Dissertation Title: "Why Study Romance Languages in the U.S.? (Investigating and Addressing the Enrollment and Retention Crisis in U.S.-Based Romance Language Programs)"

Dissertation Committee: Dr. Beatrice Dupuy (Chair), Dr. Suzanne Panferov Reese, Dr. Dwight Atkinson

Location: Via live Zoom presentation - https://arizona.zoom.us/j/366425113 

Abstract: In recent years, US-based foreign language (L2) programs have faced an enrollment and retention crisis (Looney & Lusin, 2019), also affecting L2 programs in the four most commonly taught Romance languages: French, Italian, Portuguese, and Spanish. Seeking to add to the current understanding of this crisis and provide possible solutions to reverse it, the present study investigated learners’ salient reasons for choosing these four Romance languages at the university level, as well as factors influencing their decision to continue or quit L2 study upon the fulfillment of the language requirement established within most US institutions. Through a combination of a multi-section questionnaire administered to US-based undergraduate students currently studying one Romance language and semi-structured interviews with selected participants, the present study aimed to identify recurring and salient motivational factors, both L2-specific and across different languages.

The study findings highlighted a complex interplay of elements influencing both L2 choice and participants’ decision to persist or quit L2 study upon fulfillment of the L2 requirement. It appeared clear that, overall, both participants who intended to continue and those who intended to quit L2 study often had a vague understanding of their own goals for L2 study and considered it a secondary academic priority. Indeed, they frequently subordinated their decision to persist in L2 study to the ability to fulfill their major and minor requirements in other disciplines. This conundrum seemed to be influenced both by participants’ past L2 learning experiences as well as their perceived limited applicability of university-level L2 study to their personal and professional lives. The study concluded by providing and discussing several recommendations and possible initiatives for curricular and program development aimed at addressing the crisis.

Please email GIDP-SLAT@arizona.edu with questions.

Did you know that SLAT has 3 doctoral minors and 2 certificate programs? Are you interested in finding out what the different minors and certificate programs are all about? Then come to our information session on Wednesday, April 12th, at 1:00 pm on Zoom! Some of the topics we’ll talk about are:

• The SLAT Language Program Administration Ph.D. Minor
• The SLAT Technology in Second Language Teaching Ph.D. Minor
• The SLAT Ph.D. Minor for non-SLAT major students
• For SLAT major students, how to choose which sub-area you want as your minor
• The Language Program Administration Graduate Certificate program
• The Technology in Second Language Teaching Graduate Certificate program
• Using courses towards more than one Plan of Study

The Zoom link for the session is https://arizona.zoom.us/j/83346616898. Come with your questions, and we hope to see you there! For any questions about the information session, please email the SLAT Program Coordinator, Debbie Shon Buhler at dshon@arizona.edu.

Dissertation Title: Needs Analysis of Recent Foreign Language Graduate Program Alumni

Dissertation Committee Members: Dr. Jill Castek (Chair), Dr. Suzanne Panferov Reese, Dr. Beatrice Dupuy, Dr. Adriana Cimetta

Abstract: Professional learning plays a pivotal role in fostering continuous growth and improving the skills and knowledge of graduate students in FL programs to better prepare them for their careers post-graduation.  However, of those who start a doctoral degree program, roughly half complete their degree (Cassuto, 2013), and of those who do, the majority will not stay in academia (Cornell, 2020) due in part to the dearth of positions available (Grigoli, 2022).  Despite this, the professionalization of graduate students remains focused on preparing graduate students to be professors (Thompson et al., 2012; Byrnes, 2011).  Within foreign language (FL) graduate programs specifically, some arguments have been made that suggest graduate student professionalization should focus more on teaching skills development (Dupuy & Allen, 2012; Ryshina-Pankova, 2011; Thompson et al., 2012).  This kind of teacher training and professional development has been shown to be beneficial for graduate students as teaching is a skill that is meaningful both immediately for those graduate students who are also Teaching Associates and long-term as teaching as a skill can be transferred to other areas such as management.  The potential benefits of this kind of teacher training and professional development have been explored in the literature (Paesani, 2020; Zapata, 2020; Crane, 2015). However, it is largely unknown what FL graduate program alumni go on to do in their careers post-graduation, how effective the professionalization opportunities have been long-term, and what needs alumni from these programs still have. 

This study sought to examine this gap in the research by viewing the professionalization process as one of professional learning (PL) through a needs analysis examining alumni and faculty perspectives on PL for alumni and graduate students.  The collection and analysis of triangulated data sources encouraged the development of a more complete understanding of perspectives both from alumni through a survey and semi-structured interviews and from faculty through another survey and reflection prompts.   A thematic analysis process (Braun & Clarke, 1989) was employed using a constant comparative approach (Strauss & Corbin, 1990) followed by a cross-data analysis (Creswell, 2009).  Eight themes and several tensions between perspectives were identified.  Implications and recommendations for the PL of graduate students are discussed.

This event is for SLAT majors and minors at the University of Arizona

Do you want to know more about the Institutional Review Board (IRB) process at the University of Arizona? Do you need a refresher on what is needed for IRB applications and research/data collection with human subjects? Join us on Friday, March 3rd, from 11:00 am – 12:00 pm for Institutional Review Board (IRB) 101, given by Maria Acuna Baltierra, an IRB Associate in the Human Subjects Protection Program (HSPP) Office at the University of Arizona.

Come learn about how to work legally and ethically with human participants in language studies. What training do you need? What guidelines and restrictions are there? Are some people more protected than others? How do you submit your project for review and approval?

All these questions will be answered, and more!

SLAT Faculty and Students, join us on Zoom as we welcome our newest cohort of students who will be starting SLAT in Fall 2023!

Panelists: Dr. Elyse Petit (Santa Rosa Junior College), Dr. Amanda Shufflebarger (Indiana University East), Dr. Natalie Amgott (Carnegie Mellon University)

Moderator: Onur Ural, 3rd-year SLAT PhD candidate

Panelist Bios

Dr. Elyse B. Petit, a SLAT Alumna, is French Faculty and Program Coordinator at Santa Rosa Junior College in California. Over the last 20 years, she has taught French as a Foreign Language in K-16 settings in France and the United States. Her research interests focus on designing curricula grounded in Multiliteracies and Slow Teaching approaches. She is currently working on developing open resources materials to support equity and foster languaculture and social justice awareness.

Dr. Amanda Shufflebarger, a SLAT Alumna, is Assistant Professor of Education at Indiana University East. She teaches methods courses in the English as a New Language and Secondary Education programs. Her research interests include the intersection of multiliteracies and pedagogies of equity. 

Dr. Natalie Amgott, a SLAT Alumna, is the Associate Director of Online Language Learning at Carnegie Mellon University. She manages curricula, researches user experiences, conducts language program evaluations, and teaches courses in French, Applied Linguistics, and Second Language Acquisition. 

Please register in advance of the webinar by filling out this form: https://arizona.zoom.us/meeting/register/tZYucu6rrTMjG9be6sVVAw0z1y3lcF8ywJs4 After registering, you’ll receive a confirmation email with the Zoom link for the webinar. You’ll also be able to submit advance questions for the panelists within the registration form.

We look forward to seeing you on April 27th at 4:00 pm!

SLAT is offering a Qualitative Data Workshop, led by Dr. Kris Knisely, on Friday, April 21st from 3:00 pm – 4:30 pm on Zoom. The workshop will provide an introduction to:

• Qualitative data
• Recruiting participants
• Analyzing qualitative data
• Reporting data analysis
• Participatory action research
• Examples of software to use for qualitative data analysis

Please RSVP for the workshop through this linked form, and feel free to include advance questions for Dr. Knisely. And if you have any questions, please let me know.

SLAT’s last colloquium of the semester is coming up! Dr. Ryuko Kubota (University of British Columbia) will be giving a talk titled “Antiracist and Decolonial Engagement in Language Studies: Research and Praxis”, scheduled for Friday, April 14th, 4:00 – 5:00 pm (Arizona time) via Zoom. We’re happy to share that this colloquium is co-sponsored by the Center for East Asian Studies (CEAS) at the University of Arizona.

Dr. Kubota is a Professor in the Department of Language and Literacy Education in the Faculty of Education at the University of British Columbia, Vancouver, Canada. Her research focuses on race, ideologies, and power in language education. Her publications include Race, culture, and identities in second language education: Exploring critically engaged practice (co-edited, 2009) and Discourses of identity: Language learning, teaching, and reclamation perspectives in Japan (co-edited, 2023). She has also published in such journals as Applied Linguistics, Critical Inquiry in Language Studies, Foreign Language Annals, Journal of Second Language Writing, and TESOL Quarterly. Many of her publications also appear in Japanese.

To read the abstract of Dr. Kubota’s colloquium, please see the attached flyer.

Please register in advance of the colloquium by filling out this form: https://arizona.zoom.us/meeting/register/tZIuc--vrzgsHdNZOPK1IviKyP5ri_cORUYF After registering, you’ll receive a confirmation email with the Zoom link for the colloquium.

We look forward to seeing you on April 14th at 4:00 pm!