Mathieu Berbiguier presented on his research about the virtual K-pop group PLAVE and what authenticity and connection mean in today’s pop culture. Using fan comments from YouTube alongside close readings of fan discussions, Dr. Berbiguier’s research shows how audiences form strong emotional bonds with PLAVE — even though the group exists as digital avatars.

Rather than focusing on physical presence, fans value sincerity, storytelling and shared interpretation. His research further argues that PLAVE doesn’t break from K-pop traditions but highlights what has always mattered most: emotional connection, visibility through narrative and collective fandom.

At this year’s Dietrich Ball, Sébastien Dubreil was nominated as an honored guest by Syd Wu (not pictured), a creative writing major and soon-to-be Korean minor.

Syd first connected with Dr. Dubreil after his guest lecture on games in their Grand Challenge course — and what started as one class visit quickly grew into meaningful mentorship and ongoing support for Syd’s creative work.

Nevine Abraham was invited to deliver a virtual talk at the American University in Cairo, Egypt, titled "Digital Humanities in the Arabic Curriculum: Integrating Generative AI into Beginning and Advanced Arabic." Additionally, Dr. Abraham's cross-institutional collaboration with St. Lawrence University on OLL's Arabic II learning materials for language instructors was featured in this news article.

Sébastien Dubreil presented one of the plenary sessions, entitled "Pour une pédagogie ludique, créative et sociale en cours de FLE," at the Journées Pédagogiques on behalf of the the National Association of Uruguayan French Teachers (ANaPFU) where he also led two workshops on linguistic landscape entitled "Défamiliariser le familier : Pour une pédagogie en mouvement dans le paysage linguistique en cours de FLE."

Giuseppina (Pina) Gemboni participated in the international and interdisciplinary conference Mare Monstrum at the University of Macerata, in Italy, from Feb. 25–27. Her paper "Il mostro e il mostruoso nella trilogia del mare di Emanuele Crialese" explored monstrosity in three films by Italian director E. Crialese.

On Feb. 13, Skylar Seungjoo Kim and Rémi A. van Compernolle presented "Repair trajectories and L2 interactional competence in peer and AI interaction" at the International Conference on Conversation Analysis and Language Teacher Education (icCALTE) at TED University in Anakara, Türkiye.

Michael McEachrane joined the U.N. Permanent Forum on People of African Descent for national civil society consultations on the draft U.N. Declaration on the Human Rights of People of African Descent, co-organized by Amnesty International Canada. They held consultations in Toronto, at Acadia University and in Ottawa, where they also met with government officials and the Canadian Human Rights Commission. The mission concluded with a press conference at Canada's Parliament.

CMU-Q launched the Al Rawi Initiative, organized by Ezzohra (Zahra) Moufid — a speaker series and reading challenge for Doha's Education City community that encourages exploration of Arabic literature. Starting this summer, CMU-Q will also be launching an intensive six-week Arabic course that will combine language and cultural studies. Additionally, faculty at the Doha campus have been conducting research on Arabic AI. Read more about these initiatives.

Our Chinese studies professors Lihong Zhang, Ting Su and Sue-mei Wei brought their 82-139 Chinese Learning Through Cultural Practices and Community Engagement students to the stage for CMU's Chinese New Year Extravaganza hosted by the Chinese Students Association. From elegant classical dance to high-energy hip-hop, they wowed a packed audience of students, faculty and community members.

In continued celebration of the Lunar New Year, Haixia Wang worked with 82-137 Chinese Calligraphy students to create artwork for the best wishes of horses (⾺) and good fortune (福). 2026 is the year of the fire horse and is viewed as a year of optimism and opportunity. In Chinese culture, the horse is known for its energetic, dynamic nature and represents success, freedom and good fortune.

LCAL's language conversation groups are open to all students at CMU, regardless of field of study or experience level. Led by graduate students and/or faculty, our conversation groups offer students the opportunity to practice their language skills in a relaxed environment while engaging in fun cultural activities like playing games, dancing, watching movies/tv shows, eating snacks, etc.

All language groups will meet in the LCAL Studio and Humanities Commons (POS 343) unless otherwise noted.

Please note: groups only meet when regular classes are in session.

LCAL's Professional Certificate in Language Program Administration is a one-year, online program. Courses are designed for current educators and graduate students who are seeking to advance in their careers through language teaching, language supervision, language program administration and/or curriculum development. 

• Deadline: March 31, 2026

For those interested in learning more, we are hosting a virtual open house on Tuesday, March 24 at 7 p.m. (ET). Register today!

Additionally, we are still accepting applications for our three master's programs for fall 2026:

• M.A. in Applied Linguistics & Second Language Acquisition
• Deadline: March 1, 2026
• M.A. in Applied Linguistics & Second Language Acquisition — Advanced Study
• Deadline; March 1, 2026
• M.A. in Global Communication & Applied Translation
• Includes 4+1 option for current CMU undergraduates
• Deadline: March 11, 2026