Research Description
My current research interests include literacy-based foreign language curriculum and
instruction, literature across the curriculum, and foreign language teacher development.
This work has focused on questions such as: How can foreign language programs contribute
to development of students' academic literacy across a four-year curriculum? What is
the role of literary texts in the simultaneous development of students' language
competencies and academic literacy skills? What are viable frameworks and methods for
implementing long-term and coherent professional development opportunities for foreign
language instructors? Answers to these questions are explored within the theoretical
frameworks of a pedagogy of multiliteracies (Cope & Kalantzis, 2009; New London
Group, 1996) and Vygotskian sociocultural theory (Lantolf, 2000; Vygotsky, 1978, 1986).
Taken together, this work contributes to ongoing discussions in applied linguistics
research regarding the development of effective curricula and instructional practices in
foreign language programs.