2025 NFMLTA-NCOLCTL Graduate Research Support Grant Recipients

Yetunde S. Alabede

Michigan State University

Unearthing Tradition: A Deep Dive into Indigenous Yoruba Grassroots Heritage Language Program

Ẹnlẹ́ o. My name is Yetunde S. Alabede, and I am a PhD Candidate in the Curriculum, Instruction, and Teacher Education (CITE) Program at Michigan State University. I am honored and deeply grateful for the support of the NFMLTA/NCOLCTL Research Award. With this award, I will be able to work with a community of teachers, parents, and their children at a Yorùbá Grassroot Heritage Language Program for a year-long (digital) ethnographic study for my dissertation. In my dissertation, I am examining the role that parents, teachers, and children assume in the Grassroot Heritage Language (GHL) program and how curriculum emerges in the learning space. This NFMLTA/NCOLCTL Research Award will significantly aid in the analysis stage of my data, enabling me to gain a deeper understanding of how parental ideologies and practices shape the experiences of their multilingual Yorùbá Heritage language children while fostering curriculum development for teachers. I am thankful for this support and look forward to sharing the findings from my research with the field. 

Mo dúpẹ́ púpọ̀

Beatriz Cariello

Florida International University

Using Natural Language Processing Tools to Build a STEM Portuguese Vocabulary Corpus for High School Learners

I am truly honored to receive the 2025 NFMLTA-NCOLCTL Research Support Grant. As a Ph.D. candidate in Curriculum and Instruction at Florida International University, my research centers on addressing the vocabulary needs of secondary students studying Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics and aspiring to use Portuguese in STEM fields. This grant will enable me to process data and develop an innovative STEM-specific vocabulary corpus, which will enhance language teaching methodologies for less commonly taught languages like Portuguese. I am deeply grateful for this recognition and excited to make meaningful contributions to the field of Language teaching and learning.

Yali Feng

Georgia State University

Rater Effects in Assessing Oral Production of L2 Chinese Pragmatic Performance: The Influence of Teaching Experience and Teaching Context

Nihao! I am a PhD candidate in the Department of Applied Linguistics and ESL at Georgia State University, where I also serve as a graduate teaching assistant for the Chinese language program. My research interests focus on Chinese as a second language (L2) acquisition, interlanguage pragmatics, and language assessment. My dissertation examines rater effects in the assessment of L2 Chinese language learners’ pragmatic performance, with a particular focus on raters’ teaching experience and the teaching contexts in China and the United States. I am truly honored to receive the NFMLTA-NCOLCTL Graduate Research Award to support my dissertation research, which will assist me during the data collection and analysis stages. I am very grateful for this support and look forward to sharing my work and contributing to the advancement of L2 Chinese pragmatics assessment.

Charlize Hsiang-Ling Wang

The Ohio State University

Translanguaging in Chinese Language Classrooms: Exploring Language Learning, Engagement, and Inclusivity

I am a PhD candidate in Multilingual Language Education at The Ohio State University. My research interests lie in translanguaging and culturally sustaining pedagogy in world language education. I am honored to receive the 2025 NFMLTA-NCOLCTL Research Award. Building on my research interests, my dissertation examines translanguaging in Chinese as a Foreign Language (CFL) classrooms in higher education in the US. This ethnography study explores what happens when translanguaging occurs in novice-level classrooms, particularly with respect to student engagement, Chinese language learning, and inclusivity. As a language educator, I am interested in investigating the following questions: (1) How, if at all, do translanguaging practices foster minority students’ engagement and Chinese language learning? (2) How, if at all, does translanguaging create inclusivity while sustaining students’ linguistic and cultural resources? This grant will support my research activities and enhance the interpretation and validity of my findings, specifically by funding travel to the research site, recording equipment, and data analysis subscriptions. I look forward to connecting with other world language educators and presenting my empirical research on translanguaging dynamics and student engagement at the 2025 NCOLCTL.

Sora Kim

University of Iowa

Politeness Negotiated in Language Classrooms

I am Sora Kim, a Ph.D. candidate in the Multilingual Education program at the University of Iowa. I am deeply honored to receive this award and feel connected to and supported by all the fellow researchers and practitioners teaching LCTL in the United States. This research award will be used for travel expenses related to data collection, presentation of findings, and participant compensation. My dissertation addresses the particularity and complexity of power dynamics in teaching and learning politeness in contemporary LCTL classrooms at U.S. universities. I hope this project will contribute to pedagogical discussions aimed at teaching politeness in a culturally responsive way to diverse language learners. I appreciate this award, my advisor Dr. Wesely, teachers and students working with me on this project, and those who have helped me along the way.

Zhupeng Li

University of Connecticut

Effects of Task Complexity and Foreign Language Anxiety on Chinese as a Foreign Language Learners’ Speech Production

I am a Ph.D. candidate in Applied Linguistics and Discourse Studies at the University of Connecticut, with a research focus on second language acquisition, task-based language teaching, individual differences in language learning, and the teaching of Chinese as foreign languages. My dissertation explores the interplay between task complexity and foreign language anxiety in shaping the speech production of L2 Chinese learners. Currently, I serve as a graduate assistant, teaching Chinese to undergraduate students at UConn. I am deeply honored to be the recipient of the 2025 NFMLTA-NCOLCTL Graduate Research Award. This generous support will significantly enhance my research by facilitating data collection and analysis. I hope my work will contribute to the field of Chinese as a foreign language and, more broadly, advance the development of world languages and the promotion of less commonly taught languages worldwide.

Jiaxin Tian

University of Hawai’i – Mānoa

A Comparative Study of Teachers’ Repair and Correction Practice in Chinese as Foreign Language Classrooms: A Multimodal Conversation Analysis Perspective

I am a Ph.D. candidate in Chinese Linguistics in the East Asian Languages and Literatures Department at the University of Hawai‘i at Mānoa. My research interests lie in conversation analysis (CA), L2 pragmatics, and L2 pedagogy. I am honored to receive the 2025 NFMLTA-NCOLCTL Research Award, which will support my CA study on how teachers in Chinese as Foreign Language classrooms use multimodal resources to organize teaching practices across different proficiency levels. Focusing specifically on phonetic corrections from 76 hours of video-recorded data across five Chinese classes, my research will contribute to both Mandarin teaching and multimodal L2 classroom practices. This grant will assist with data transcription and enhance my understanding of the dynamics of L2 teaching.

Anna Zaitseva

The University of Ohio

Beyond the Lesson Plan: A Comparative Case Study of Graduate Instructors’ Socialization in Current Pedagogies

Anna Zaitseva (she/her) is a fourth-year doctoral candidate in the Multilingual Language Education program in the Department of Teaching and Learning at the Ohio State University. Anna has extensive experience teaching Russian at a college level and supervising pre-service World Language teachers in their licensure programs. Anna is an instructor for World Language and TESOL preparation courses in the department. Her academic research interests include language assessment, critical approaches to language teaching, including multiliteracies pedagogy and social justice education. Anna’s dissertation project examines how World Language graduate instructors were socialized to critical pedagogies and the role of policy, sociopolitical, and educational contexts in shaping their understanding and practice.

Jieyu Zhou

University of Washington

The Acquisition of Disyllabic Word Collocations by Intermediate- to Advanced-Level Learners of Chinese as a Second Language

I am currently a Ph.D. candidate in Chinese Linguistics at the University of Washington, Seattle, focusing on the acquisition of Chinese as a second language at the college level. I am honored to receive the 2025 NFMLTA-NCOLCTL Graduate Research Award, which supports the data collection and analysis for my dissertation. This research investigates the challenges native English speakers face with formal Chinese collocations—critical for effective communication in academic and professional contexts. Specifically, it examines CSL learners’ understanding of these collocations, the impact of textbook inputs, and the efficacy of explicit instructional interventions. I am thankful for the recognition and support from this award and eager to contribute my findings to the broader academic community.