Introduction

I am a Professor in the Department of Modern and Classical Literatures and Cultures at Rice University


BACKGROUND:
I graduated from Cornell University in 1997 with a PhD in Applied Linguistics and a minor in Cognitive Studies. I have held positions at University of Minnesota, Penn State University, and University of Texas-Austin.


RESEARCH:
A list of my publications ranked by relevant citations is available at Google SCHOLAR. The following are selected publications in some specific areas of my research:

  1. Conceptualization of temporality in SLA
    Five books with John Benjamins (2000, 2002, 2005), Bloomsbury Press (2008), de Gruyter (2013), and journal articles and refereed book chapters
  2. Political perspectives on multilingual education
    Two books on Language Allegiances (2009, Multilingual Matters) and Ethics and Context in Second Language Testing (2023), and articles/chapters on 3rd language acquisition, translanguaging, social justice in language education, etc.
  3. Interactional Competence
    Two books on Teaching and Testing Interactional Competence (2019, with Silvia Kunitz) and Assessing Speaking in Context (2021, with Rue Burch)
  4. L2 teaching and learning
    Two books on: the science and the art of teaching Spanish as an L2, refereed articles/chapters, and an online module on teaching methodology (UT Austin Foreign Language Teaching Methods)
  5. New media and technologies for SLA
    Several articles in journals such as CALICO, Computer Assisted Language Learning, Language Learning & Technology and The Modern Language Journal.

TEACHING:
Some courses I recently taught are: Dialects in Contact, Language and Thought, Language Ideologies and Language Identities, and Cognitive Approaches to L2 acquisition.

I am currently developing two seminars:

  1. Language and Power: The case of gender
  2. Bilingual education in the US: Success or failure?

SERVICE:
I serve on the Editorial Boards of the following peer-reviewed journals:

  1. Journal of Multilingual Theories and Practices,
  2. Asia CALL Online Journal , and
  3. Journal of Spanish Language Teaching.

I also serve on the Advisory Boards of:

  1. Instituto de Lengua y Cultura Españolas (ILCE) at the Universidad de Navarra in Navarra, Spain,
  2. Title VI Center CEDAR (Curricular Enhancement, Development, Access, and Research) at University of Cincinnati in Cincinnati, OH.