Melissa Baese-Berk is faculty in the Linguistics Department whose research focuses on 2nd language speech perception and production. She will be teaching a seminar in Spring that is open to LTS students.

How are you connected to the LTS program?

What are you most passionate about in your work?

I’m passionate about understanding how people learn languages and discovering how learning languages impacts cognition and our use of our first language. Although my research is more theoretically oriented, I am also very interested in the applied implications of the theoretical findings. I love working with students from various backgrounds to better inform my research questions, and hopefully to help inform their teaching practice!

What do you think students get out of the LTS program?

I think the LTS program has a number of strengths, including the support of a cohort. However, I think our greatest strength is the diversity of students and student interests in the program. Students are hoping to teach a variety of languages in a variety of settings after the program. Because of this, our students leave the program being quite well rounded, having thought not just about their target language and target context, but about language teaching much more broadly.

What advice do you have to applicants to the program this year?

I would encourage students to think about what they want from a graduate program and to try to convey that to the admissions committee. I’m always excited when an applicant makes it clear that they understand what our program offers and demonstrate how our offerings will help them achieve their goals.