Keynote Speakers

Prof. Dr. Stefanie Shamila Pillai began her teaching career as an English language teacher at her alma mater, the Senior Methodist Girls’ School in Kuala Lumpur. She is currently a Professor at the Department of English Language, Faculty of Languages & Linguistics, Universiti Malaya. She was recently appointed as Adjunct Professor by Mahidol University's Research Institute for Languages and Cultures of Asia. Her areas of research include Spoken Malaysian English and language policies and language use in multilingual contexts. She has published widely in these areas, as well as on Melaka Portuguese, an endangered language in Malaysia. She recently co-edited a book on research focusing on indigenous communities in Malaysia. 

Dr. Tamas Kiss is an Associate Professor at Sunway University, Centre for English Language Studies in Malaysia. He has been involved with language teacher education in Europe, the Middle East, South Asia, Latin America and SE Asia. He has delivered talks and courses in more than 20 countries including Hungary, Philippines, Lithuania, Pakistan, Iraq, Hong Kong, Singapore, Ukraine, Mexico and Nepal. His main research interests include language pedagogy, language teacher education, creativity, intercultural communication, the link between complex dynamic systems and education, and the role of culture in language teaching materials. He co-authored Creativity and English Language Teaching: From inspiration to implementation (2018, Palgrave Macmillan) with Alan Maley. His latest book projects include Developing intercultural learning materials (forthcoming, Routledge) with Freda Mishan and an edited volume on critical pedagogies in ELT in the SE Asian region (in print, MELTA-USM Press) with Joanna Joseph Jeyaraj and David D. Perrodin.

Professor Shelley K. Taylor teaches in the graduate TESOL/ Applied Linguistics program at the University of Western Ontario. She has conducted research on plurilingualism in TESOL, EMI, MLE, Nepali-Bhutanese refugee children in Canada, and postsecondary youth refugees’ language and literacy development, and worked on multilingual educational language policy in Canada, Denmark, Greenland, India and Nepal. She is currently the President of TESOL International Association. 

Dr. Michael Burri is a Senior Lecturer in TESOL at the University of Wollongong, Editor of English Australia Journal, and an editorial board member of TESOL Quarterly. He has taught and conducted research in various contexts in Australia, Japan, and Canada. His professional interests include pronunciation instruction, teacher education and learning, Mind Brain Education, and non-native English-speaking teacher issues. Michael has published in many leading journals, and his longitudinal research on learning to teach English pronunciation was awarded the TESOL Award for an Outstanding Paper on NNEST Issues (2015) and the MAK Halliday Prize for Outstanding Research in Applied Linguistics (2019).

Allen Davenport is the Professional Learning and Development Manager at Cambridge University Press & Assessment and specialises in training and developing teachers to instruct English learners from diverse linguistic backgrounds. He closely collaborates with ELT educators to enhance their teaching skills and improve student outcomes. With nearly two decades of experience, Allen possesses a wealth of knowledge and expertise as a teacher, training consultant, academic director, and examiner for multiple international exam boards. He frequently presents at global conferences, sharing valuable insights on effective teaching techniques and emerging trends in English language education. Allen is passionate about investigating innovative approaches to learning, teaching, and assessment and assisting teachers in adapting their methods to meet the evolving needs of their students. Additionally, he focuses on fostering creativity and creative thinking in the classroom.