Shawn Loewen, Professor in the Department of Linguistics, Languages, and Cultures at Michigan State University, received a 2025 PROSE Award from the Association of American Publishers (AAP) for his co-authored textbook, A Practical Guide to Second Language Teaching and Learning.
The 2025 PROSE Awards recognize the very best professional and scholarly works published in 2024 in the United States in five areas of excellence – Biological and Life Sciences, Humanities, Physical Sciences and Mathematics, Social Sciences, and Reference Works – and within those areas of excellence are a total of 37 subject categories and for each subject category a category winner is named.
Loewen and co-author Masatoshi Sato, Teacher of English Pedagogy for Basic and Secondary Education at the Universidad Andrés Bello, Chile, were selected as the 2025 Language and Linguistics category winner within the Humanities area of excellence for their second language teaching and learning textbook.
“I have taught an undergraduate course on second language teaching and learning since I came to MSU in 2006, but I was never satisfied with the textbook options for the course,” Loewen said. “Eventually, I decided to write my own textbook in a way that was easily accessible and substantial enough to use for a whole semester. I was also fortunate to have my co-author, Masatoshi Sato, who brought his own energy and expertise to the project.
A Practical Guide to Second Language Teaching and Learning isa vital resource for individuals entering the field of second language (L2) teaching and learning. The book provides a complete set of instructional materials written in accessible language and offers enough material and activities for the L2 classroom for an entire semester alongside the theories and research that support them, including how to connect theory with practice.
Each chapter of the textbook includes extensive and up-to-date content presented in a clear, engaging, and accessible manner; pre- and post-reading activities to help students connect the topics to their own lives; pedagogical guidelines with practical suggestions; summaries of empirical studies in non-technical, jargon-free language; and end-of-chapter assignments that reinforce student learning and relate directly to the content.
“This book provides undergraduate and masters students around the world with a solid understanding of what is involved in learning and teaching a second language,” Loewen said. “This awareness is especially important at a time when multilingualism and multiculturalism are under assault, both inside and outside the United States.”
“This book provides undergraduate and masters students around the world with a solid understanding of what is involved in learning and teaching a second language.”
Dr. Shawn Loewen
Each year since 1976, the Association of American Publishers have recognized the very best in professional and scholarly publishing with its PROSE (Professional and Scholarly Excellence) Awards, which honor outstanding scholarly books, journals, reference works, e-products, and nonfiction graphic novels for their significant contributions to their respective fields of study and celebrate the authors, editors, and publishers of those landmark works.
“It’s extremely gratifying to receive this award,” Loewen said, “and while it’s always great to see one’s book in print, it’s especially satisfying to receive this award as well.”
For the 2025 awards, a panel of esteemed judges from throughout the academic community reviewed the entries for overall excellence in scholarly publishing in the five subject categories.
“The 2025 PROSE Awards finalists and category winners significantly showcase a deep commitment to excellence on the part of the professional and scholarly publishing community,” said Syreeta Swann, Chief Operating Officer at AAP. “We congratulate all of our 101 finalists and 37 category winners and look forward to honoring their incredible contributions to their fields and to publishing as a whole.”
The 37 category winners are now eligible for the next level of PROSE honors – the Awards for Excellence – that will be announced later this spring. Of those Award for Excellence winners, one will be selected for the coveted R.R. Hawkins Award, the ultimate winner of the PROSE Awards competition.
“This year’s honorees cover an extensive array of academic fields and research topics with incredible skill, continuing to illustrate the complexity and variety of scholarly publishing works,” said PROSE Awards Chief Judge, Dr. Nigel Fletcher-Jones. “We eagerly anticipate the announcement of the 2025 PROSE Awards for Excellence winners, and our top prize, the R.R. Hawkins Award, all of which embody the spirit of PROSE.”
By Kim Popiolek
