A letter from Department Chair Lynn Santelmann |
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Greetings for the New Year, both the academic year in September and the calendar year in January! Fall quarter sped by so quickly we found ourselves in December with no newsletter. So, we're making up for it now with a newsletter packed with information.
Portland State is finding itself in a time of transition and Applied Linguistics has been swept up by some of that process. President Percy is retiring at the end of this academic year and a search for a new president is underway. Enrollment at PSU, as at many institutions, is declining and the university as a whole must adjust to being an institution with 15,000 students rather than 20,000. We are missing Dr. Susan Conrad, who retired in June of 2022 and is now enjoying retirement life in Bend.
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On a positive note, the department has seen an uptick in students enrolled in our TESL certificate and Applied Linguistics minor, running counter to the general declining enrollment trend. Our Student Organization of Applied Linguistics is thriving with multiple officers and plans in the works for events. One of our courses, Do I Speak Wrong? Language Myths in the USA now can help students meet the new Race and Ethnic Studies requirement and we're excited about the prospect of more students learning about important role language can play in identity and discrimination.
The CLAS Dean's office held a gingerbread house contest this year, and while our department didn't win, we're proud of what we did. Thanks to Sydney Meyer, our office admin, for construction, decorating, and inspiration.
Finally, the Department of Applied Linguistics turns 35 years old this year. We're planning a birthday bash in the spring – stay tuned for details!
Wishing you all a happy, healthy new year. We’d love to know what our friends and graduates are doing. Feel free to drop me an email (santelmannl@pdx.edu) with news or inquiries. We hope that you all are still staying healthy.
Lynn Santelmann
Professor & Department Chair
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Language Discrimination and Awareness Project (LiDA) |
The Department of Applied Linguistics is continuing its work on this important project. Students and faculty in the department have created a number of interesting and entertaining activities for the Linguistics Roadshow to highlight issues of language diversity. The Roadshow had great attendance when it was offered in May last year, and it's followed up this success with smaller exhibits at the Party in the Parks and the Bridges event for high school students this fall.
In October/November, we surveyed the campus about which languages they speak, which language varieties they speak, and whether they've experienced pressure to change how they speak or write on campus. 2,218 people responded to the survey. This winter we will be analyzing the survey data and interviewing the 145 people who agreed to follow-up interviews.
While results are still a ways off, we now know that over 130 languages are spoken in our campus community and that the majority of people on campus are bilingual/multilingual, using more than one language in multiple contexts.
We presented our project as a poster at the Linguistic Society of America meeting in January, and will present more (including a demo of the Linguistics Roadshow) at the American Association of Applied Linguistics meeting in March. Stay tuned for more results!
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Students of Applied Linguistics (SOAL)
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Looking for more ways to get involved? Consider becoming a SOAL officer, or just join in on some of the activities hosted by the team. Find out more on the SOAL website.
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| Attend our next information session
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2022/2023 James R. Nattinger Scholarship Recipient |
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My initial attraction to the field of linguistics stemmed from my interest in second language acquisition and rediscovering my cultural identity as an Asian American adoptee. Having reached competency in Mandarin in my late twenties, I was curious about the processes behind my own acquisition in comparison to other learners’. As I progressed further into Portland State University’s undergraduate program of Applied Linguistics, I became aware of the dichotomy between markedness and privilege in the realm of multilingualism. Understanding that power dynamics influence the narratives and perspectives of language speakers shifted my curiosity further into the realm of critical discourse analysis.
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My initial attraction to the field of linguistics stemmed from my interest in second language acquisition and rediscovering my cultural identity as an Asian American adoptee. Having reached competency in Mandarin in my late twenties, I was curious about the processes behind my own acquisition in comparison to other learners’. As I progressed further into Portland State University’s undergraduate program of Applied Linguistics, I became aware of the dichotomy between markedness and privilege in the realm of multilingualism. Understanding that power dynamics influence the narratives and perspectives of language speakers shifted my curiosity further into the realm of critical discourse analysis.
PSU’s Applied Linguistics program instilled within me an awareness of the influence of hegemony over language practices. An important figure of research in my undergraduate studies was Peter Teo and his article Racism in the News: A Critical Discourse Analysis of News Reporting in Two Australian Newspapers (2000), which exemplified the application of linguistic frameworks towards addressing both explicit and subtle racism against Asians in Australian printed news media. Teo’s use of linguistic frameworks to challenge racism has influenced my goal to help unpack and shift the mainstream narratives that have objectified and endangered Asian Americans. CDA helped me realize applied linguistics can solve problems and work towards a progressive outcome through cross-disciplinary measures both within and beyond the scope of linguistics.
As an undergraduate student and now as an MA student I have had the opportunity to contribute to several research projects within PSU’s Department of Applied Linguistics. Having been able to acquire research experience within the field of Applied Linguistics has continued to fuel my passion for applying my knowledge to critical linguistic issues.
I am very grateful to be able to receive the Nattinger Fellowship. This fellowship will allow me to contribute to the field of Applied Linguistics with my research and critical analyses of anti-Asian discourse in American news media in hopes of creating more awareness and change through research. Within the last three two years, 2020-2022 there has been an unprecedented spike in anti-Asian hate crimes. Such crimes have been rooted in language and power. Therefore, it’s imperative that such an under-researched and “novel” issue is critically analyzed.
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