Selected Research
- 2024-Present: Language Education for Social Justice (Principal Investigator). Collaborator: B. Carroll. Research Assistant: E. Langlois. Supported by: AVPA Scholarship of Teaching and Learning Grant.
- 2022-2023: Investigating the Benefits of Translanguaging Pedagogy in a Language School at a Canadian University (Principal Investigator). Research Assistants: W. Lindinger, E. Langlois. Supported by: AVPA Scholarship of Teaching and Learning Grant.
- 2020-2022: Fundamentals of Language and Language Learning (Principal Investigator). Co-Investigator: L. Smeets. Collaborators: E.-A. Cominetti, P. Rodriguez-Mata, W. Lindinger, N. Duarte, D. March. Supported by: SSHRC Institutional Grants and Learning Enhancement Fund and University of Guelph.
- 2019-2021: Educational Learning Tools: Machine Translation and Language Correctors (Principal Investigator). Research Assistant: C. Costaris. Supported by: COA Faculty Research Seed Fund.
- 2013-2018: Towards 21st Century Instructional Approaches: Genre-Based Instruction and GDSP (Co-Investigator). Co-Investigators: M.-E. Lebel, U. Viswanathan. Research Assistants: A. Rosner, E. Dashko, D. Vuckovic. Supported by: Ontario Human Capital Research and Innovation Fund (OHCRIF) and Junior Faculty Fund.
Research Projects
Topics of social justice strongly resonate with students across the University of Guelph, regardless of their area of study. World-language learners at the School of Languages and Literatures seek not only to build linguistic proficiency but also to understand the cultural products, practices, and perspectives of the languages they are studying. Our project explores social justice in language education as a critical tool that informs world language study, promotes diversity, equity, and inclusion as well as promoting access across languages, cultures, and language users. It also examines how language can contribute to marginalization and empowerment. Most importantly, it provides students with the tools they need to actively participate in personal, academic, professional, and civic life and thus to make positive changes in both the local community and the global village. This study gives a voice to students in our world language classrooms and challenges traditional pedagogy by focusing on a more liberal, social justice shift as a reflection of our society.
Collaborator: B. Carroll
Research Assistant: E. Langlois
Supported by: AVPA Scholarship of Teaching and Learning Grant.
This research project inquires into the effectiveness of a cross-language and cross-subjects (SLA, Linguistics, Language Pedagogy) learning tool integrated across the first-year language courses in the School of Languages and Literatures (i.e., French, Italian, German, Portuguese, Spanish). This tool — an asynchronous online 4 module training — was developed to facilitate the route world language learners follow, allowing them to acquire language(s) more strategically, effectively, and critically by: (i) activating language learners’ previous knowledge about language systems and their preexisting linguistic skills, (ii) benefitting from learners’ sociolinguistic profiles as a point of strength, and (iii) developing their metacognitive (translingual) awareness. The tool is based on an Intercomprehension ‘bridges’ Model/Translanguaging Pedagogy. How effective is this tool on critical language learning, on empowering world language learners to explore, inquire and navigate languages? How effective is translanguaging instruction on transforming language instructors’ skills?
Research Assistants: W. Lindinger, E. Langlois
Supported by: AVPA Scholarship of Teaching and Learning Grant.
The Fundamentals of Language and Language Learning is an online mini course developed at the School of Languages and Literatures (University of Guelph). The 10-15 hours of asynchronous autonomous work equip students with a toolbox for effective language learning in a second/foreign language classroom. Students explore how languages are structured, function, change, interconnected with each other and how they could use this knowledge for faster, easier, more effective, and more sustainable language learning. The mini course empowers the second/foreign language learner through activating earlier acquired languages and by applying fundamentals of linguistics into the process of language learning.
Co-Investigator: L. Smeets
Collaborators: E.-A. Cominetti, P. Rodriguez-Mata, W. Lindinger, N. Duarte, D. March
Supported by: SSHRC Institutional Grants and Learning Enhancement Fund.
This project examines the role of machine translation (DeepL) and online dictionaries (Word Reference, Linguee) in second language learning in a Canadian classroom. Do these tools belong to the language classroom? How to manage their use? How to use this technology as a pedagogical tool without compromising academic performance? How to train students and faculty to use machine tools effectively? This is one of the first studies investigating the pedagogical use of neuronal machine translator DeepL in FSL in Canadian classroom.
Research Assistant: C. Costaris
Co-Investigator: C. Costaris
Online Dictionaries Training: Linguee [Open Resource].
Machine Translation Training Workshop: DeepL [Open Resource].
This project explores the application of genre-based approaches (face-to-face and online) in FSL Canadian classrooms.
Co-Investigators: M.-E. Lebel, U. Viswanathan
Research Assistants: A. Rosner, E. Dashko, D. Vuckovic
Supported by: Ontario Human Capital Research and Innovation Fund (OHCRIF) and Junior Faculty Fund.
Event Administration
- (2022). Head of Organizing Committee, 10th International Second Language Pedagogies Conference [May 15th–16th, 2023]
- (2022). Organizer, Multilingual Trivia Night Event
- (2021). Organizer, On Multilingual Practices: Intercomprehension and Intercomprehensive Strategies Applied to 3rd+ Language Acquisition Seminar
- (2021). Executive Committee, 9th Second Language Pedagogies Conference
- (2019). Executive Committee, 8th Second Language Pedagogies Conference
- (2019). Organizer, Natasha Kanape-Fontaine Seminar
- (2017). Co-organizer, Association for French Language Studies Conference
- (2011). Co-organizer, Methods in Dialectology XIV Conference
- (2011). Co-organizer, Corpus de français Workshop