The UA Library has so many resources available that can help grad student researchers in the SLAT and Applied Linguistics fields. Come get an orientation and overview of how to utilize the resources available to student researchers, including access to research software, databases, data analyzation, and so much more! We'll hear from Ping Situ and Heather Froehlich, librarians from the Humanities and Fine Arts Library Cohort.

The Zoom link will be added by the end of September. Email GIDP-SLAT@arizona.edu with questions.

Dissertation Proposal Title: Teachers’ Perspectives and Practices with Artificial Intelligence and Other Digital Technologies in Multilingual Writing Instruction Across Disciplines: An Ecological Case Study 

Dissertation Committee: Dr. Christine Tardy (Chair), Dr. Beatrice Dupuy, Dr. Hayriye Kayi-Aydar, Dr. Jon Reinhardt, Dr. Shelley Staples

Location: This dissertation proposal presentation will be a hybrid format. For those who wish to attend in person, the presentation will be in Modern Languages 453. For those who wish to attend via Zoom, the link is https://arizona.zoom.us/j/7259921432. 

Abstract: The place and role of digital technologies in multilingual higher education are complicated, and several factors often intersect, creating a complex and dynamic web of relationships (Bui, 2022). Previous research on this topic often relied on single data sources (e.g., interviews, surveys) and teachers’ self-reported data (Chocarro et al., 2023; Chuah & Kabilan, 2021; Karimi & Asadnia, 2022; Le Khanh et al., 2024; Zimotti et al., 2024). This dissertation study provides an in-depth exploration of teachers’ conceptualizations of their work and their teacher identities in relation to AI and other digital technologies in multilingual writing instruction, how they develop these perspectives and practices with digital technologies in multilingual writing instruction, and the interplay between their perspectives and practices through a qualitative case study adopting an ecological approach (Bronfenbrenner, 1979). This interdisciplinary dissertation study takes place at a large research university in the United States and includes different disciplines and programs that incorporate multilingual writing instruction. The main participants are university instructors from various backgrounds, including language teachers, writing instructors, and teachers across the curriculum in the same institution. The study incorporates multiple data sources, such as multimodal teacher narratives through arts-based research practices, semi-structured interviews, classroom observations, and reflective entries. Through narrative inquiry (Barkhuizen et al., 2025; Kayi-Aydar, 2019), the findings may help to understand the university instructors’ lived experiences, social and emotional factors, and the multiple layers in the ecosystem that shape their conceptualizations and practices with digital technologies in multilingual writing instruction.

Are you planning on going on the job market in the next year or two? Are you thinking ahead to what you need to do when you are ready to start going on the job market? Join us for our Preparing for the Job Market Webinar on Thursday, September 25th, 4:00 pm – 5:00 pm on Zoom (https://arizona.zoom.us/j/84740779417). Planning ahead for both academic and non-academic jobs will be discussed. Ana will be talking about how to prepare for an academic job search, and Dr. Amanda Bogden (Associate Director of Graduate Career Services) will be talking about how to prepare for a non-academic job search for the types of jobs that SLAT students (and recent alumni) have shown interest in. 

All students are welcome, but we especially encourage students who are currently on the job market or will be in the next year to attend. To help us get an idea about how many students will be attending, please rsvp here: https://forms.gle/uh8LXGUNArEFAKKw8

This workshop will cover what to expect from the comprehensive exam process, when to start putting committees together, how to put together reading lists, how to tie in your dissertation proposal topic, and much more. All SLAT students in their 2nd and 3rd years (especially those who are taking comps during 2025-2026) are required to attend, but all SLAT major and minor students from any cohort are welcome.

Presenter: Dr. Ana Carvalho

This workshop, led by Dr. Janice McGregor (University of Arizona) will give an introduction to qualitative research methods in relation to SLA-related topics. The purpose of this interactive workshop is to learn and discuss how qualitative research engages with the relational, how to consider the ways that positionality influences data collection and analysis, and more! 

This workshop is being held via Zoom. Please register ahead of time through this linked form. 

Dr. Janice McGregor is a faculty member in the Department of German Studies and in SLAT. Her experiences with identity, authenticity, and multilingualism shape her research endeavors, which center around three interrelated strands:

1. The construction of ideologies and beliefs around language learning and teaching;
2. Discourses surrounding language and intercultural learning, especially in study abroad contexts;
3. Qualitative research methods and the reflexive researcher in German applied linguistics.

Her projects' findings highlight the need for scholars and educators to better attend to the coordinated interactional work that speakers do in social interactions (e.g. "naturally-occurring" interactions, in interviews), the value of adopting an understanding of "authentic" language as encompassing patterns of language and meaning that are both recognizable within and across communities of speakers and that are appropriated as one's own, and the value of examining beliefs about and constructions of intercultural learning in order to better articulate what it actually is and how to assess it. See here for her contribution to the Tucson Humanities Festival 2020: "Study Abroad and Un(doing) Harm".

Dissertation Proposal Title: Culturally Responsive Pedagogy in the Age of AI: Reimagining L2 Writing Instruction

Dissertation Committee: Dr. Christine Tardy, Dr. Betul Czerkawski, Dr. Beatrice Dupuy, Dr. M'Balia Thomas

Abstract: Culturally Responsive Pedagogies (CRP) is a set of approaches that emphasize the importance of students’ cultural and linguistic identities in learning and challenging dominant norms (Gay, 2000; Ladson-Billing, 1995). Despite the anticipated increase in global English learners, there exists a significant gap in research concerning the effects of culturally responsive teaching on writing instruction for EFL students. They would greatly benefit from learning about standard academic practices while leveraging their cultural resources. This study aims to close this gap by providing L2 writing instructors with a new pedagogical framework, combining CRP principles and inclusive AI literacy — practice valuing diverse voices while critically examining exclusions embedded in AI tools.   As generative AI tools become increasingly common in classrooms, concerns arise regarding their reinforcement of standardized English norms and marginalization of diverse rhetorical practices (Vetter et al., 2024). This study addresses: (1) How do instructors interpret CRP and inclusive AI literacy? (2) What challenges and opportunities arise when integrating AI into culturally affirming writing instruction?

Employing a mixed-methods approach, this dissertation investigates how university writing instructors interpret and apply the proposed pedagogical framework through a semester-long professional development (PD) model. The PD is based on the Critical Friends Group model and includes discussion circles, teacher reflective journaling, and adaptation of instructional artifacts (e.g., slides, handouts, exercises reflecting CRP, AI, or both). Surveys provide descriptive statistics tracking shifts in understanding and practice (mean and value); qualitative data are analyzed via reflective thematic analysis. The findings may provide valuable guidance for writing instructors, teacher educators, and curriculum developers on how to navigate AI-mediated writing while also honoring students’ linguistic and cultural repertoires.