Welcome back to a new academic year in the Department of Languages, Cultures & Applied Linguistics! I hope that everyone had a restorative, productive and enjoyable summer.

As we begin the year, I’m delighted to welcome back our faculty, students and staff — and to extend a particularly warm welcome to those who are joining our community for the first time. Our department’s vibrancy is rooted in the empathy, respect, partnership, creativity, innovation and inclusivity (to name a few of the core values we identified at our first department meeting of the year) that each of us brings to our teaching, research, learning and service.

The months ahead promise many opportunities to connect: through our courses and research, visiting speakers and departmental events, student activities and the everyday conversations that sustain our intellectual community. I am excited about what lies ahead and grateful to serve as Interim Department Head this year. I look forward to working with you and to seeing the many ways our community will learn, collaborate and grow together.

Sincerely,

Adam van Compernolle

Interim Department Head and Professor of Applied Linguistics, Second Language Acquisition and Global French Studies

Kiyono Fujinaga-Gordon started her visiting researcher position at the National Institute for Japanese Language and Linguistics (NINJAL) for the academic year. During her time at NINJAL, she will be working on two main projects: (1) designing and conducting experiments on reading and question generation and (2) language documentation and cultural reclamation.

Anne Lambright has assumed the role of Chair of STEM Lingua, a newly-formed collaborative of languages departments at tech-focused universities across the U.S. LCAL will be host to the 2nd STEM Lingua Symposium from January 22–23, 2027, so mark your calendars!

Dr. Lambright was also appointed as an Obama Fellow in the Obama Institute for Transnational American Studies at the Johannes Gutenburg University in Mainz, Germany, and as a visiting professor at the Université Occidentale de Bretagne in Brest, France. As part of these appointments, she will be in residence at each institute next spring, advancing and sharing her current project on Chicksaw performer Te Ata Thompson and issues of global indigeneity.

Mame-Fatou Niang has been appointed as Trustee Professor of Global French Studies. Trustee professorships are granted to select faculty members for their extraordinary scholarly achievements and important contributions to their fields of study. We celebrate this tremendous recognition of Dr. Niang's exemplary record of impactful scholarship, creative work, intellectual leadership and international activism. 

The Solidarity Lab (TSL), a project co-led by Felipe Gómez and Emma Fries (English) to give visibility to the impacts of immigration detention and deportation in Western PA, has received a three-year Center for the Arts in Society Repair Initiative grant. 

Nevine Abraham and Michal Friedman (History) published an article titled "Culinary Sites of National (Re)Imagining in Palestine and Israel" in the Palestine/Israel Review: Imagining Palestine-Israel Special Issue, 3 (2). doi.org/10.5325/pir.3.2.0002

In May, Sébastien Dubreil led a workshop for faculty and graduate students titled "Playful Approaches to Learning through Game Design" for the University of Tokyo's Global Faculty Development Initiative. He also presented the paper “Langues, lieux et réflexivité : paysages linguistiques géolocalisés pour créer un dialogue avec l’espace en didactique des langues” at the ALSIC 2026 Colloquium in Paris, France, with a colleague.

On Aug. 3, Kiyono Fujinaga-Gordon presented her collaborative work「問いの分類研究に関するレビューと今後の展望―問いの性質と生成のタイミングに着目して―」with her NINJAL colleagues.

Dr. Fujinaga-Gordon, Seth Wiener and Mandy Simons (Philosophy) published their paper "Take an Introductory Linguistics Course: It May Increase Your Language Learning Ability" in the International Journal of Applied Linguistics.

Michal Friedman also published an op-ed "Curious about Jewish studies? Reject insinuations and join our conversations" in the Jewish Chronicle with Rachel Kranson (University of Pittsburgh).

Felipe Gómez and Emma Fries (English) presented their paper "Graphic Narrative as Decolonial Praxis: Co-Creating Murals of Collective Resilience” at the Communities and Knowledges International Conference held at the Universidad de Costa Rica in San José. 

Skylar Seungjoo Kim presented her work "Managing K- epistemic stance in L2 interaction with AI and peers" at the Interactional Competences and Practices in a Second Language (ICOP-L2) at Newcastle University in Newcastle upon Tyne, UK. Her presentation was supported by the National Federation of Modern Language Teachers Associations (NFMLTA) through its conference presentation support grant for language professionals.

Ryuki Matsuura was a contributing author on the paper "Investigating EFL Learners' Knowledge of the Grammatical Functions of High-Frequency Verbs" which was published in Applied Linguistics. doi.org/10.1093/applin/amag066

This summer, Mame-Fatou Niang was a resident at the French Academy in Rome, where she completed an essay and several sculpting pieces. She also finalized the first French translation of writings by the Brazilian historian and intellectual Beatriz Nascimento (forthcoming on Oct. 3). Dr. Niang also continued her international curatorial work as part of the 2026 edition of The Rio de Janeiro Literary Festival (Flup), to be held in late-October.

Seth Wiener also contributed to a proceedings paper "An exploratory eye-tracking study into the time course of sincere and sarcastic speech recognition" with Ryuki Matsuura and German studies major Isabella Noor Warner, and two other Dietrich College undergraduate students — Sueah Kim and Thomas Zhao.

Tianxue Yao’s volume, Legalism and Mohism, in the Young Minds in Philosophy series went to print this June. The series, published by Shandong Publishing House, introduces young readers to major Chinese philosophical traditions through engaging narratives that integrate language, culture and philosophy. It may also serve as supplementary reading for advanced Chinese language and civilization courses.

Spearheaded by Gang Liu, LCAL ran its first five-week GCET pre-college program where 33 high school students explored the intersection of culture and technology — building skills in AI, robotics, animation and immersive media while examining ethical implications.

Ten members of LCAL taught the following lessons: Gang Liu and Johannes DeYoung (CFA): poetry in motion; Ting Su: AI creativity; Sébastien Dubreil and Stefani Taskas: game design; Haixia Wang: Chinese calligraphy and tea ceremony; Tianxue Yao: Chinese philosophy; Felipe Gomez: Hispanic culture; Tatyana Gershkovich: Russian literature and culture; Nevine Abraham: Arabic culture; and Rod Piza (English): AI filmmaking.

This summer, LCAL ran six study abroad programs in Freiburg, Germany; Madrid, Spain; Monteverde, Costa Rica; Nantes, France; Seoul, South Korea; and Shanghai, China. Our newest program in Seoul, in partnership with Seoul National University, was especially popular, welcoming 13 students!

LCAL also awarded more than $100,000 in scholarships to support approximately 60 students' study abroad experiences!

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.

In July, Nevine Abraham, Anne Lambright, Therese Tardio, Adam van Compernolle and Seth Wiener attended the HuMetricsHSS Values-Enacted Leadership Institute (VELI) in Portland, Ore. As a team, they articulated a process to engage LCAL over the coming year in defining and affirming our shared values. That work will guide the creation of a strategic framework to help us navigate challenges, seize new opportunities and stay true to our mission: advancing the study and research of language and culture through a transformative educational program.

Our four graduate degree programs will be opening applications soon for fall 2027 admission. Please spread the word to your colleagues, students and respective circles.

Applications for the M.A. in Applied Linguistics & Second Language Acquisition (ALSLA) one-year and two-year programs will open on September 1, with an open house scheduled to take place on September 29 at 8 p.m. (ET) — registration required.

Likewise, the M.A. in Global Communication & Applied Translation (GCAT) program will also start accepting applications on September 1, with a virtual open house taking place on September 29 at 8 p.m. (ET) — registration required.

And finally, the Ph.D. in Applied Linguistics & Second Language Acquisition program will open applications on October 1 and hold a virtual open house on October 6 at 8 p.m. (ET) — registration required.