Colloquium Title: Distributions and intonation, but not faces, shape bilingual language learning in adults

Colloquium Abstract: Bilingual learners rely on implicit, perceptible cues from their input to differentially acquire two languages. What are the cues that support the acquisition of two languages simultaneously? Statistical learning studies demonstrate a strong reliance on tracking the distributions of linguistic elements, such as phonemes in word segmentation, during language learning (e.g., Saffran et al., 1996; Austin et al., 2021). Linguistic discrimination studies suggest that intonation, the changes in pitch that occur across multiple speech segments, may play a role as well (e.g., Vicenik & Sundara, 2013; Chong et al., 2018). However, many bilingual processing studies invoke visual cues, such as faces (e.g., Blanco-Elorrieta & Pylkkänen, 2017), to signal a target language, suggesting that non-linguistic social cues may also support bilingual learning. I will present a study that maximizes the chances of learning two artificial languages by presenting consistent distributional cues while manipulating the presence/absence of intonation and face cues. The results suggest that adults: (1) rely on distributional cues; (2) are influenced, but not dependent, on intonational cues; and (3) ignore face cues during bilingual learning. From this, research in my lab will continue to explore how intonational and distributional cues interact when differentially acquiring two languages simultaneously.

Please note that this will be a hybrid colloquium. The in-person location is the Education Building, Room 240, and the Zoom link is https://arizona.zoom.us/j/83003857819 

Speaker Bio

Dr. Sarah Phillips is an Assistant Professor of Linguistics, Cognitive Science, and SLAT. Before coming to the University of Arizona, she completed her PhD in Linguistics at New York University and her postdoctoral training in Neurology at Georgetown University. Dr. Phillips's research seeks to develop linguistically-inclusive, neurobiologically-grounded models of language development and language processing using behavioral measures and neuroimaging.

Colloquium Title: Leading a Language Program in the Time of AI

Colloquium Abstract: Artificial intelligence (AI) is no longer a distant prospect -- it is an active force shaping higher education, including language teaching and program administration. For program leaders, the challenge is not simply adopting new technologies but guiding faculty, students, and institutions through a period of rapid transformation.

This presentation explores what it means to lead a language program in the time of AI. Together, we will examine opportunities AI presents for language teaching and learning, including adaptive platforms that personalize instruction, automated feedback tools that extend practice opportunities, and data-informed insights that support curricular innovation. At the programmatic level, we highlight how AI can assist with marketing efforts, assessment reporting, and workload management, creating new efficiencies for administrators and staff. 

Central to this discussion is the human dimension of AI integration. Faculty training and buy-in are critical: without intentional preparation and support, even the most promising technologies can falter. We will discuss a model used at Rice University for building AI literacy among instructors, strategies for fostering a culture of experimentation, and ways to address common concerns around academic integrity, workload, and the evolving role of the language educator. Attendees will also be encouraged to consider policy making and ethical imperatives, including equity of access, bias in AI tools, and data privacy.

Rather than framing AI as a disruptive threat, we position it as a catalyst for reimagining leadership in language education. Participants will gain a framework for evaluating potential applications of AI, strategies for supporting faculty and students in the transition, and tools for aligning technological innovation with institutional mission. This session invites attendees to critically and creatively envision the future of language teaching and program leadership in an AI-driven academic environment.

Please register ahead of the colloquium through this link to get the Zoom information. Contact GIDP-SLAT@arizona.edu for questions or details.

Speaker Bio

Dr. Rachel Kraut (Ph.D. SLAT - University of Arizona; M.A. Theoretical Linguistics - University of North Texas) is the Director of Innovative Academic Programs, Language Programs, and an adjunct professor at the Glasscock School of Continuing Studies at Rice University. She works as part of the administrative team of the Intensive English Program, the Foreign Language Program, and as leader of the language programs online initiative. She also serves as a volunteer peer reviewer for the Commission on English Language Program Accreditation (CEA) and is a Director-at-Large for the EnglishUSA board. Previously, she chaired TESOL International's Professional Development professional council and has served in various positions for her local TexTESOL affiliate. 

Beyond language program management, Rachel has also worked as a consultant in language teacher professional development for public school districts and universities abroad, as a content developer, an ESL instructor, and in pre-service ESL teacher education.

Her research interests lie in language program administration, language teacher training, program evaluation, online language learning, and AI in language learning and teaching.

Dissertation Title: Black African Students Studying Abroad in China: L2 Investment, Identity Negotiation, and Transformative Life Trajectories

Dissertation Committee: Dr. Wenhao Diao (Chair), Dr. Janice McGregor, Dr. Qing Zhang

Dissertation Abstract: While China has long been recognized as a major source of international students, it has also emerged in recent decades as a fast-growing host country (Ma & Zhao, 2018). In particular, strengthened cooperation between China and African nations under the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) has led to a notable rise in the number of African students studying abroad in China and learning Chinese (e.g., Mulvey, 2020; Xu, 2023). This emerging South–South educational mobility, coupled with the growing prominence of Chinese as a foreign language in Africa, presents new avenues for research in study abroad (SA) and second language (L2) learning. Yet, while existing studies have started explored African students’ beliefs about Chinese (e.g., Li, 2022; Song & Xia, 2021; Xu, 2023), little is known about how they invest in Chinese through everyday interactions in China. Since the social turn in SLA (Firth & Wagner, 1997), identity has become a central lens for understanding L2 learning in SA contexts (e.g., Block, 2007; Tullock, 2018). Among the identity dimensions studied, race—especially in relation to students of color—has gained increasing attention for its role in shaping language learning in SA (e.g., Anya, 2017; Diao, 2020; Quan, 2018). However, most existing research has focused on Black students from the U.S. (e.g., Anya, 2017; Diao & Wang, 2021; Du, 2018; Goldoni, 2017, 2018), with few studies examining the racialized experiences of Black students from other regions, such as African countries, and how their racialized identity intersects with L2 learning particularly in the Global South context (Xu & Stahl, 2024).

To address these gaps, this multi-case ethnographic study explores the study abroad and language learning experiences of six Black African students from Nigeria, Madagascar, and the Republic of Congo enrolled in a Teaching Chinese as a Foreign Language (TCFL) undergraduate program in China. Informed by Darvin and Norton’s (2015) model of investment––a theoretical framework located at the intersection of identity, ideology and capital, the study draws on interviews, field observations, and other qualitative data sources to examine how participants negotiate their multiple identities and invest (or divest) in L2 Chinese through their everyday interactions.

Findings show that investment in Chinese is a non-linear, dynamic process shaped by intersecting identities and shifting power relations. While participants initially invested in Chinese was largely driven by its perceived value as linguistic capital linked to mobility and opportunity, their continued investment in China was often disrupted by experiences of anti-Black racialization. Despite such challenges, participants exercised agency in strategically disengaging from certain interactions, while cultivating supportive networks, gaining language learning opportunities, and engaging in anti-racist practices. In professional domains, the study further finds that linguistic capital was not always readily converted into the material or symbolic resources participants aspire to, due to shifting values and power structures. Nonetheless, participants leveraged their multilingual repertoires and contextual knowledge to actively construct professional identities and expand their future possibilities.

By situating students’ micro-level practices within the broader sociopolitical context of China–Africa relations, this study offers a more nuanced understanding of transnational L2 investment, identity negotiation, as well as power inequalities related to race in SA. It contributes to L2 identity and investment research by centering Black African voices in an underexamined Global South context and calls for greater attention to racialized power dynamics in international education. The study also offers theoretical and pedagogical implications for identity and investment research and equity in SA language education.

Welcome back, SLAT community! Come catch up after the long summer! All new SLAT students, continuing SLAT students, SLAT faculty, SLAT alumni, and SLAT visiting scholars are welcome.