Dr. Eunice Eunhee Jang believes that how we assess students shapes not just what they learn, but who they become. As a Professor at the Ontario Institute for Studies in Education (OISE), University of Toronto, she reimagines assessment as a tool for empowerment rather than gatekeeping. Her work is grounded in a simple conviction: every student brings valuable knowledge, language, and experience to the classroom. Rather than measuring what learners lack, Dr. Jang designs assessments that recognize what they bring—especially for multilingual students and historically underserved communities. Dr. Jang was instrumental in developing Ontario’s Steps to English Proficiency (STEP) framework, which transformed how schools support multilingual learners across K–12. Today, through projects like BalanceAI and APLUS, she’s pioneering AI-powered assessment systems that strengthen teacher and student agency while dismantling barriers to opportunity. Her work shows that assessment, done with care and intention, can be an act of recognition, dignity, and hope.

Sanghee Kang is an Assistant Professor of Second Language Acquisition, English as a Second Language and Korean Studies in the Department of Languages, Cultures & Applied Linguistics at Carnegie Mellon University in Pittsburgh, USA. Her research interests include technology-oriented second language acquisition, task-based language teaching, and digital multimodal composition. In her recent projects, she explores generative AI in language learning, focusing on AI feedback, chatbot–learner interaction, and AI-supported digital multimodal composition. Her work has appeared in Modern Language Journal, System, Foreign Language Annals, Computers and Composition, Language Teaching Research, Language Awareness, and International Journal of Applied Linguistics, among others. Additionally, she is the co-author of the textbook Learning Korean through Tasks: High Beginners to Intermediate, which integrates research findings in second language acquisition and task-based language teaching in to practical pedagogic tasks for Korean language learners.

Invited Presenters: 

Dr. (Zoe) Xi Chen is an assistant professor in Linguistics and Multilingual Studies at Nanyang Technological University, Singapore. Her research lies at the interface between pragmatics and NLP. She has published a number of articles in renowned linguistics journals, such as Applied Linguistics and Journal of Pragmatics, as well as top-tier NLP conferences, such as EMNLP. She serves as the book reviewer editor for the Journal of Pragmatics and is also an editorial member for Contrastive Pragmatics and Frontiers in Communication. 

Jeeyoung Ahn Ha is Director of the Korean Language Program in the Department of East Asian Languages and Cultures at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. Her work centers on Korean language pedagogy, curriculum design, teacher education, and the principled integration of technology in language instruction. She is a co-author of the Integrated Korean: Accelerated textbook series (University of Hawai‘i Press) and has presented extensively on standards-based curriculum development and AI-supported instructional practices in Korean language education. She served as a Heritage Level team leader for the American Association of Teachers of Korean’s national standards-based curriculum project and previously served as Secretary of the ACTFL Korean Special Interest Group (K-SIG). She currently serves on the Executive Board of the American Association of Teachers of Korean.

Dr. Arum Kim is a Lecturer and Program Coordinator of Korean Studies at the University of Western Australia (UWA). She previously served as an Assistant Professor and Director of the Centre for Foreign Language and Culture at BNU–HKBU United International College (UIC) in China. Her research focuses on second language acquisition, multimedia- and AI-assisted language learning, and individual learner differences. She has published extensively in internationally peer-reviewed journals as well as leading Korean academic journals. In addition to her research, she actively contributes to the academic community as a peer reviewer and editorial board member for several scholarly journals in Australia and internationally.

Inhye Lee is an Associate Professor at Chonnam National University, South Korea. She earned her PhD in Korean Language and Cultural Education from Korea University. Her research focuses on Korean language writing, curriculum development, and assessment, with recent emphasis on the impact of AI on writing pedagogy. She has participated in major national initiatives, including the development of the Korean Standard Curriculum at the National Institute of Korean Language, research on the digital transformation of the TOPIK supported by the Ministry of Education, and achievement assessment projects for the King Sejong Institute. Her current work explores how generative AI reshapes writing instruction and feedback for learners of Korean.