The first-year SLAT major and minor students will present their Research Agenda posters in this final class presentation of the semester. All SLAT faculty and students are welcome to attend!

Language ideologies have captured the interest of scholars of language for more than 40 years, even as the construct has evolved over time. Theoretical and empirical investigations of language ideology have drawn attention to “the implicit understandings and unspoken assumptions embedded and reproduced in the structure of institutions and their everyday practices” (Gal, 1998, 319) and also to how such understandings and assumptions “endow some linguistic features or varieties with greater value than others, for some circumstances and some speakers” (Woolard, 2021, 2). In this presentation, I examine the “ideological work” (Irvine 2021) that is accomplished in two different first-hand accounts of displacement. In each case, the “ideological work” accomplished by the narrative contributes to a performance of a recognizable figure of personhood (Koven 2015, 2016; Park 2021) that establishes a distinctively moral stance. The first example comes from an interview with an adult learner of English about her lived experiences with language learning, resettlement and job hunting in the U.S. The second example is from an interview conducted with a community-based advocate-activist who once identified as a refugee and now works for the state’s Department of Economic Security. The analysis illuminates how speakers strategically mobilize and monopolize widely circulating ideologies of language that value English above other languages (and speakers of English over speakers of other languages) – and ultimately how this ideologizing invokes “figures of personhood” that also index a type of person or a broader social type “such as ‘being morally responsible’” (Park, 2021, 49).

Dr. Doris Warriner is a Professor in the Department of Anthropology at Northwestern University. With expertise in educational anthropology and linguistic anthropology, she investigates the social, political, economic, and ideological dimensions of language, literacy, and mobility. In her scholarship and teaching, she examines how social practices, understandings and policies are influenced by large-scale processes such as displacement, ethnic conflict, immigration, and transnationalism. Prior to joining Northwestern University, Warriner was a Professor of English at Arizona State University. In addition, Warriner has edited Refugee Education across the Lifespan: Mapping Experiences of Language Learning and Use (published by Springer in 2021) and has co-edited two volumes: Extending Applied Linguistics for Social Impact: Cross-Disciplinary Collaborations in Diverse Spaces of Public Inquiry (published by Bloomsbury in 2021) and Critical Reflections on Research Methods: Power and Equity in Complex Multilingual Contexts (published by Multilingual Matters in 2019).

Student Moderator: Asya Gorlova, 4th-year SLAT PhD Candidate

Panelists: Dr. Jieun Ryu (University of Arizona), Dr. Natalie Amgott (Carnegie Mellon University), Dr. Rachel Floyd (University of Georgia), Dr. Federico Fabbri (University of Michigan)

Moderator: Dilara Avci, 2nd-year SLAT PhD Student

Panelist Bios

Dr. Jieun Ryu is an Assistant Professor of Practice in the Department of East Asian Studies at the University of Arizona, where she also serves as Co-Director of the Korean Language Program. She earned her PhD from SLAT in 2017. Before joining the East Asian Studies Department, she served as the Director of the Critical Languages Program at the University of Arizona for seven years and as a coordinator for two years. With over a decade of experience in language teaching and program administration, Dr. Ryu has developed and implemented innovative curricula, especially in the field of Less Commonly Taught Languages (LCTLs). She is passionate about exploring new methodologies to enhance language learning, including the integration of cutting-edge technologies in classroom practice. Dr. Ryu has been actively collaborating with many LCTL educators, including SLAT faculty and students, on interdisciplinary curriculum development initiatives.

Dr. Natalie Amgott is Associate Director of Online Language Learning at Carnegie Mellon University, where she also directs the Language Program Administration Certificate. A PhD graduate of SLAT at the University of Arizona, her research and practice center on curriculum design and program evaluation. She is recipient of the ACTFL Early Career Research Award and has published in Foreign Language Annals, System, TESOL Quarterly, and L2 Journal. 

Dr. Rachel Floyd holds a PhD in Second Language Acquisition and Teaching from the University of Arizona and a MA in French & Francophone Studies from the University of Tennessee. She specializes in the implementation of multiliteracies and critical pedagogies, and her research interests relate to the implementation of these pedagogies in the language classroom. She has also published articles related to the development of socio-emotional learning and digital literacies in the language classroom. She is currently the French Language Program Supervisor at the University of Georgia.

Dr. Federico Fabbri is the Director of the Elementary Language Program in Romance Languages at the University of Michigan. A PhD graduate of SLAT at the University of Arizona, his main areas of interest lie in Language Program Administration, particularly Enrollment & Retention, Curriculum Design, and Materials Development. Other academic interests include Open Educational Resources and L2 Autoethnography. 

UDL, DEI, oh my! Does it sometimes feel too overwhelming or abstract to even think about creating effective courses for our diverse learners? Let’s take this hour to get our bearings. We will demystify some popular terms (such as Universal Design for Learning, or Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion, among others) and explore what they all have in common when we consider the basic principles of our teaching practices. And when we look at some concrete examples we can apply next week or next semester, creating effective courses won't look so challenging anymore.

Dr. Mascha N. Gemein is an Associate Professor of Practice at the University Center for Assessment Teaching and Technology at the University of Arizona. An international scholar and educational developer with particular focus on equity, intercultural learning, and evidence-based curriculum development, she supports faculty through consultations, professional development programs, and learning communities. She also serves as advisor, coordinator, and faculty member of the College Teaching Graduate Interdisciplinary Program.

Student Moderator: Dilara Avci, 2nd-year SLAT PhD Student

Panelists: Dr. Lisa Jurkowitz (Pima Community College), Dr. Kara McBride (World Learning), Dr. Tahnee Bucher (Michigan Language Assessment)

Moderator: Angus Leydic, 3rd-year SLAT PhD student

Panelist bios

Dr. Lisa Jurkowitz was raised in Arizona but lived in France for several of her school-age years. The experience of studying abroad and traveling throughout Europe with her family sparked her early interest in languages and cultures. At university, she pursued Bachelors and Masters degrees in French Literature & Pedagogy, with a minor in Spanish. Subsequently, she earned her PhD in SLAT from the University of Arizona. Since 2000, she has taught English as a Second Language as a full-time faculty member at Pima Community College in Tucson, Arizona. Throughout her tenure, she has served in various leadership positions and is currently serving as the ESL Department Head. 

Dr. Kara McBride serves as Senior Technical Education Specialist at World Learning and Assistant Professor at SIT Graduate Institute. She focuses on teacher training and curricular reform across a range of programs in Central Asia, the Middle East, and globally. She served as World Learning’s technical specialist for a USAID-funded education project in Lebanon, which works to improve reading and writing instruction for grades 1-6, across three languages, and the integration of social and emotional learning into all aspects of schoolchildren’s education. Kara has led the design of online teacher training courses that have been completed by more than 35,000 teachers from over 120 countries, including Integrating Critical Thinking into the Exploration of Culture in an EFL Setting and Content-Based Instruction, both of which form part of the US Department of State’s Online Professional English Network (OPEN). Before coming to World Learning, Kara was an Associate Professor in the Department of Languages, Literatures, and Cultures at Saint Louis University, where she served first as director of the basic Spanish Language Program and, later, as Director of the Spanish Masters program. Kara graduated from SLAT in 2007. 

Dr. Tahnee Bucher (Ph.D. SLAT, University of Arizona; M.A. TESOL, West Virginia University) specializes in classroom language assessment and language proficiency testing. With extensive experience in the field, she has held diverse roles, including ESL/EFL instructor, teacher trainer, test consultant, assessment coordinator, and assessment developer. Currently, she serves as the Assessment Innovation and Alignment Manager at Michigan Language Assessment. In this role, she bridges research and action to ensure exams remain fit for purpose, while also evaluating, recommending, and implementing content and process changes to support validity and scalability.

This workshop has been rescheduled from October 18th to November 8th.

In this workshop, Dr. Hammond will go over why somebody in SLAT might want to learn to program. He'll review what programming is, why SLAT students might want to learn how to do it, and will give examples and hands-on experience of three kinds of programming that SLAT students could choose between, depending on their needs and interests: shell commands, prolog, and python. These three approaches exemplify different kinds of programming that appeal to people with different kinds of needs, interests, and available time.

Presenter: Dr. Mike Hammond

This workshop will be held in person in the Art Building, room 140.

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 2024-2025) are required to attend, but all SLAT major and minor students from any cohort are welcome.

Presenter: Dr. Suzanne Panferov Reese

A forum for all SLAT faculty to meet with the SLAT Chair and find out what’s happening in SLAT, and to address any concerns related to the program and to have questions answered.

Panelists: Dr. Kimberly Jones (University of Arizona), Dr. Beatrice Dupuy (University of Arizona), Dr. Chantelle Warner, Dr. Julieta Fernandez (University of Arizona) Minda Dettman (University of Arizona)

Moderator: Amable Custodio Ribeiro

Please register in advance of the webinar through this link: https://arizona.zoom.us/meeting/register/tZ0sdOCtqjkqHtytB8vbKy_QUqELyq…

Panelist Bios

Dr. Beatrice Dupuy is a Professor of French, Public and Applied Humanities, and Second Language Acquisition and Teaching at the University of Arizona. She directs the Center for Educational Resources in Culture, Language, and Literacy, a language resource center funded by the U.S. Department of Education. Her scholarship focuses on multiliteracies and multimodality in language education and language educator professional learning.

Dr. Kimberly Jones (Ph.D., University of Michigan) is a Professor of East Asian Studies and past Vice Dean of the College of Humanities (2008-2023), and affiliated faculty with the SLAT program. Since 2022, she has been Co-Director of the Department of Defense-funded University of Arizona Language Training Center. A sociolinguist who specializes in both second language acquisition and teaching and Japanese sociolinguistics, she is particularly interested in how the analysis of naturally occurring talk can inform language pedagogy, and in children's language acquisition, attrition, and code-switching.

Dr. Chantelle Warner is Associate Dean for Academic and Faculty Affairs in the College of Humanities at the University of Arizona, where she is also a Professor of German Studies and a faculty affiliate of the SLAT PhD program. Between 2014 and 2024, she served as Co-Director of the Center for Educational Resources in Culture, Language and Literacy (CERCLL), a National Language Resource Center supported by the U.S. Department of Education's Title VI Program.

Dr. Julieta Fernández is an Associate Professor in the Spanish & Portuguese Department and a faculty member in the SLAT PhD program. Her research seeks to advance our understanding of second language teaching and learning in the at-home and study abroad (SA) contexts, with a special focus on pragmatics. Professor Fernández runs the Tucson Applied Linguistics Lab with the help of a Vertically Integrated Projects (VIP) Seed Grant. She and a group of SLAT colleagues were also recently awarded a CUES Spanning Boundaries Challenge Grant for the collaborative project "A linguistically responsive Teaching Assistant training model". And funded by a CERCLL grant, she is co-editing an introduction to contemporary topics in applied linguistics for language educators, which is an open educational resource book designed for in-service teachers.

Minda Dettman is the Research and Award Coordinator in the College of Humanities. They plan and implement workshops on grant-getting and help colleagues navigate the grant application process.

First-year students will have the chance to meet with the SLAT Graduate Advisor and the Major/Minor Area Chairs, along with the SLAT Program Coordinator, to learn about how to transfer courses from their MA programs to the SLAT PhD program. 

Presenters: Dr. Chris Tardy (SLAT Graduate Advisor), Dr. Suzanne Panferov Reese (SLAT Chair and LPA Area Chair), Dr. Liudmila Klimanova (Sociocultural Dimensions Area Chair), Dr. Robert Henderson (Linguistic Dimensions Area Chair, Interim Cognitive Dimensions Area Chair), Dr. Mahmoud Azaz (Instructional Dimensions Area Chair), Dr. Jill Castek (TSLT Area Chair), Debbie Shon Buhler (SLAT Senior Program Coordinator)