Our members (2015)

Alan Maley 

Alan has been involved with ELT for 50 years. Between 1962-1988 he worked for the British Council in Jugoslavia, Ghana, Italy, France, China and India.  From 1988-1993 he was Director-General of the Bell Educational Trust in Cambridge.  He then went to the National University of Singapore as Senior Fellow until 1999.  He set up the MA in ELT at Assumption University, Bangkok between 1999-2003.  He has published over 40 books and numerous articles.  His main interests are in creative methodology (including writing!), teacher development and innovative materials.  He has been involved with the Asia Teacher-Writers group since it began in 2003 and has participated in all the workshops to date. 

Jayakaran Mukundan 

Tan Bee Tin

Tan Bee Tin started her career as an English language teacher in Myanmar (Burma). She currently teaches in the Department of Applied Language Studies and Linguistics at the University of Auckland in New Zealand. She has a strong interest in language education in Asia and has conducted research in various Asian contexts (e.g. Nepal, Indonesia, Myanmar). When working as a lecturer at Assumption University in Bangkok, she accidentally discovered her passion for creative writing as she sat in a creative writing course taught by Prof Alan Maley. She hosted the first creative writing workshop (‘a two-day seminar on materials development for teaching creative writing in EFL classrooms in the Asia context', 21-22 March 2003) at Assumption University with the funding she received from A S Hornby Trust and ELTeCs. That seminar has led to the forming of this current Asian Teacher-Writer Group and the series of annual creative writing workshops/conferences in Asia.

Vishnu S Rai

Vishnu S Rai, an Associate Professor of English, has lived and taught in India and Nepal.  During his long career of ELT and teacher training, he has done a lot of research on ELT, multilingual education and endangered languages, written over 3 dozen books on linguistics and ELT, which are taught in the local colleges, and contributed to the national and international journals. He loves creative writing and his stories and poems are taught at the Bachelor's and Master's level courses of the Faculty of Education, Tribhuvan University, Nepal. He has also organized several international conferences and workshops. He likes travelling and meeting new people, and frequently visits overseas countries to present papers or run workshops. Currently, he teaches at the Department of English Language Education, Tribhuvan University. His interest lies in Creative Writing, Research and Material Development. He can be contacted at raivishnu1@gmail.com 

Ms. Motikala Subba Dewan

Moti is Associate Professor of English (Permanent) at Ratna Rajya Laxmi Campus (RR Campus), Tribhuvan University, Nepal. Courses she teaches include creative writing course, fiction and drama to MA English students. She is an English teacher (more than 18 years) as well as an advocate (6 years), teaching Law and English to Bachelor to Master level students of private and government colleges and institutions, a professional freelance interpreter, rapporteur, English language trainer, and translator since 1993, legal advisor and law practitioner since 2006. She has been a member of the Asian Teacher-Writer group since 2008. 

Le Thi Anh Phuong

Fulbright scholar at University of South Florida in USA (2009); Ed.D. at LaTrobe University in Melbourne, Australia (2007) ; M.A. in Applied Linguistics at Macquarie University in Sydney, Australia (2000) and Graduate Diploma in TESOL at Deakin University in Melbourne, Australia (1995); B.A.in TESOL at Hue Education University in Hue, Vietnam (1980). Based at Nha Trang Education College in Vietnam, Dr. Phuong has been a TESOL educator and teacher for various national projects. She has published and presented extensively on TESOL issues both in Vietnam and overseas. She also works as a part-time translator and interpreter. She joined the Asian Teacher-Writer group in 2010 when she started to learn how to write from the team. Her major research interests include syllabus design, assessment, teacher development, intercultural communication and discourse analysis. 

Ristiyanti Prasetijo

Risti is a lecturer at Satya Wacana Christian University, Salatiga, Central Java, Indonesia. She joined the Asian Teacher-Writer Group in 2008. 

LIN Lihua (June)

LIN Lihua (June) is currently an English teacher at the English Department, Sunshine College, Fuzhou University, Fujian, P.R.C. She obtained an MA-ELT degree in 2005 from Assumption University. She became a participant in the Asian Teacher-Writer group in 2004 and organized the Third Creative Writing workshop and conference in Fuzhou in 2005. The major courses she has taught include English reading and writing (e.g. writing for different purposes with different levels), intercultural communication and business English. Her research interest is materials writing and development, teachers' education, curriculum and course design, and learner autonomy.

Kanokon Opasmongkonchai

Kanokon obtained a master's degree in English and Literature from Assumption University (ABAC), Thailand. She is currently a freelance Thai and English language teacher in Bangkok. Writing short stories and poems are significant means to improve her writing and creative thinking.

Mallika Vasugi Govindarajoo 

Mallika has been working as a High School teacher in Malaysia for 26 years, a Newspaper columnist for Malaysian daily for 15 years, and as a teacher trainer and facilitator of Newspaper in Education workshops throughout Malaysia. She has been a member of present creative writing group since 2010. She obtained Bachelor of Science in Mathematics (University of Science, Malaysia) and Master of Education (Teaching English as a second language) (University Putra Malaysia). Her interests include creative writing, poetry and drama.

Muhammad Iqbal

Muhammad Iqbal grew up in a small village of Punjab. He has been writing poetry since his school days in different languages. His children poems and songs have been published in different international teaching newsletters. He teaches English in a vocational institute working for poverty alleviation and rehabilitation of the poor in Narowal, Pakistan. He is the member of a number of national and international associations and Discussion List Moderator for Global Issues SIG, IATEFL. He is the founder of Rural English Learners and Teachers group in the Punjab, Pakistan. He has presented at national and international conferences. He has been a member of the Asian Teacher-Writer group since 2006.
 

Ivy Sultana

Ivy Sultana is Lecturer at the Department of English, King Khalid University (KKU), Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. She is Bangladeshi and taught in State University of Bangladesh and in a number of language institutes in her country before joining KKU back in September, 2011. Her areas of interest include English Language Teaching, Creative Writing, Business English, and Sociolinguistics. She is also a published short story writer and rendered her stories in several events in Bangladesh and the United Kingdom. Email: ivysultana@yahoo.com

Meng Tian 

Meng Tian has been involved in English language teaching for more than a decade in China and Thailand. She received a Bachelor's degree in English Literature from Shanxi Normal University, P.R. China, and an MA in ELT from Assumption University of Thailand. She is currently doing a Ph.D in discourse analysis at Assumption University. She worked for English Weekly as a part-time executive editor for the issues of younger learners from 2000 to 2001. Meng Tian also made great efforts to help Thai EFL learners with IELTS skills while working as an Interaction Zone Advisor in the British Council from 2004 to 2006. She has great passion for writing English stories and poems for young learners and conducting academic research. She has given presentations in international conferences and published poems, stories, academic papers and book chapters. Her research interests include creative writing, discourse analysis, fluency and accuracy, and group dynamics.

Nguyen Thi Hoai An

Nguyen Thi Hoai An is an EFL teacher and teacher trainer. She joined the first Creative Writing workshop in Asia in 2003 and since then has been an active member of the group. Her contributions include writing poems and short stories and hosting the group workshop in Saigon, Vietnam in 2007. She encourages students' autonomy and considers their creativity an essential element in learning and teaching a foreign language. Creative writing has helped her to accept her students as unique individuals and allow them to express themselves. She believes that reading is the basis of all kinds of expansion in learning and will continue to advocate extensive reading among her students.

Ha Thi Thu Nguyen

Fan Dai 

Fan Dai is professor of English in the Department of English, Sun Yat-sen University, China. She holds a PhD in linguistics from Sun Yat-sen University, a Master's degree in human geography from State University of New York at Albany, and has just completed her MFA in creative writing at City University of Hong Kong. She teaches one of the very few creative writing courses in China that combines western tradition with the teaching of English as a second language. She has published in World Englishes and TEXT. She writes creatively in both Chinese and English and publishes in both languages. She will be a Fulbright research scholar at the University of Iowa from December, 2012 to October, 2013. 

Mierza Miranti

Mierza Miranti has been teaching English for 7 years. Currently, she is also in charge as a Professional Development Manager at the Sugar Group Schools and Polytechnic in Lampung, Indonesia. She has been publishing works and publications that mostly relate global topics and literature to ELT. Being in the Creative Writing Group from 2010 makes her passion in writing grow even larger. She can be reached at mierza.mf@gmail.com.

Li Wei  (Lily Lee)

LI Wei is currently an English lecturer in the School of Foreign Languages, Guizhou Normal University, China. She holds a Master's degree in English Language Teaching from Assumption University of Thailand. She became a member of the Asian Teacher-Writer group in 2006 and joined the Creative Writing workshop and conferences in Vietnam, Nepal, and Indonesia. Her main research interests are in creative approaches in language teaching and intercultural communication.

Phan Le Ha

Phan Le Ha (also known as Ha Phan or Le Ha Phan) is a Senior Lecturer in Culture and Pedagogy at the Faculty of Education, Monash University, Australia. She holds honorary positions at universities in Vietnam. She has also been appointed a Visiting Professorship at the University of Reading, UK. In this appointment, she is affiliated with the Institute of Education. She is particularly interested in interdisciplinary/multidisciplinary research: Language - Culture - Pedagogy - Identity; International Education (including policies, practices and pedagogies surrounding the internationalisation of education, international students, intercultural issues, offshore campuses/programs, and academic identity); Intellectual Engagement beyond the 'Western' world; English Teacher Education; English as an International Language; and Academic Writing.

Maya Rai

Maya Rai is currently working as a Deputy Director in National Centre for Educational Development, Ministry of Education.  Recruited as English Specialist, she has 24 years experience supervising writers of English textbook, curriculum and supplimentary materials and editing them, and training Master Trainers of English. She is  Resource Person for Multilingual Education and has supervised MLE materials development and training MLE Master Trainers in 21  languages so far. 

Handoyo Puji Widodo

Handoyo Puji Widodo has published articles in refereed journals and presented his work at international conferences in the areas of language teaching methodology and language materials development. Also, he has edited several volumes in these areas. He is currently sitting on an editorial board member of refereed international journals (e.g., International Journal of Innovation in ELT & Research, Asian ESP Journal, English Australia, TESL-EJ). Widodo's areas of specialization include language curriculum and materials development as well as language teaching methodology. Widodo can be contacted at handoyopw@yahoo.com.

Sarita Dewan

Sarita Dewan is the Department Head of English at Little Angels' School, Hattiban, Nepal. She is also a Secretary for NELTA (Nepal English Language Teachers' Association), a member of IATEFL and an Executive member of QUEST Nepal.

Umi Rukailah Safari

Umi Rukailah Safari has been teaching English language at a secondary school for the past twenty years.  The age of her students ranges from 14-17 years old and on average there are 42 students in her class.  Umi is an active member of her English Community where she has played a role in promoting English in action by helping Language Learners with some challenges to acquire skills to improve the learning outcomes in rural schools.  Umi participated in the workshop with the Creative Writing Group, in Jember, Indonesia, in 2011.