Applied Improvisation for Communication
The Applied Improvisation (AI) for Communication project is a collaboration of faculty and students in various departments (e.g., Applied Linguistics, Speech & Hearing, World Languages & Literatures). In partnership with Dr. Theresa Robbins Dudeck, we offer AI workshops and conduct systematic research to examine how AI training may promote students’ communication skills in academic, professional, clinical, and interpersonal communicative contexts. To learn more contact Tetyana Sydorenko.
Linguistic diversity and discrimination awareness project (LiDA): Raising awareness and addressing systemic language bias at Portland State University
The Department of Applied Linguistics received a grant from the Provost’s ReImagine initiative to raise awareness of language bias within the PSU community. In the LiDA project, the members of the department will work with faculty from the Intensive English Language Program (IELP), World Languages, English, and Speech and Hearing Sciences to document language varieties and linguistic diversity on campus. We will also begin to develop institutional capacity to address language bias and language discrimination campus-wide. For more information, contact Lynn Santelmann, Jenny Mittelstaedt, or Janet Cowal.
See the updated LIDA report for AY23-34
Literacy, Language, & Technology Research Group (LLTR)
The Literacy, Language, and Technology Research Group (LLTR) is a community of faculty, staff, graduate students, and undergraduate students working together. The Research Group conducts a wide range of research and service projects centered on the acquisition of literacy, digital literacy, and second languages among adults, especially members of economically vulnerable and socially excluded populations. Work ranges over basic, applied and action research and service projects in diverse educational, workplace, and community settings, often involving the development or use of state-of-the-art educational technologies and content. To learn more contact Kathy Harris.
Learner Web
Learner Web is a learning support system developed by the Literacy, Language, and Technology Research Group based on research of adult learning. It is for adults who want to accomplish specific learning objects such as improving their basic skills, increasing digital literacy, or preparing for a job. Learner Web offers self-paced instruction and is typically implemented as a combination of online learning and face-to-face interaction with a tutor or teacher. Contact Kathy Harris.
The 503 Design Collective is a group of undergraduate and graduate students, faculty, staff and community members that are interested in social interaction around mobile digital technology to study language and mobility and language learning in the wild. For more information about how to get involved, contact Steven Thorne or John Hellermann.
21st Century Learning Ecosystem Opportunities Project (21 CLEO)
21 CLEO is a national research project that seeks to identify the factors that support frontline service workers to engage and persist in workplace-sponsored learning activities and build the development of 21st century skills, including specific workplace skills, digital literacy, English language and literacy, problem solving, and adult basic skills. Central to this study is elevating the voice of the working learner through interviews, focus groups, and surveys. Contact Kathy Harris (21Cleo@pdx.edu) for more information. Follow 21 CLEO's blog: https://edtech.worlded.org/our-work/projects/21learning/.
Civil Engineering Writing Project
The Civil Engineering Writing Project is a collaboration between applied linguists and civil engineers to study the writing of engineering practitioners and students, and to help students become better prepared for workplace writing. Students in our department work on the project doing grammatical and rhetorical analyses, writing computer programs for linguistic analysis, and developing teaching materials. Susan Conrad is the head of the project, which was funded by the National Science Foundation and has included five universities. For more information, contact Susan Conrad.
$PEAK OUT
$PEAK OUT is a collaborative public engagement art project, initiated by Portland artist Diane Jacobs, that collects individual messages of diverse histories, languages, and experiences, and presents them in a powerful, unified message to stop injustice. Participants consider how money talks and silences voices and then create messages they want amplified. Applied linguistics students and faculty member Janet Cowal are partnering with Jacobs through social media, laser cutting bills, and collaborating with communities in events where participants can create their messages. Follow the project on Instagram: @voicesspeakout and Facebook: @SpeakOutAgainstViolence. To get involved, email: voices.speakoutagainst.violence@gmail.com.
Oregon State Bar website accessibility
The Oregon State Bar (OSB) is committed to increasing access to justice for all people in Oregon. The OSB website has a section "For the Public"; it includes information about legal resources, rights, etc. OSB members acknowledge that this section was written for attorneys and may not be comprehensible to non-attorneys. Applied Linguistics students are partnering with OSB to make this section accessible to non-attorneys including adults with low literacy or for whom English is an additional language. Contact Janet Cowal.
Language Around Metropolitan Portland (LAMP)
LAMP is a group that is focused on getting undergraduates involved in sociolinguistic research in the greater Portland area, helping to formulate a more nuanced understanding of which languages and varieties are used, where, and by whom. Long-term goals include a publicly accessible web archive of data with associated maps and an interactive museum-style exhibit. Project members are currently working with city and county Bureaus of Emergency Management to improve access to emergency information for language minority communities in Portland. Contact John Hellermann, Janet Cowal, Steve Thorne, or Jenny Mittelstaedt if you would like to get involved (lampPDX@pdx.edu).
Oregon Water Stories
The state of Oregon is currently in the process of creating policy and plans that deal with the state's water supply in the face of social/environmental shifts such as climate change and growing populations. Changes in Oregon's water infrastructure will require widespread public support. However, little data exists to determine how Oregonians prioritize water issues or the value systems they implement when thinking about water issues. Melissa Haeffner, environmental scientist, and Janet Cowal, applied linguist, along with their students are collaborating to study what the priorities and values regarding water are in different geographical regions throughout Oregon. Visit: oregonwaterstories.com or contact Janet Cowal.