2011). Introduction to bilingual education: The United States. In C. Baker (Ed.), Foundations of bilingual education and bilingualism (5th ed., pp. 183-204). Bristol, UK: Multilingual Matters.
• Wright, W. E. (2011). Cambodian Americans: History, People, Culture. In J. Lee & K. Nadeau (Eds.), Encyclopedia of Asian American Folklore and Folklife (pp. 179-185). Santa Barbara, CA: ABC-CLIO.
• Wright, W. E. (2011). Cambodian Americans: Vernacular language, speech, and manner. In J. Lee & K. Nadeau (Eds.), Encyclopedia of Asian American Folklore and Folklife (pp. 219-221). Santa Barbara, CA: ABC-CLIO.
• Wright, W. E. (2010). Khmer language use in Cambodian American Communities. In J. H. X. Lee (Ed.), Cambodian American experiences: Histories, communities, cultures, and identities (pp. 162-179). Dubuque, IA: Kendall/Hunt Publishing Company.
• Ricento, T., Wright, W. E. (2010). Language policy and education in the United States. In S. May & N. Hornberger (Eds.), Language policy and political issues in education, Encyclopedia of language and education (vol. 1, pp. 285-300). New York: Springer.

Research Summaries

• Wright, W. E., Boun, S., & Chan, V. (2024). How Multilingual Education Helped Cambodia Boost Indigenous Student Enrolment [Animated research summary video]. SciTube. https://scitube.io/how-multilingual-education-helped-cambodia-boost-indigenous-student-enrolment/
• Renn, J., Wright, W. E., Li, H., Choi, W., & Morita-Mullaney, T. (2023). How instructional coaching can help teachers of English language learners change their beliefs and practices. OASIS Summary of Renn, Li, Choi, Wright, & Morita-Mullaney (2023) in TESOL Quarterly. https://oasis-database.org/concern/summaries/cn69m489w?locale=en
• Chap, V. , Pang, S. & Wright, W. E. (2023). សកម្មភាពបង្វឹកបង្រៀនអាចជួយអោយគ្រូបង្រៀនសិស្សភាសាអង់គ្លេសផ្លាស់ប្ដូរផ្នត់គំនិតនិងការអនុវត្ត (V. Chap, S. Pang, & W. E. Wright, Trans.). OASIS Summary of Renn, J. et al. (2023) in TESOL Quarterly. https://oasis-database.org/concern/summaries/gx41mj90g
• Choi, W., Kim, W. H., Wright, W. E., & Morita-Mullaney, T. (2022). Coaching and online coursework improve English language arts instruction in Indiana dual language bilingual education classrooms. OASIS Summary of Choi et al. (2022) in Language and Education. https://oasis-database.org/concern/summaries/wd375w95s?locale=en
• Chap, V., Chan, V., & Wright, W. E. (2022). ការបង្វឹកនិងកម្មវិធីសិក្សាអនឡាញជួយពង្រឹងការបង្រៀនអក្សរសាស្រ្តភាសាអង់គ្លេសក្នុងថ្នាក់រៀនភាសាពីរនៅរដ្ឋ Indiana. OASIS Summary of Choi, W. et al. (2022) in Language and Education. https://oasis-database.org/concern/summaries/k35695142?locale=en
• Gao, F., & Wright, W. E. (2020). Systematic analysis of research articles in the Journal of Language, Identity, & Education (2015-2019). OASIS Summary of Gao, F. & Wright, W.E. (2020) in Journal of Language, Identity & Education. https://oasis-database.org/concern/summaries/j6731393w?locale=en

Data Sets

• Wright, W. E., Choi, W., Kim, W. H., & Morita-Mullaney, T. (2021). Data for: Improving English language arts instruction in Indiana dual language bilingual education classrooms, (Version 2) Purdue University Research Repository. https://doi.org/10.4231/2A0P-ME30

Videos

• Wright, W. E., Boun, S., & Chan, V. (2024). How Multilingual Education Helped Cambodia Boost Indigenous Student Enrolment. SciTube. Available: https://scitube.io/how-multilingual-education-helped-cambodia-boost-indigenous-student-enrolment/
• Wright, W. E. (2024). Interview with NABE TV – Bilingual Education as a Global Tool for Education for All. https://nabe-conference.com/nabe-tv.html?wchannelid=o9kxcdvzxx&wmediaid=7t6c0avnn2

• EDCI 55700 — Assessment of Culturally and Linguistically Diverse Students [course lead]
• EDCI 62100 — Technology for Qualitative Research
• SA 10408 — Cambodia Study Abroad