Chan elected as AAAL secretary
The American Association for Applied Linguistics (AAAL) elected Virak Chan as its new secretary.
Chan is a clinical associate professor in literacy and language in the College of Education’s Department of Curriculum and Instruction.
“AAAL is a major professional research organization for our field with over 2,200 members from around the world,” said Wayne E. Wright, associate dean for research, graduate programs and faculty development and professor and Barbara I. Cook Chair of Literacy and Language. “All of our English Language Learning faculty and most of our PhD students are AAAL members and regularly attend and present their research at the annual conference.”
Chan advances research and practice in language education, and leads a study abroad program to Cambodia which offers students firsthand experience in international education and fostering cross-cultural understanding. Additionally, he coordinates the English Language Learner (ELL) pathway for the undergraduate teacher education program, preparing future educators to support linguistically and culturally diverse students. His dedication to teacher preparation extends to mentoring students and collaborating with faculty to integrate best practices in ELL education.
A native of Cambodia, Chan earned a Bachelor of Education in Teaching English as a Foreign Language (TEFL) before moving to the United States. He spent over a decade training English teachers and coordinated a master’s program in Teaching English to Speakers of Other Languages (TESOL) for two years, shaping the professional development of educators in multilingual settings. As a Fulbright scholar, he earned his MA in TESOL from San Jose State University in 2008 and later completed his PhD in Culture, Literacy, and Language at the University of Texas at San Antonio in 2016. His research focuses on language and education policies, instructional practices for diverse learners, teacher development, bilingual and multilingual education, and linguistic landscapes.
“As a new secretary to AAAL, I will work to establish and maintain an effective and efficient communication system to ensure timely updates between members, committees, and external partners, using digital tools for scheduling and document management,” Chan said. “I’ll also be maintaining accurate records of meetings, decisions, and correspondence to support transparency and facilitate smooth organizational operations.”
“Beyond his academic and teaching commitments, Dr. Chan has been an active member of the American Association of Applied Linguistics (AAAL) for over a decade,” according to AAAL. “In recognition of his scholarly contributions, he received the AAAL Graduate Student Award in 2016. Over the years, he has actively engaged with the association in various capacities, including serving as a conference volunteer, a mentor in the AAAL mentoring program, and a strand coordinator for the Bilingual, Immersion, Heritage, and Language Minority Education (BIH) strand. Through these roles, he has contributed to the professional growth of emerging scholars and the advancement of research in applied linguistics.”