LING 5340: Second language testing  
Monday 4.00-6.50PM (Dr. Vito Miao)

How do we know if a language test really measures what it claims to measure? Why do some tests feel “fair” while others don’t? This course provides a hands-on introduction to the principles and practices of second language testing, with an eye toward both theory and real-world application. We’ll trace the history of language assessment, explore current debates (including the promises and pitfalls of AI in test design), and unpack what makes a test valid, reliable, and practical.

Along the way, you’ll gain experience interpreting basic statistics used in test development, analyzing how individual test items perform, and applying this knowledge to your own teaching and learning contexts. By connecting key concepts to your experiences as language learners and teachers, the course will equip you with the tools to critically evaluate existing assessments and to design your own with confidence.

Cognition in second language learning and teaching contexts 
Tuesday & Thursday 2:00-3:20PM (Dr. Lee)

In this course we explore topics related to instructed SLA highlighting the role of cognitive online methodologies to gather data (think aloud, eye tracking, self-paced reading). We explore cognitive constructs such as noticing, attention, cognitive load and effort, depth of processing, role of prior knowledge. We also explore cognitive aspects of   topics such as learning conditions, different interventions (implicit, explicit, guided induction) incidental vocabulary learning, mobile assisted language learning, text enhancement, morphogrammatical processing, grammatical sensitivity, and assessment. The final project uses think aloud to explore either the relationship between noticing enhancements and learning, or between noticing grammatical violations and learning.

LING 5382: Multimodality
Tuesday 3:30-6:20 (Dr. Elola)

This seminar examines how multimodality shapes the teaching and learning of second and heritage languages. We investigate meaning-making in speaking, reading, writing, translanguaging practices, classroom discourse, and classroom interaction by analyzing the coordination of visual, aural, gestural (including classroom gestures and embodied action), spatial, and digital modes, as well as the combination of languages in use. Guiding questions include: How can multimodality be researched within applied linguistics? What kinds of data are appropriate to collect, and which qualitative and quantitative methods best address multimodal phenomena? How do participants and teachers in engage multimodality? Which theoretical frameworks most effectively inform research and pedagogy in this area? What tasks elicit analyzable multimodal behavior? How is multimodality reshaping research agendas, article publication practices, and curricular design? Coursework includes designing and trialing multimodal activities for L2/HL classrooms and conducting a small field study with accompanying annotated analysis.

LING 5383 Seminar in Second Language Acquisition: Ethics and Affordances of AI in Applied Linguistics Research and Teaching
Wednesday 3:30-6:20PM (Dr. Michelson)

Since the public launch of OpenAI’s ChatGPT in late 2022, we have experienced a rapid proliferation of publicly available artificial intelligence (AI) chatbots that can mimic human conversation patterns, write computer code, manipulate text, generate images from text, and more. Within the academy, concerns about AI replacing teaching and learning have led to bans on AI use. Yet, AI is here to stay. As educators we have a choice in whether and how we engage with AI. In this light, we will explore affordances of specific AI tools for research, teaching, and learning and will take an approach of appropriate (ethical) AI adoption. We will explore ethical challenges related to AI, with a particular focus on how AI-use interfaces with the work of the academy and the work of language learning and teaching, and research in applied linguistics, exploring ways to use AI as supports for our work without asking AI to do our work for us.

We will apply our community-developed ethical principles to conducting research in applied linguistics and designing learning sequences for language learners in which we guide learners to use AI tools responsibly. We will read scholarship that is both conceptual—addressing concerns and considerations about AI in higher education—and empirical, reporting on studies conducted on AI-integration in second language teaching and learning (L2TL).

By the end of this course, you will be able to articulate ethical principles related to generative AI, in general and in L2TL and applied linguistics research; summarize and explain extant research around AI and L2TL; and apply principles of ethical AI use to L2TL.

LING 5383: Seminar on Global English           
Thursday 3.30-6.20PM (Dr. Vito Miao)

Why has English become a global language, and what does this mean for teachers, learners, and users around the world? Why do some English varieties carry more prestige than others? This seminar introduces the history and spread of English, the rise of “native” and “new” Englishes, and the role of English as a lingua franca in multilingual contexts. We’ll explore key debates about identity, ownership, and attitudes toward English varieties, as well as the challenges and opportunities English’s global status creates.

Along the way, we examine how Global Englishes perspectives reshape language teaching. By connecting these concepts to your own experiences, the course will equip you with the tools to critically analyze English’s global role and to apply Global Englishes insights to research and pedagogy in applied linguistics.