About the Authors

Zhenjie Weng is an ESL instructor with more than five years of teaching experience in the U.S. She has taught ESL reading, writing, listening, and speaking as well as English literature across different contexts in the U.S. to both undergraduate and graduate level international students. As an advocate for racial justice and education equity, she is committed to international students’ academic success and well-being. As an experienced L2 writing instructor at The Ohio State University (OSU), she won a racial justice grant to create two online discussion units for undergraduate level ESL composition classes and a high support grant to create a free textbook for graduate level ESL composition courses at OSU. Outside of classrooms, she serves as a peer advisor for international students and dedicates herself to university services (e.g., Critical Reading Workshops) for international students.

Mark A. McGuire is currently a Graduate Associate at the Ohio State University. He has been teaching university EFL and ESL courses for more than ten years, in China and in the United States. His interests include the identity and pragmatic development of English users, primarily, though not exclusively, from China and Hong Kong. His research is based on integrating mixed methodologies to better understand language according to Complex Dynamic Systems Theory and usage-based perspectives on language development. His goal as a researcher is to encourage the voices and dignity of language users, especially of adults and professionals as they negotiate their expertise.