Pedagogy Specialist
German and EFL Instructor
Second Language Acquisition Researcher
Pedagogy Specialist
German and EFL Instructor
Second Language Acquisition Researcher
I am a Lecturer and Pedagogy Specialist in the Department of Germanic Languages and Literatures at Washington University in St. Louis. I completed my PhD in German Applied Linguistics with a dual-title in Language Science at Penn State. At Penn State, I was affiliated with the Center for Language Science and the Second Language Acquisition Lab. Prior to that, I was a research associate and lecturer (“Wissenschaftliche Mitarbeiterin”) in the Division of English Language Pedagogy at the Technische Universität (TU) Dortmund, in Germany.
My research centers around second language learners’ lexical knowledge and the process of vocabulary acquisition in a second language. Broadly speaking, I am interested in the impact of instructional methods on adult second language acquisition. My work incorporates both psycholinguistic and classroom-based, pedagogical approaches. My dissertation investigated the impact of semantic feature-focused and retrieval-based training activities on intermediate German learners' productive vocabulary knowledge.
I also work on curriculum development to bring innovative pedagogical methods and an antiracist, equitable, and inclusive approach to the second/foreign language classroom.
PhD in German Applied Linguistics and Language Science, 2022
The Pennsylvania State University
MA in Applied Linguistics, 2013
Technische Universität Dortmund, Germany
BA in German and Psychology, 2010
Washington University in St. Louis
My primary editing experience is in the area of newsletters that aim to communicate scientific findings on topics of language learning and bilingualism to non-specialist audiences.
I was a co-editor of the AAALGrads newsletter for the American Association of Applied Linguistics for the Fall 2021 and Spring 2022 issues. I was the lead editor for the Winter/Spring 2020 edition of the newsletter for the Bilingualism Matters chapter at Penn State.
Over the course of 11 years as an educator in a variety of environments and as a researcher specializing in second language acquisition, I have established three core pedagogical elements for successful learning that inform how I approach all teaching contexts: creating a supportive environment, maximizing interaction in the classroom, and foregrounding learner autonomy. Whether I am teaching language courses, content courses, or mentoring research assistants, I am dedicated to guiding my students to a study of language, literature, and culture that is personally meaningful for them both within my classroom and beyond.
My teaching experience encompasses German as a Foreign Language and English as a Foreign Language courses at all levels, from beginners to highly advanced students, and from middle-schoolers to adults in continuing education programs. At the college/university level, I have also taught interdisciplinary literature and cultural history courses as well as a range of applied linguistics/TESOL courses. I have taught face-to-face, online synchronous, and online asynchronous courses and have completed an Online Teaching Certificate for graduate students at Penn State. In addition to classroom teaching, I have advised independent studies and honors theses at both the Bachelor’s and Master’s level on a range of SLA-related topics.
I have consistently received superior ratings on my course evaluations and in 2020 I was awarded the Harold F. Martin Graduate Assistant Outstanding Teaching Award, a university-wide honor at Penn State.
See my CV for a full list of the courses I have taught. You can view my course descriptions and syllabi here.
