Obituary of Yong Lang

EDINBURG, TX—Yong Lang, 64, passed away on January 27, 2019 in Conroe, Texas after a long battle with lung cancer. Dr. Lang was born in Wuhan, China on March 31, 1954 to Yaowen Lang and Saili Zeng. He is survived by his parents, his wife of 35 years, Weiwei Yang and son, Langtian Lang.

Dr. Yong Lang was a renowned scholar of Linguistics and English as a Second Language studies whose research carried him across the world. After completing a B.A. and M.A. in English Composition and Rhetoric at Huazhong University of Science and Technology in Wuhan, he won a travel grant from the British Consul to travel to England to obtain a second M.A. in Language Studies from Lancaster University. In 1993, he immigrated to the United States, where he earned his Ph.D. in Foreign/Second Language Education at the Ohio State University.

Dr. Lang joined the University of Texas Rio Grande Valley (then the University of Texas - Pan American) English Department faculty in 2001, where he continued to teach until his passing. He was an active scholar, contributing to dictionaries, textbooks, and journal articles and books on linguistics in addition to being a generous reviewer and editor. His most important work is Grammar and the Chinese ESL Learner: A Longitudinal Study on the Acquisition of the English Article System, which was published by Cambria Press in 2010. He was honored as a Distinguished Overseas Professor and Guest Professor by several Chinese universities. He was a lecturer and Program Evaluator in the Foreign Language Center at OSU. From 2004 to 2008, he co-authored and published four volumes of performance textbooks entitled Chinese: Communicating in the Culture and a comprehensive set of interactive multimedia materials. His contributions were in the design, content, and management of this extensive project.

As a full professor at UTPA/UTRGV, Dr. Lang laid the foundation for the minor in Asian Studies and was the founding president of the Chinese Student and Scholars Association. A devoted and beloved teacher, Dr. Lang enjoyed bonding with his students over their work. Later in his career, Dr. Lang expanded his interests to facilitating greater understanding between cultures. In 2009, he helped establish sister university agreements between UTPA/UTRGV and several Chinese universities, starting with Hengyang Normal University in China, to support an exchange of teaching and research across campuses. "Globalization shouldn't be an empty word," he once said of this undertaking. "For students to go outside the Rio Grande Valley and travel to places like China... it is transformational."

Outside of academia, Dr. Lang enjoyed gardening, chess, swimming and playing cards. But his true passion was badminton: in addition to being a champion player, he was also a founding member of UTRGV's Badminton Club. He was a devoted son, loving husband, supportive father and caring friend. He will be missed by all.

In memory of Dr. Lang, the family has established the "Yong Lang Family Endowment" at UTRGV to support future students. Gifts can be made online at https://give.utrgv.edu/yong-lang-family-endowment

A memorial service to celebrate Dr. Lang’s life is scheduled for 2:30 pm - 4:30 pm on Sunday, February 3, 2019 at Legacy Chapels, 4610 S. Jackson Rd. in Edinburg, TX. For more details, contact Langtian Lang (langtian.lang@gmail.com). Please sign the guestbook here