@loewens

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Applied Linguistics Scholars Among Top 2-Percent of Scientists Worldwide

March 14, 2025

Four professors from the Department of Linguistics, Languages, and Cultures at Michigan State University are among the top 2% of scientists in the world, according to Stanford University’s latest World’s Top 2% Scientists list, which identifies scholars who are top-cited in their respective fields.

Award / Faculty / Faculty / Faculty Stories / International Impact / Linguistics / News

German Professor Awarded for Outstanding Service to Education Abroad

April 7, 2023

Elizabeth Mittman, Associate Professor of German in the Department of Linguistics, Languages, and Cultures at Michigan State University, is the 2023 recipient of the MSU Award for Outstanding Service to Education Abroad, which recognizes faculty and staff who give their time, energy, and creativity to the development and implementation of education abroad programs that support MSU's commitment to providing students with high-quality international education opportunities.…

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English / Linguistics / News / U.S. Impact

Doctoral Candidate Receives AAAL Graduate Student Award

March 14, 2023

J. Dylan Burton, a doctoral candidate in the Second Language Studies (SLS) Ph.D. program at Michigan State University, received a 2023 Graduate Student Award from the American Association for Applied Linguistics (AAAL). Each year, this merit-based award recognizes 20 students from across the country based on the quality of a written proposal for a poster or a paper. Burton’s primary research interests center around…

Grant / News / Research / Student / Student

Ph.D. Student Awarded Duolingo Research Grant

November 19, 2021

Yingzhao Chen, a Ph.D. candidate in MSU’s Second Language Studies (SLS) and Cognitive Science programs, is one of only six doctoral students from across the country to receive a $5,000 Duolingo Research Grant.

Award / Faculty / News / Research

Second Language Studies Professor Awarded Fulbright to Polish University

May 24, 2021

While millions of people study English around the world, many students have limited exposure to spoken and written English outside the classroom. Researchers like Michigan State University’s Shawn Loewen examine ways to maximize classroom instruction to improve second language acquisition. Loewen was invited to share this expertise as a Fulbright Scholar at a historic Polish university. From October 2021 to…

Faculty / News / Research / Student

MSU Researchers Study Conversation Platforms for Second Language Students

December 11, 2020

Shawn Loewen knows what it’s like to learn a second language through “blood, sweat, and tears.” He started taking private Spanish lessons when he was 13 and studied Spanish and French all through high school. Passionate about language learning, he majored in Language and Linguistics in college and decided to become a teacher and research scholar. Today, Loewen is a…

Award / News / Student

Varg-Sullivan Endowed Graduate Award Winners Announced

June 23, 2020

Each year, the College of Arts & Letters presents two Varg-Sullivan Endowed Graduate Awards to graduate students for their outstanding achievement in the arts or letters. This year’s winners are Jessica Stokes, Outstanding Achievement in the Arts recipient, and Bronson Hui, Outstanding Achievement in the Letters recipient. Paul Varg and Richard Sullivan are former Deans of the College of Arts…

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Faculty / Faculty Stories / News / Research

Researching the Effectiveness of Language Learning Apps

April 7, 2020

Shawn Loewen became enamored with languages at age 13 when his parents hired a private tutor to teach him Spanish. Despite his passion for being multilingual, he knew he couldn’t make a living as a professional language learner. But he knew he could teach. A Professor of Second Language Studies, Loewen came to Michigan State University in 2005 to join the…

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Faculty / News / Podcast

LAE Podcast Hosts Professor Shawn Loewen

March 20, 2020

Episode four of the Liberal Arts Endeavor Podcast is out! Our host, Dean Christopher P. Long, met with Shawn Loewen, Director of the Second Language Studies program, to talk about his work surrounding language acquisition. Loewen, who is a Professor in the Department of Linguistics and German, Slavic, Asian, and African Languages, focuses his research around Instructed Second Language Acquisition (SLA), particularly in relation to classroom interaction. In addition to publishing…

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Award / News / Programs

SLS Ph.D. Program Wins Outstanding Graduate Program Community Award

May 9, 2018

The Second Language Studies (SLS) doctoral program in the College of Arts & Letters has won the 2018 Outstanding Graduate Program Community Award presented by Michigan State University's Graduate School. The award is part of the Graduate School Outstanding Mentoring Awards, which recognize graduate programs, faculty mentors, and doctoral students who exemplify mentoring best practices. The SLS Ph.D. program provides a firm foundation…