MSU’s Second Language Studies (SLS) Program welcomed scholars from around the world to present their research at the 42nd annual Second Language Research Forum (SLRF) September 20-22. One of the four plenary speakers at the forum was Luke Plonsky, who received his Ph.D. in Second Language Studies from MSU in 2011 and who organized MSU’s previous SLRF in 2009. “It…
On September 26, 2019, I had the opportunity to address the Michigan State University President’s Council, which includes the Deans Council and the Executive Leadership of the University, about the values-based strategic planning process we have undertaken in the College of Arts & Letters...
Aline Godfroid, Associate Professor of Second Language Studies and TESOL, is being recognized for her outstanding research in the area of second language acquisition and recently was elected to the Executive Committee of the European Second Language Association (EuroSLA) and will serve as Secretary of that committee. A leading scholar in the use of eye-tracking, Godfroid was named the 2019 recipient of the TESOL Award for Distinguished Research for her study, “Incidental vocabulary learning…
The College of Arts & Letters has a new endowed faculty position thanks to the generosity of MSU alumna and former Ohio State Senator Karen Gillmor, who has been giving back to Michigan State University for the past decade. The Karen L. Gillmor, Ph.D. Endowed Professorship in Professional and Public Writing, created in Gillmor’s name, will help recruit and retain…
Professor Justus Nieland has been named Chair of the Department of English, effective October 1, 2019. Dr. Nieland joined the Department of English as an Assistant Professor in 2002. He was promoted to Associate Professor in 2008 and to full Professor in 2014. During his 17 years with the department, Nieland has been actively involved in its research, teaching, service,…
For 70 years, Arabic was an official language of Israel. That changed last year with the passing of the Nation-State Bill, which became law on July 19, 2018, designating Hebrew as Israel’s only official language. How and why this decision came to be is the focus of a current study by Camelia Suleiman, Associate Professor of Arabic Studies, who was…
As one experience begins another is about to end – Grace Beltowski, a senior Professional Writing major, and Rachel Beltowski, a freshman Film Studies major, are two sisters in the College of Arts & Letters’ Citizen Scholars program. Grace will graduate from MSU and the Citizen Scholars program in May 2020, while Rachel is just beginning her journey with the…
Second Language Studies Ph.D. student Xiaowan Zhang expanded upon her research surrounding language test impacts as an intern at the Michigan English Assessment in Ann Arbor this past summer. While working at the Michigan English Assessment, Zhang’s main task was to develop a toolkit for investigating the impact of the Michigan English Test (MET) and its sister test for young…
The U.S. Department of State's Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs and the J. William Fulbright Foreign Scholarship Board has selected Paula Winke, Associate Professor in the Department of Linguistics and Germanic, Slavic, Asian, and African Languages, to be a Fulbright U.S. Scholar to Germany for the 2020 summer semester (April through July) at the University of Leipzig. "This is an exciting and unique…
This month marks the 200th anniversary of the signing of the 1819 Treaty of Saginaw. This important treaty was signed between Anishinaabeg ogemaag (chiefs) in Michigan and the federal government. In recognition of this treaty, as well as reflecting on the respective treaty obligations and acknowledging the more than 200 years of ongoing Indigenous presence, MSU’s American Indian and Indigenous Studies…