In the classroom, Barbara Litt teaches undergraduate students language and culture as a senior lecturer in Japanese Studies. At Aikido Kokikai Pittsburgh in Regent Square, she shares a different side of Japanese culture, donning a hakama — a traditional Japanese garment — to guide students in the martial art of Aikido.

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Erika Bañuelos (DC 1996) was selected as a recipient of CMU's 2025 Alumni Service Award for her outstanding leadership with the CMU Denver Alumni Network for almost 20 years. Erika earned her bachelor's degree in Hispanic Studies with a minor in engineering studies.

Adam Bramlett was awarded the prestigious Language Learning Dissertation Grant for his dissertation, "A General Model of Adaptive Speech Learning: From Accent Adaptation and Cue Returning to Second Language Learning and Lexical Blocking.” Adam is in his final year of his doctoral studies in LCAL.

Kenya C. Dworkin has been appointed the official translator for Pittsburgh Latino Magazine, a bilingual local publication founded and published by CMU alumna María Manautou-Matos.

Yan Liu (DC 2013), associate professor of the practice of Chinese & linguistics and director of the Chinese language program at Duke University, has been honored with the ACTFL Klett Award for Sustainable Development Education in the World Language Classroom. This award recognizes outstanding contributions to the field of language education.

Chisom Obasih (DC 2025) has joined Carnegie Mellon's Libraries as a postdoctoral research associate in Open Science. In her role, Dr. Obasih performs research and offers teaching, community-building and outreach services for researchers in the CMU community interested in open science research practices. See her for all your R coding needs!

Martina Wells has been awarded a grant from the German Embassy in Washington, D.C. to support a series of interdisciplinary campus events exploring Germany's role in academic, scientific and professional contexts. Planned in collaboration with LCAL, the College of Engineering, Office of International Education and Carnegie Mellon Institute of Strategy & Technology, the events will take place from September to November 2025.

Anne Lambright has published a two-volume collection on Peru’s celebrated theater collective, Grupo Cultural Yuyachkani: Yuyachkani y el teatro de los derechos humanos: Cinco obras (MLA Text and Translation Series, 2025) and Yuyachkani's Human Rights Theater: Five Plays (MLA Text and Translation Series, 2025). Dr. Lambright's anthology highlights the group’s activist roots, its focus on human rights and social justice and its efforts to amplify Indigenous and marginalized voices in Peru.

Valentino Rahming (DC 2023), assistant professor of Spanish and education at the University of North Carolina Wilmington, published "Las voces de Baha-blantes: An analysis of the language learning investment of intermediate students of Spanish at the tertiary level" in Foreign Language Annals. doi.org/10.1111/flan.70028

Mukhtar Shehata discussed his work-in-progress Those in a program hosted by the Center for the Arts in Society.

Gang Liu co-presented "Playing with Ancient Chinese Oracle Bones" with Jonathan Walton and Azu De at the Serious Play Conference in Rochester, N.Y. Dr. Liu also gave an invited workshop at Northwestern University on Sept. 12, titled "Gamifying Language Learning: Integrating Gameful and Game-Based Approaches in Upper-Level CFL Education."

Michael McEachrane was invited by Colombian Vice President Francia Márquez to join a United Nations Permanent Forum on People of African Descent delegation. The group conducted a consultation for Spanish-speaking Latin America on the draft U.N. declaration on the human rights of people of African descent. Additionally, Dr. McEachrane was invited to Ohio State University to present his plans for implementing the Global Network for Research on People of African Descent (G-SAP) at CBESA.

On Sept. 18, students in Mathieu Berbiguier's 82-255 Beyond the Korean Wave: A Critical Exploration of K-pop participated in a VR workshop in The Kenner Room using Wonda VR headsets with the help of Stefani Taskas. They explored a virtual museum of K-pop history and watched videos spanning different eras. Students also experienced a VR K-pop concert through the apps Amaze and Venta X.

Following their VR workshop, students in 82-255 welcomed Jaewon Jang (TEP 1997), CEO of SM Universe, for a guest lecture on Sept. 23. Drawing on his experience studying Chinese in LCAL over 30 years ago, Jang shared how his language skills helped him stand out in the industry. He also offered insights into the evolution of K-pop and answered students' questions about its current trends and future directions.

Our Online Language Learning program has officially launched Arabic I for independent learners! This course is geared toward non-CMU students who are interested in language learning. Learn more on our website.

• Ph.D. in Applied Linguistics & Second Language Acquisition
• Open House on Oct. 7 at 8 p.m. (ET) — Register today!
• M.A. in Applied Linguistics & Second Language Acquisition
• Open House on Oct. 28 at 8 p.m. (ET) — Register today!
• M.A. in Applied Linguistics & Second Language Acquisition — Advanced Study
• Open House on Oct. 28 at 8 p.m. (ET) — Register today!
• M.A. in Global Communication & Applied Translation
• 4+1 GCAT Program (for current undergraduate students)

Visit our website for more details!

The call for submissions for SONA 2026 is now open. Following the success of the first festival, the second edition will showcase immersive technology in language and culture and bring creators from the immersive storytelling community to CMU. To discuss inviting artists or supporting new projects through the Immersive Cultural Innovation Fund, please email Stephan Caspar.