Modern & Classical Language Studies Professor, Dr. Brian Baer, has been chosen as one of three recipients of the Outstanding Research and Scholarship Award (ORSA). This award is sponsored by the University Research Council and the Division of Research and Economic Development. This award is intended to recognize Kent State’s exceptional researchers and scholars. Awardees are selected based on the quality of their research, creative activities and scholarship and their impact on society.
The advent of hybrid learning models, which blend traditional face-to-face instruction with online components, has transformed the landscape of education. This shift has opened new doors for student engagement, particularly in second language acquisition, where interaction, practice, and cultural immersion are key to success. One such example is the hybrid Intermediate Chinese Language course offered by Kent State University in partnership with Brecksville-Broadview Heights High School. This innovative approach has allowed students to bridge the gap between high school and college while also fostering a dynamic, collaborative learning environment.
On Saturday, October 19th, from 9:00 AM to 12:30 PM, Spanish coordinators Kimberly Talentino and Dr. Maria Zaldivar, along with the publisher Vista, coordinated and conducted a professional development day for KSU main campus and regional instructors, graduate assistants, and CCP instructors. There were 31 instructors in attendance. Our presenter, Dr. Diane Ceo-Difrancesco, Professor of Spanish in the Department of Classics and Modern Languages at Xavier University and former Faculty Director of the Center for Teaching Excellence, led the workshop. In the first segment, Dr. Ceo-Difrancesco focused on second language pedagogy, emphasizing metacognition and strategies for developing communication skills in a foreign or second language. In the second part of the workshop, she covered assessment techniques. All attendees received a certificate for completing the 3-hour professional development workshop. The publisher Vista provided coffee and pastries during the short break between sessions, as well as a light lunch.
Empowerment. This is a word that is frequently used, but what does it really mean? The word “empower” implies the ability to promote the self-actualization of or influence of an individual or group.
There's a growing need for connection with cultures beyond one's own. Bahareh, a passionate language teacher and the founder of Bahareh Teaches Farsi, is bridging this gap by empowering learners to embrace the beauty of the Persian/Farsi language and culture. In an exclusive interview, Bahareh shared her journey from Tehran, Iran, to becoming a trailblazer in language education.
On Sunday, April 28th, Maison Française de Cleveland held their annual award ceremony in which two MCLS students were awarded prizes for their essays and presentations in French.
MCLS Professor, Dr. Trask Roberts, won the 2024 Martha Cheung Award for his article entitled ‘Evoking Pure Narrative in La Chanson de Roland’s Laisses Similaires’, published in Exemplaria Medieval, Early Modern, Theory, 34/2 (2023).
Congratulations to Trask Roberts, Ph.D., Assistant Professor of French & Translation, for being awarded two Bronze Teaching Recognition Awards for his projects: Harnessing AI to Improve Instructor Efficiency in Online Class Creation and Improving Online Asynchronous Engagement.
On March 4th, 2024, students in Elementary French II had the opportunity to incorporate cooking in their French class. Students gathered in the DI Teaching Kitchen to make crêpes, a traditional dish made in Brittany, France. This exciting experience was hosted by Charlotte Dagorno, a graduate translation student and lecturer of Elementary French II and Dr. Aurélien Riclet, a French professor.
Congratulations to Hussein Abu-Rayyash, a doctoral student in Translation Studies, for being awarded the Platinum Teaching Recognition Award for his project, “Visually Enhancing Subtitles to Boost Foreign Language Gains." Thank you for your contributions to Kent State University and having a meaningful impact on student lives.
On February 22nd, 2024, the departments of Political Science, History, Modern and Classical Language Studies and the School of Multidisciplanary Social Sciences and Humanities hosted an event to discuss the second anniversary of the Russian invasion of Ukraine. The event consisted of a panel where Dr. Andrew Barnes and Dr. Todd Nelson talked about the historical context of the war and the current state of the conflict. The panel was followed by a viewing of the movie The Guide.
Satterfield Hall was filled with the sights, sounds and smells of Lunar New Year as Kent State University students gathered Feb. 14 to celebrate and learn to make Asian dumplings.
Geoffrey Koby, Ph.D., professor of Translation Studies and German at Kent State University, has been studying German since he was a freshman in high school.
On December 8th, 2023, four translation students, Danayra Rivera, Bridgette Donohue, Anissa Martzall, and Alejandro Hurtado Viñas, held an event at the Kent Free Library to read their translated book, "My Friend Federico." This book was originally published and released in Spain earlier this year and follows Federico García Lorca.
Important discoveries were made at an archaeological excavation of an Etrusco-Umbrian necropolis in central Italy this July. Sarah Harvey, Ph.D., a professor of Classics in the MCLS Department at Kent State University, is currently co-directing the project with Prof. Gian Luca Grassigli of the University of Perugia, with the support of archaeologists Stefano Spiganti and Francesco Pacelli and a team of university students.
On September 28th, 2023, MCLS Instructors Hui Yu and Eriko Tanaka hosted an unforgettable Chinese & Japanese Culture Night. The night was a delightful experience with food, games, and activities representative of both cultures. The event hosted over 100 students making sushi and mooncakes. Activities consisted of Mahjong, sugar painting, and calligraphy. This remarkable evening was a celebration of cultural exchange and collaboration, leaving everyone eagerly anticipating the next event.
Brian James Baer, Ph.D., a professor of Russian and Translation Studies at Kent State University, has received a Fulbright U.S. Scholar Program award to Estonia for the 2023-2024 academic year from the U.S. Department of State and the Fulbright Foreign Scholarship Board.
The National Endowment for the Arts (NEA) recently announced that Teresa Villa-Ignacio, Ph.D., an associate professor of French and Translation in the Department of Modern and Classical Language Studies at Kent State University, is one of 22 translators selected to receive a Literature Translation Fellowship of $10,000. This fellowship will support the translation of Anne-Marie Albiach's La Mezzanine: The Last Account of Catarina Quia into English. In total, the NEA will award $300,000 in grants to support the translation into English of works written in 10 different languages from 16 countries.
