Welcome to the SLS Ph.D. Program at Michigan State University
Message from the Director
Welcome to the Ph.D. Program in Second Language Studies (SLS) at Michigan State University. The SLS Ph.D. Program is for researchers and teacher-researchers interested in second language acquisition (SLA), applied linguistics, bilingualism, sociolinguistics, pragmatics, second or foreign language testing and assessment, and other areas of SLA. Our program provides students with a firm foundation in a range of research techniques and approaches. Students also focus on ways to apply current SLA theories to foreign and second-language (L2) pedagogy. A cornerstone of our program is student-faculty interaction, whether in the classroom as students (where students further their knowledge and develop their skills in SLA and applied linguistics), or outside the classroom in joint research projects. Students graduate with an outstanding skill set that allows them to contribute to the ongoing scholarly debates in the field of SLA and applied linguistics. Simply put, graduates become leaders in the broader discipline of second language studies and in their future place of employment.
We encourage you to contact us at starn@msu.edu should you have further questions.
- Susan Gass
- University Distinguished Professor
- Director, Second Language Studies
News
Congratulations to SLS Graduates Seongmee Ahn, Xiaoqing (Andy) Chen, and to successful Ph.D. dissertation defenders Soo Hyon Kim, Tomoko Okuno, and Baburhan Uzum. Onward and upward!
--May 6, 2013
Prof. Rod Ellis (University of Auckland) visited the SLS program April 17-25 through the College of Arts and Letters' Famous Affiliates Program. Thank you and see you next April, Dr. Ellis!
--April 30, 2013
Baburhan Uzum's article "From ‘you’ to ‘we’: A foreign language teacher's professional journey towards embracing inclusive education" has been published in Teaching and Teacher Education. The paper can be found here. Congratulations, Baburhan!
--March 26, 2013
Susan Gass has been named the March Author of the Month by Routledge in honor of the 4th edition of Second Language Acquisition, published with SLS Alumni Luke Plonsky and Jennifer Behney. Congratulations to the three on the new publication and to Sue for the accolades!
--March 20, 2013
Paula Winke, Susan Gass, and SLS alum Tetyana Sydorenko have articles in the current issue of The Modern Language Journal; articles on L2 aptitude for advanced Chinese (Winke) and caption use by foreign language learners (Winke, Gass, & Sydorenko). Congratulations authors!
--Feb. 27, 2013
Solène Inceoglu received a Language Learning Dissertation Grant. Solène will use the grant to fund her dissertation research on the effect of multimodal training on the perception and production of French nasal vowels. Congratulations Solène!
--Feb. 4, 2013
Upcoming Events
CALICO
Honolulu, HI
May 21-25, 2013
LTRC 2013
Seoul, South Korea
July 3-5, 2013
MwALT 2013
East Lansing, MI
Sept. 21, 2013
TBLT 2013
Banff, Alberta, Canada
Oct. 3-5, 2013
SLRF 2013
Provo, UT
Oct. 31 - Nov. 2, 2013
Click here for the SLS Google Calendar for these and other events.