A post from the LTS ‘Directors’ 2017-18, Keli Yerian and Trish Pashby

From Keli: As all LTS students this year know, I am on sabbatical for 7 months Fall and Winter terms. I am spending Fall in Aix en Provence, France, and Winter back in Eugene.

After seven years of being LTS Director year-round, I must admit I am happy to get a breather from administration to focus on research and writing (not to mention the wine and food). I’m also happy to be in the L2 (second language speaker) seat again. It’s important for language teachers and teacher educators to remember what it is like to live in a second language; it’s exciting but definitely frustrating and discouraging at times. It’s all part of the language learning cycle.

I have been fortunate that a scholar I met last year at a gesture conference in Paris, Marion Tellier,

has welcomed me to the University of Aix-Marseille/Laboratoire Parole et Langage as a visiting scholar to look at data together and start a collaborative project. Both of us are interested in gesture and language pedagogy, specifically in how to think about the use of gesture and the body in language teacher education. She is in fact the co-author of an edited book on the topic already (the only such book I know of). She also co-directs and teaches in the MA program in teaching French as a Foreign/Second Language at the university, so we have many experiences in common.

My goals while I am here are:

1. To get a project started with Marion using our similar data from our respective programs. We are presenting a poster at a local professional gathering later this month, and planning to collect more teaching data in her program over the next few months.
2. To make significant progress on writing up another gesture manuscript (which I’ll be presenting this month at a colloquium at LPL).
3. To work towards professional-level fluency in French. I am getting plenty of practice towards this!

My biggest challenge here is that I miss my family. I will not see them in person for three months. But the end of the year will arrive soon, I know. Have a wonderful Fall and Winter terms, LTS! You are in excellent hands with Trish Pashby as Acting Director.

From Trish:  I am thrilled for Keli that she is able to take advantage of this exciting professional opportunity in France and am also excited that I get a chance to serve again as director of the LTS program while Keli is away. I was director of the program once before (2007-2010) and since then have been teaching at least two courses per year in the program and participating as an MA project advisor, among other faculty duties. I look forward to additional contact with current students (teaching the orientation course; meeting to discussing course schedules, internships and other opportunities; facilitating various stages of MA projects) as well as interacting with future ones. This term, I will have open office hours in Straub 167 every Monday, Wednesday and Thursday from 12:00-2:00 and will be available other days/times by appointment.