Saida Mohamed AAUW Dissertation Fellow

I am a member of the dissertation committee of Saida Mohamed, a doctoral candidate at Arizona State University. Saida has just been awarded an Association of American University Women (AAUW) American Dissertation Fellowship for the 2022-23 award year. Her dissertation examines the multilingual literacies (Somali, English, Kiswahili, Classical Arabic) of three families and their five to fourteen-year-old children of Somali and refugee background living in Nairobi, Kenya. Through the lenses of literacy as a social practice and funds of knowledge, Saida explores the connections between the children’s dugsi, school, and home language and literacy learning experiences and analyze how children and parents live and understand these experiences. 

AAA 2021 virtual session: Supporting multilingual ECE

We just held our session ‘Supporting Multilingual Education in Early Childhood: Linguistic Anthropological Approaches’. Organized by Jennifer Reynolds (USC) and Amy Kyratzis (UCSB), the session examines the issue of how early childhood educators can be supported in sustaining and leveraging children’s expertise as a legitimate and generative means to expand linguistic repertoires and associated forms of knowledge production. The Zoom recording and documents will available through June 2022 to conference participants.

NAEYC 2021 session

I am part of a session ‘Bridging the gap: Developing accessible STEM programs and building partnerships to support bilingual children & families’ at the annual conference of the National Association for the Education of Young Children (NAEYC 2021). I am joined by Hardin Englehardt (Marbles Kids Museum) and Grace Sanchez (GrowingGreat). We discuss developing bilingual, accessible, culturally-relevant activities and building community partnerships to reach families. If you are registered for the conference, our session is available through November.

Advanced Methods Institute at OSU

The College of Education and Human Ecology (EHE) and the EHE Office of Research, Innovation, Collaboration’s (ORIC) QualLab are sponsoring a virtual, 3-day institute. The Advanced Methods Institute: Advancing Culturally Responsive Research and Researchers runs Wednesday, June 2 through Friday, June 4. I will moderate a panel, Breaking it Down: A Conversation about How Qualitative Scholars Advance Culturally Relevant Research and lead a topical lunch discussion, Linguistically and Culturally Responsive Research. #OSUAMI2021

AAAL 2021 colloquium

I am presently participating in the 2021 American Association for Applied Linguistics virtual conference. With Jackie Ridley (Kent State), I have a paper, ‘Ideologies at the intersection of language learning, science learning, and play’. Our paper is part of the colloquium Jackie organized on Language Learning and Play in Preschool Settings, along with papers by Amy Kyratzis (UCSB), Katie Bernstein and Ryleigh Hait (ASU). It is amazing to be hanging out with so many applied linguists in one “place”, hearing about the work they are engaged in now.

LSHSS article is out!

A new publication based on my research with Monique Mills (U of Houston) is out! Perceptions of Black Children’s Narrative Language: A Mixed-Methods Study reports on our mixed-methods study, which addressed two aims. First, we examine the impact of language variation on the ratings of children’s narrative language. Second, we identify participants’ ideologies related to narrative language and language variation. The article is part of a special issue of Language, Speech, and Hearing Services in Schools, Serving African American English Speakers in Schools Through Interprofessional Education & Practice. You can listen to guest editor Monique Mills talk about the issue and the development of strategies for speakers of African American English.

EHE K12 blended learning during COVID-19 website

The EHE K12 blended learning during COVID-19 website is live! This website is the product of the College’s K12 Reopening Task Force, on which I served this past summer. The website presents resources and strategies for educators to use in their schools and classrooms to support students and families in a virtual and/or blended learning environment. I was part of the group that focused on English language learners, along with Ebony Caldwell and Rebecca Parker. Check out our page, which includes a welcome video and great resources from OSU and beyond.

FSMLE Open House November 17

The FSMLE faculty are hosting FSMLE @OSU Open House!
Time: Nov 17, 2020 08:00 AM Eastern Time (US and Canada)
We hope that people interested in graduate study with us will be able to join us to learn about our program and to meet faculty.
After registering, you will receive a confirmation email containing information about joining the meeting.

AAA Raising Our Voices 2020

The American Anthropological Association is holding a virtual conference this year, Raising Our Voices 2020. With Monique Mills (U of Houston), I have a virtual poster, ‘People aren’t going to tell stories in the same way’: A mixed-methods study of adult perceptions of Black children’s narrative language. This poster reports on a mixed-methods study of adults’ perceptions of Black children’s narrative language conducted by a linguistic anthropologist and a speech and hearing sciences researcher.

ASHA 2019 poster

Dr. Monique Mills (University of Houston, Department of Communication Sciences and Disorders), Bethany Frick (Speech and Hearing Sciences), my advisee Somin Kim and I had a poster at the 2019 American Speech and Hearing Association Convention. We presenting an update on our project ‘Assessing Students’ Narrative Language: Emic and Etic Perceptions”. Funded by a Cross-College Seed Grant, the study examines how teachers and parents evaluate the language of school-age Black students informally and formally, with our ultimate goal being to improve academic assessment of this group.