It is with a heavy heart that we share the very sad news that Barbara Freed, founding head of Modern Languages (now LCAL) at Carnegie Mellon, passed away earlier this week. Her loss is deeply felt across our community.

Dr. Freed's career was marked by a series of significant "firsts." She served as the inaugural head of the reconstituted department, was among the first female department heads in Dietrich College and established the department’s first endowed professorship. A pioneer in study abroad and second language acquisition, she built a program grounded in innovative, research-driven pedagogy that integrated language learning with cultural inquiry.

Her vision reshaped the department and continues to guide its teaching and scholarship. Dr. Freed’s legacy will endure in the work and community she helped create. Our heart goes out to her family and friends.

Read her full obituary.

Ran Zhao (DC 2000), professor of Chinese and director of the Chinese language program in the Department of East Asian Languages, Literatures & Cultures at the University of Virginia, has been honored with UVA's 2026 Alumni Association Distinguished Professor Award. This prestigious recognition highlights Dr. Zhao’s exceptional dedication, excellence in teaching and research, and significant contributions and achievements in the field.

Nevine Abraham was awarded a grant from the Frank-Ratchye Further Fund to support her project "Digitizing Heritage Objects and Material Culture."

Anne Lambright, Nevine Abraham, Therese Tardio, Adam Van Compernolle and Seth Weiner have been accepted to participate in the 2026 HumetricsHSS Values Enacted Leadership Institute in Portland, Ore. Their project Strategic Planning in Precarious Times: Strengthening Language and Culture Studies for Current and Future Impact will help think about how to strengthen LCAL's impact on campus and beyond.

Anne Lambright and Adam van Compernolle travelled to Georgia Tech University for the inaugural symposium of STEM Lingua, a new consortium of language/culture departments at STEM and tech-focused institutions. At the symposium, heads and associate heads from CMU, Georgia Tech, MIT, Purdue, Rice, University of Texas and Virginia Tech discussed the risks and opportunities of AI and the essential role of our departments in this AI moment, as well as innovative curricular initiatives. The next symposium will take place at CMU in 2027!

Nevine Abraham published "Integrating Digital Storytelling to Bridge Culture and Language Learning in Novice Arabic" in FLTMAG. doi.org/10.69732/NHSJ3527

Esther Airemionkhale published "Generative AI and linguistic diversity in academic writing and publishing" in the Journal of English for Research Publication Purposes. doi.org/10.1075/jerpp.00035.ugw

Mathieu Berbiguier organized the panel "K-pop Fandom(s): when fans control the narrative," based on his paper "Contrasted Authenticity: Political Projection and Cultural Translation in the K-pop Fandoms," at the Association of Asian Studies Annual Meeting in Vancouver, Canada.

Kiyono Fujinaga-Gordon delivered a talk at the second meeting of CLP's Integrated Cultural Society: "Rice in Japan: What Has United Us and What Has Divided Us," which reflected on her personal journey to the U.S. and shared insights into how experiences of anti-foreign sentiment in both the U.S. and Japan can be understood by illustrating through the lens of how rice is perceived and consumed in Japan.

Over spring break, Devon Renfroe presented her paper "Na (me), dangshin (you) and hanguk saramdeul (Koreans): A 65-Year-Old Heritage Speaker's Identity in Interaction" at the Conversation Analysis Network Asia's 9th Symposium of L2 Interaction in Hanoi, Vietnam.

Devon also presented on her study "What Happens When Second Language Korean Speakers Make Mistakes With Politeness Grammar?" at CMU's Scholars to Scholars Graduate Student Showcase.

Rossina Soyan (DC 2024) and Katharine Burns published "Educational language policy and indigenous language maintenance: A language ecologies study of intergenerational language shift and maintenance among Tuvan-Russian bilinguals" in the International Multilingual Research Journal. doi.org/10.1080/19313152.2026.2645814

In late-March, members of the LCAL community participated in the American Association for Applied Linguistics (AAAL) Conference in Chicago, Ill., sharing research on language, technology and global communication.

Ester Airemionkhale presented on her research “Language Ideologies in Postcolonial Nigeria.” Katharine Burns presented “Are programming languages and world languages equivalent? Discussing educational language policy for the 21st century,” and, with Tracy Quan (University of Colorado Boulder), co-presented “Unpacking language ideologies in world language teacher education: A critical discourse analysis of methodology textbooks.”

Valencia Epps, with Ian Moodie (Mokpo National University), presented “‘Korea Can be Fun Depending on What You Look Like’: Investigating marginalization among expatriate female English teachers in East Asia.” Candice Guerbeau presented a poster titled “Learning languages, negotiating (a)gender: the lived experiences of three non-binary L2 learners in the U.S.”

Sanghee Kang and colleagues shared research on “Generative AI feedback type, depth of processing through written languaging, and quality of rewritten texts.” Ryuki Matsuura, co-authoring with Adam van Compernolle, presented “Pragmatic instruction beyond English: A qualitative synthesis of instructional effects in L2 Japanese pragmatics.”

Devon Renfroe and Khaled Al Masaeed presented “Co-constructed pragmatic norms: Honorifics in L1-L2 Korean interactions.” Tianyu (Sophie) Qin (DC 2018) and Adam van Compernolle presented “Assessing conversation implicature in digital contexts: A computerized dynamic assessment of L2 Chinese learners.”

Students in 82-139 Chinese Learning Through Arts, Cultural Practices and Community Engagement had an exciting and memorable martial arts session with the CMU Wushu Club on March 17, featuring live demonstrations and hands-on practice — an interactive way to experience the cultural and physical discipline of Wushu.

Bringing language and culture to life beyond the classroom, Steve Brockmann and Martina Wells treated a group of German majors to an evening of great food and conversation at Hofbräuhaus Pittsburgh.

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

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

• M.A. in Applied Linguistics & Second Language Acquisition
• Deadline: May 1, 2026
• M.A. in Applied Linguistics & Second Language Acquisition — Advanced Study
• Deadline; May 1, 2026
• M.A. in Global Communication & Applied Translation
• Virtual open house on Thursday, April 9 at 8 p.m. (ET). Register today!
• Deadline: May 13, 2026