A place to discuss language learning and teaching

Originally from Bristol, Pennsylvania, and educated in Philadelphia, I hold a Bachelor’s in Early Childhood Education from Temple University and a Master’s in Education (TESOL) from the University of Pennsylvania. These foundations shaped my early career as a university professor, where I taught graduate courses in EFL Methods, Second Language Acquisition, and Intercultural Communication, mentored pre- and in-service teachers, and collaborated on curriculum and assessment design.

I pursued a PhD in Applied Linguistics at Korea University, focusing on second language acquisition, bilingualism, and the pragmatics and syntax of English and Korean, advancing to ABD before transitioning to K–12 education to broaden my impact and lead program development across divisions. During this period, I published and presented on linguistics and second language acquisition, including research on learner language analysis, bilingual vocabulary development, and Korean binding principles.

Now in my tenth year at Korea International School Jeju (KISJ), I serve as Director of Special Programs and a member of the Senior Leadership Team. My role spans enrichment program design, admissions, curriculum and instruction, and professional learning, while continuing to teach high school English Language and Literacy through co-planning, co-teaching, and coaching. I work across all divisions, building teacher capacity and fostering student growth in a school-wide, collaborative approach.

Outside of school, life centers on family and community in Jeju, where I coach jiu-jitsu, explore the island with my wife and our two teenagers, and continue my study of the Korean language.

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Presentations & Publications:

• Rago, Bill. (2025) How Korean Affects English. Presented at Teachers Teaching Teachers at Korea International School Jeju. February 17, 2025. 
• Bowyer, Pippi & Rago, Bill. (2025) Effortless UDL: Meeting Diverse Needs in Secondary Students. Presented at Teachers Teaching Teachers at Korea International School Jeju. February 17, 2025.
• Rago, Bill. (2024) Increasing the Quality and Quantity of Student Talk. Presented at Teachers Teaching Teachers at Korea International School Jeju. January, 2024. 
• Rago, William & Alisha Brizicky. (2020) A Model for ELL Integration in Middle School. Proposal accepted for ELLSA 2020 at Seoul Foreign School, Seoul, South Korea. *cancelled due to COVID-19. 
• Rago, William. (2017). Building Language in the Content Classroom. Presented at the 32nd KORCOS International Education Conference at Chadwick International School, November 18th, 2017
• Rago, William. (2017). Building Language in the Content Classroom. Presented at the 2017 EARCOS Teacher’s Conference.
• Rago, William & Allison Peterson. (2015). Getting the Blog Rolling: A beginner’s guide to social media in the classroom. Presented at the 2015 Vietnam Tech Conference. Saigon South International School, Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam.
• Rago, William. (2015). Encouraging Interaction in the Classroom. Presented at TESOLtalks. Australian Centre for Education and Training, Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam.
• Rago, William & Adam Boothe. (2013). Digging In: Learner Language Analysis
  and EFL Teacher Trainees. Presented at 2013 KOTESOL International Conference. Sookmyung Women’s University, Seoul, Korea.
• Rago, William & Seokhoon You. (2013). Pragmatic and Syntactic Interface Properties in Korean Binding. Language Information (언어정보). 16: 89-106
• Rago, William & Seokhoon You. (2012). The Intricacies of Korean Binding: Problems with English L2 Acquisition Research. Presented at the 1^st World Congress of Scholars of English Linguistics. Hanyang University, Seoul, Korea.
• Rago, William. (2012). Who Cares: Linguistics, Second Language Acquisition Theory, and EFL Teachers. Presented at 2012 KOTESOL International Conference. Sookmyung Women’s University, Seoul, Korea
• Rago, William. (2011, March) Learner Norms and Language Corpora. Workshop held at the 2011 Seoul Chapter KOTESOL conference. Sookmyung Women’s University, Seoul, Korea
• Rago, William, Eunjeong Oh & Seokhoon You. (2011). On Knowledge of Binding Principles A and B by adult Korean learners of English. Language and Linguistics (언어와 언어학). 51: 129-155
• Rago, William. (2010, June). The relationship between total conceptual vocabulary and expressive vocabulary in one bilingual child. Paper presented at the 2010 Seoul International Conference on Linguistics (SICOL).  Korea University, Seoul, Korea.