Michigan State University’s Peter De Costa has won the Second Language Research (SLR) Special Interest Group’s (SIG) Mid-Career Award, which honors his “outstanding record of publications, grants, and [his] clear research agenda, particularly in relation to how learner identities influence the dynamics of second language acquisition.” Peter is an associate professor in the Department of Linguistics, Languages, and Cultures and the Department of Teacher Education at Michigan State University. He is part of the core faculty within the Second Language Studies Ph.D. Program and the current director of the TESOL Program.

The Second Language Research SIG, as part of the American Educational Research Association, seeks to promote research in second-language learning/acquisition and to facilitate the exchange of ideas among educators involved in second language learning and teaching.

“I’ve been a SIG member since 2015, when I joined the American Educational Research Association (AERA) as a doctoral student in the Second Language Acquisition (SLA) program at the University of Wisconsin-Madison. Given my overlapping interests in applied linguistics and education, the SIG seemed like a natural home for an emerging educational linguist like me.”

Peter De Costa, Award Recipient

The Second Language Research SIG promotes community and collaboration among early career, mid-career, and senior scholars and practitioners interested in research, teaching, and service is focused on cutting-edge issues, including second, bilingual/two-way immersion, heritage, and world language learner experiences in early childhood, elementary, secondary and higher educational contexts, teacher education, pedagogy, curriculum and programming, gaming and technology, policy, assessment, and a range of subtopics within these. The Mid-Career Award is awarded to a researcher who possesses a clear and coherent research agenda, has a strong record of publication, and the overall degree to which their research advances knowledge in the field of second language research, promotes equity and access for students, teachers, teacher educators, communities, and/or families, and influences the creation, collection, and analysis of data.

“I am deeply humbled by the conferment of this award. The award is an affirmation of my research agenda and the work that I have done in second language research on learners and teachers over the years. If anything, the award is a reminder to me that I should forge ahead and engage with research that continues to merge theory with practice (i.e., praxis).”

Peter De Costa, Award Recipient

Peter will be presented with his award at the SLR SIG business meeting to be held in-person April 25, 6:00-7:30pm PST at the AERA annual meeting in San Diego.