Jiansong Liang

A native of Canton, China, Dr. John Liang loves language studies and enjoys exploring theory and practice in language learning and teaching. He sets as his top priority equipping students to be effective classroom teachers and professional language educators who are committed to lifelong learning. Before coming to NYU Shanghai, he served for 22 years as a professor of TESOL and as Director of TESOL Programs at Biola University, California and for 4 years as ESL Coordinator in the Learning Center at the University of California, Riverside. 

Dr. Liang is a recipient of CATESOL’s Pearson Longman Spirit of Teaching Award, an award in recognition of an ESL professional’s excellence in teaching, and the Sadae Iwataki Award, a lifetime achievement award in recognition of a CATESOL member's outstanding service. 

A prolific presenter at professional conferences, he is very active in practitioner research in English Language Teaching. His single- and co-authored articles have also appeared in INTESOL Journal, CATESOL Journal, and edited books published by Peter Lang, Routledge, and Cambridge Scholars. His academic and professional works come in a wide range of areas, including grammar pedagogy, ESL materials, second language reading and writing, language assessment, and technology-enhanced language learning. 

When he is not working, he enjoys music, cooking, and traveling.

Select Publications

• Liang, J., Xie, F., & Gao, M. (2020). Beyond exams: Research-based dynamic, technology-mediated, project-based framework for meaningful language learning in a secondary EFL setting in China. In B. Gulbahar & T. Slater (Eds.), Global perspectives on project-based language learning, teaching, and assessment: Key approaches, technology tools, and frameworks (pp. 263-282). New York: Routledge.

• Liang, J. (2014). Toward a three-step pedagogy for fostering self-assessment in a second language writing classroom. CATESOL Journal, 26(1), 1-20.

• Wu, A., Liang, J., & Csepelyi, T. (2010). Coping strategies for NNES teachers’ development. In A. Mahboob (Ed.), Nonnative English speakers in TESOL: A resource book (pp. 202-221). Newcastle upon Tyne, England: Cambridge Scholars Publishing.

• Liang, J., & Rice, S. (2009). Speak easy. Beijing, China: World Audio and Video Press. (Reprint of Fluent American English by Guangdong Foreign Language Audio and Video Press in 2005.)

• Liang, J. (2008). Language scaffolding in second language writing. CATESOL Journal, 19(1), 71-88.

Education

• PhD, Foreign Language Education
  The University of Texas at Austin

• MA, English
  Indiana University of Pennsylvania

• BA, English
  Jinan University, Guangzhou, China