David Nunan (born 11 October 1949 in Broken Hill, Australia) is an Australian linguist who has focused on the teaching of English.
Nunan serves in a concurrent role as Dean of the Graduate School of Education and Professor of Teaching English to Speakers of Other Languages (TESOL) at Anaheim University where he has worked since 1996.
He is Academic Advisor to the GlobalEnglish Corporation, and is on the Executive Committee of The International Research Foundation for English Language Education.
Nunan began his career in Teaching English as a Second Language (ESL) in Sydney, Australia before completing graduate studies in the United Kingdom.
He has worked as a teacher, researcher and consultant in many countries including Australia, the United Kingdom, the United States, Thailand, Singapore, Japan, China—Hong Kong and in a number of Latin American countries.
[1] In 2002 Nunan received a congressional citation from the United States House of Representatives for his services to English language education through his pioneering work in online education through Anaheim University.
In November 2006 Nunan was awarded the Convocation medal for outstanding achievement and contribution internationally to the profession of Teaching English as a second language, from Flinders University, where he earned his PhD in Education and Linguistics.