Raj Khatri

Professor of EAP-SoTL, Raj has been facilitating EAP classes and mentoring pre-service TESL teachers for over two decades now in an inclusive, student-centred environment at institutions of higher education in Canada and abroad. In addition to helping prepare global citizenship via his facilitation of EAP and teacher training classes and developing inclusive curricula that are grounded on principles of second language education, adult learning, universal design for learning (UDL) and EDI, Raj has been carrying out research in the areas of scholarship of EAP teaching and learning. His SoTL research, as Raj discusses, has been critical to improving his instructional practices through evidence-based teaching and reflective practice in his classrooms. His areas of research include second language reading, reading strategy use, task-based learning, UDL, and adult EAP students with disabilities as well as SoTL and mixed-method research.  

Committed to lifelong learning, Raj regularly attends and presents at local and international conferences and reaches academic and public audiences through his scholarly and professional writing in the field of TESOL and applied linguistics. Awarded the 2023 George Brown College SoTL Scholar Award, Raj also serves the SoTL-ESL Committee as Co-Chair and the SoTL-ESL News as Editor and has been engaged in mentoring colleagues and sharing his knowledge with and learning from colleagues at the department and beyond. Earlier this year at the annual conference in Dubai, TESOL Arabia recognized Raj as one of the 50 founding members of TESOL Arabia’s re-affiliation with TESOL in 2023.

In the process of supporting student success and building strong communities, Raj continues to stay committed to advancing diversity, inclusion, equity, and access in his classrooms and beyond in many ways. As part of his commitment to giving back to his community and promoting global citizenship, Raj has been voluntarily working with local and international organizations on a variety of initiatives, including his involvement in Plan International Canada’s ‘Because I am a girl’ initiative from 2016 until 2023 to advance gender and social justice in Nepal and his mentoring of internationally trained educators at WoodGreen Community Services in 2021. Moreover, Raj has sought, on many occasions, to ensure that his teacher-colleagues, who belong to and serve underrepresented communities, including Nepal, also have access to the resources and services in the field of TESOL and applied linguistics. He has been mentoring these colleagues, using his own time and resources. One of his collaborative research projects conducted in Nepal was shared at the TESOL 2023 Annual Convention and Language Expo in Portland, Oregon.  

Raj is grateful to receive their continued support from his colleagues at GBC and beyond!