The University of Iowa - The College of Education - Foreign Languages and ESL Education

I am a graduate student working on my Ph.D. in Foreign Language and ESL Education and am a TA in the German Department. A native of Heidelberg, Germany, I completed my undergraduate studies in English and German at the Universität Heidelberg. I received my M.Ed. from Carthage College, WI where I also worked as a German TA for two years. Prior to coming to the UI, I worked at the Milwaukee German Immersion School as a second grade teacher for two years. Some of my specific areas of interest include curriculum development and materials design, foreign language pedagogy, and oral proficiency.

Currently, I am the Associate Director of the Educational Placement Office in the College of Education. Prior to this position, I was a German teacher in the Iowa City schools and also taught German at Kirkwood Community College and The University of Iowa. My areas of interest include program management, personnel, and new technologies.

Vicki Hildebrand Bunnell
M.A. Program
bunnellv@grinnell.edu
Having taught secondary English, I want an M.A. in ESL/EFL and hope to utilize this in an international educational environment. By necessity, I have become interested in literacy as well. My own foreign language is German.

Ph.D. Program
I am from Thailand where I work at Rajabhat Mahasarakham University. My interests are in reading development, instructional materials and technologies, individual differences, teaching techniques and activities.

Dave expects to receive his M.A. in Forgeign Language Education in May, 2008. Dave's principal interest is Language for Special Purposes, springing from his own experience learning Spanish in the course of his work as a trial lawyer. In pursuance of this interest, he will be teaching a basic legal skills course in Spanish at UI's College of Law beginning in January 2008 for those law students who anticipate using Spanish in legal practice.

I am from Taiwan, and my first language is Hakka. My research and study interests include computer-assisted language teaching and learning, computer-assisted language testing (placement tests), instructional technology, and cultures and languages across the curriculum (English and Mandarin Chinese).

Elizabeth Hallinan

Ph.D. Program

elizabeth-hallinan@uiowa.edu

My family and I moved to Iowa City from California so that I may pursue a Ph.D. in Foreign Language Education. This semester, I am teaching the foreign language Practicum class and supervising all the student teachers in foreign language. I am originally from New York, and earned my B.A. in French Studies at SUNY Albany. I completed my M.A. in French Literature and a teaching certificate in secondary French at the University of Colorado, Boulder, where I was a T.A. in the French department for two years. Before coming to Iowa, I taught high school French through the AP level at a K-12 private school in Los Angeles, where I also created and ran a biannual trip to France for the students. My interests within our field include travel and study abroad as necessary components to language learning, sociolinguistics, and materials development.

Jane Hanson
Ph.D. Program
jane-hanson@uiowa.edu
I am currently completing my dissertation about the role of reflection in learning to teach, and co-researching interaction patterns in the non-native language of instruction of professors at the college level. My studies have focused on teacher education, second language reading research, and computer-assisted language learning. A research agenda includes teacher cognitive processes for language learning and pedagogy, as well as the innovative use of computer technology for educational contexts. I have served as supervisor for the Dept. of Teaching and Learning, TA for International Studies, and Web Content Editor for International Programs.

I am originally from Germany and have studied at various universities in Germany as well as in the U.S. I received my Bachelor's Degree in Russian from Arizona State University and my Master's Degree in Secondary Education teaching German and English from the University of South Dakota. I am currently teaching German and Russian at Muscatine High School and am working on my Ph.D. in Foreign Language and ESL Education.

jia-ying-lee@uiowa.edu
I am from Taiwan and my first language is Chinese. My Master's is in TESOL program. Before coming to U of Iowa, I taught English as second language to the university students in Taiwan. My interest is the language instruction and acquisition in a multilingual and multicultural environment, language pedagogy, and different learning styles across culture.

María B. Martín
Ph.D. Program
maria-martin@uiowa.edu
My interests though multifaceted, lie mainly in the education of second
language learners, particularly English Language Learners (ELLs) in the K-12 system. It is my goal to explore and influence how various school-based
educators including administrators perceive and enact their roles with respect to ESL and immigrant education so as to better support both educators and students through the American schooling process. Currently, I am working on my dissertation and working as a Research Assistant for Dean Damico.

I am from Southwest of France where I graduated in English and Spanish as Foreign Languages and in Rhetorics of Art from the Universite de Pau et des Pays de l'Adour. I've been living abroad for the past 5 years, first in England (University of Nottingham), then in Spain, and finally in the US (U of I) for the last 3 years. I taught all three languages I speak as Foreign Languages, particularly French for two years in the French Department at the University of Iowa. I am now working as a Research and Teaching Assistant in the College of Education for Program RELEVANCE (Reaching English Language Educators Via Advanced Networked Collegiate Education) with Dr. Schrier, Dr. Everson, and Dr. Byrd. Some of my specific areas of interest include curriculum development and material design to implement the Standards for Foreign Language Learning, with a particular interest for the cultural aspects of the Standards. I am both passionate about research and teaching, and would like to keep on being a participant in both the community of researchers and the community of practitioners in the future. I am currently a candidate for the Ph.D. Program.

Dana Phelps
M.A. Program
phelpsd@iowa-city.k12.ia.us
Masters in teaching a foreign language (Spanish) and emphasis in Anthropology.

LeeAnn M. Schrage
Ph.D. Program
lmshrag@blue.weeg.uiowa.edu
I am interested in foreign language pedagogy, subtractive bilingualism as it applies to teachers and their students.

I am a product of The University of Iowa's undergraduate program and a native of the Midwest. In May of 2006, I completed my undergraduate degrees in Linguistics and in Spanish and then was struck by the question: What should I do with these? I eventually focused my attention on teaching as a profession, following in the footsteps of my grandparents and other relatives. I began my graduate program as an MAT student the summer after I graduated with my undergraduate degrees. Currently, I am getting plenty of experience in the profession by teaching undergraduate Spanish courses here at Iowa. In fact, I have taught the same class I took as an undergraduate! As a mother of one and one on the way, I am finding the balance between school and family to be challenging but rewarding and am looking forward to the magic day when I get that job in the public school system.

Monica L. Vuksanovich
Ph.D. Program
monica-ackerland@uiowa.edu
Office: 314 Phillips Hall
Office phone: 319-353-2186
Foreign Language Education/Spanish: M.A.T. and K-12 Certification