Author Archives: Adrienne Lubbert

MIIS Alum Adnan Al-Hammody published

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MIIS Alum Adnan Al-Hammody, MA TESOL 2013, has recently been published. The paper is called When a Facebook Group Makes a Difference: Facebook for Language Learning, and was written during his time as a student at MIIS for Applied Linguistics Research and as part of his portfolio. The paper investigates what Iraqi students gain from interacting in English in a Facebook group in an EFL context.

Adnan’s paper was published by the e-journal English Language Teaching World Online (ELTWO), and can be found at this link: http://blog.nus.edu.sg/eltwo/2014/04/22/when-a-facebook-group-makes-a-difference-facebook-for-language-learning/.

Congratulations to Adnan!

MIIS French Professor Michel Gueldry keeping busy

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MIIS Professor Michel  Gueldry has had, and continues to have, a very busy semester. As a French language studies professor at MIIS, Gueldry specializes in international relations and sustainability studies. Just this year, Gueldry has completed and submitted three articles for publication: a new research paper entitled “Energy and Climate Change: The Emergence of an Overarching Security Nexus,” an essay entitled “Personal Transformation and Worldly Engagement: When Mindfulness Meets the Market,” and a paper entitled “Ecological Economics: An Alternative Grand Narrative for Capitalism and a Blueprint for a Sustainable Economy.”

Besides submitting three papers for publication, Gueldry will participate in Peter Fordos‘ student weekend workshop, “Intercultural Competence for Sustainability,” on March 29. His contribution to this workshop is a segment called “How to Communicate Climate Change for Diverse Audiences: Engaging Stakeholders across Professional Cultures.” On April 8, Gueldry will also co-teach a workshop for students with CACS Advisor Edy Rhodes. The workshop is called “Emotional Intelligence: The Tip of the Iceberg.”

Gueldry’s busy schedule will continue into the summer. He will teach three panels at the University of Leipzig, Germany, in July 2014: one on energy policy, one on narratives of capitalism, and one on personal transformation and professional growth.

Congratulations to Professor Gueldry on all of his accomplishments!

TESOL Professor Jean Turner’s book published

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The textbook that MIIS TESOL Professor Jean Turner has been working on since her sabbatical in 2008-9, “Using Statistics in Small-Scale Language Education Research: Focus on Non-Parametric Data,” is now available from Routledge publishing. The book addresses an important concern for people doing small-scale research—how to use the statistical formulas that are appropriate for analyzing data that are skewed and from relatively small numbers of participants, as is the case with much of the statistical research done in language classrooms. She has continued to explore her interest in accent modification and co-taught a class on accent modification for interpreters-in-training with MIIS TESOL graduate, Audrey Gutierrez. The report on the needs assessment they conducted to inform the design of their course was just published in issue 14 of the Special Interest Group publication for the American Speech-Language-Hearing Association.

Any MIIS faculty, students or staff wishing to purchase this book can receive 20% off if they order from the Routledge website and enter the code IRK69.

Congratulations to Jean Turner!

MIIS Faculty, Students, & Alumni Meet in Paris

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During a recent trip to Paris, Professor Abel gathered together with a few of her former, current, and future students for crêpes and cider. Professor Abel says, “It is very gratifying to see how well our alumni are doing, and they set a great example for our current students.” She loves to encourage networking among the MIIS T&I French community; it’s the added value of having such a close-knit program.

From left to right: Josie Patton (MATI 2013), Jessica Pearce (MATI 2015), Holden Ferry (MATI 2013), Prof. Christiane Abel, Vi (candidate, TI French), Jessica Le Briquer (MATI 2015), and Zac Heyman (MATI 2015) in Paris, France, January 2014.

From left to right:  Josie Patton (MATI 2013), Jessica Pearce (MATI 2015), Holden Ferry (MATI 2013), Prof. Christiane Abel, Vi (candidate, TI French), Jessica Le Briquer (MATI 2015), and Zac Heyman (MATI 2015) in Paris, France, January 2014.

Dr. Lynn Visson published in London Review of Books

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MIIS Adjunct Professor Dr. Lynn Visson, who teaches a three-day intensive course on conference terminology and procedures, was recently published in the London Review of Books. Her article entitled “Diary” is her own diary entry based on her experience as an interpreter from Russian and French into English. The article gives a sneak peek into the inner mind of an interpreter who has not only worked for the United Nations, but who also has taught Russian language and literature at Ivy League schools and has written and edited many works on interpretation, translation, and Russian culture.

It’s a great read and offers some valuable insight to students studying to become interpreters or to anyone who is interested in the art of interpretation and translation.

MIIS Alumni Mingle at CATESOL Conference

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CATESOL 2013 - MIIS Alumni

MIIS Alumni: Back Row: Don Sillings, Larry Lawson, Tammy Wik, Jeff Madison. Middle Row: Gary Sosa, Karen Hamilton, Celeste Coleman, Belinda Braunstein. Front Row: Erin Butler, Chigusa Katoku.

Many MIIS graduates, students, and faculty attended the 44th Annual CATESOL Conference two weeks ago in San Diego. The conference is for TESOL professionals in California, and the theme this year was “Riding the Waves of Success,” which dealt with the challenges and achievements educators and students face when teaching or learning English. The event included pre‑conference institutes, multiple plenaries, featured speakers, level and interest group workshops, poster sessions, an electronic village, and general sessions for every level of ESL. Highlights of the conference were the opening plenary, the Thursday evening reception, the Presidential Luncheon on Friday, and the Saturday Night Sizzle.

CATESOL 2013 (2)

The event was a great opportunity for all TESOL educators and students to come together, especially current and past TESOL educators and students from MIIS. Many MIIS students, graduates, and faculty attended the event, including Tammy Wik, MA TESOL ‘10, who is currently the English Language Fellow Program (ELF) Regional Recruitment Coordinator for MIIS, and Celeste Coleman, also a TESOL graduate and English Language Fellow (see picture, right). All of the MIIS graduates met up and hung out at the Saturday Night Sizzle, which was a fun 2-hour social event on the last night of the conference (see featured picture above, with captions). Considering there were only about 100 total people who attended the social hour, there was a great turn out of MIIS people at the event.

Kavenoki Conducts Webinar on Interpreting for Olympics

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Russian translation and interpretation professor Rosa Kavenoki conducted a webinar on intercultural communication around interpreting for the Sochi 2014 Olympic Winter Games Organizing Committee and volunteers on October 29 in Moscow, Russia.
 
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While in Russia, Prof. Kavenoki also spoke at the plenary session of the international conference Language and Culture in the Changing World, which took place October 23-24 at the North-Eastern Federal University in Yakutsk.

MIIS faculty coach Middlebury students at Clifford Symposium

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MIIS Professors Barry Slaughter Olsen and Jacolyn Harmer were invited to participate in the annual Clifford Symposium at Middlebury last week. The topic of this year’s Symposium was “Translation in A Global Community: Theory and Practice.” As part of this event, Middlebury brought in faculty from MIIS to work together with Middlebury students. The Middlebury students were invited to try their hand at interpretation with coaching from Olsen and Harmer. (see video)

From an interpretation booth on stage, two MIIS graduates were interpreting the keynote speaker’s address into Chinese for audience members.

Summer Interpreting Course in Spain

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In one of the Palace conference rooms

For the third consecutive summer, Professor Cas Shulman-Mora taught and directed the International Conference Interpretation Practicum at the Universidad Internacional Menéndez Katerina Borghi (MATI 14) and Miguel Garcia (MACI 14)Pelayo in Santander, Spain. She was joined again this summer by teaching assistant Arielle Weisman (MATI 2011). This year, the course included a large contingent of current MIIS students and alumni: Susana Piñón (MACI 1999), Laura Merino (MACI 2011), Katerina Borghi (MATI candidate 2014), and Miguel García (MACI candidate 2014).

During the two-week course, Spaniards who recently graduated from interpretation programs at local universities, as well as professional interpreters from Belgium and Romania, worked alongside the MIIS students and graduates interpreting in mute booths at live conferences held at the seaside Spanish conference center. One of the bonuses of having such a diverse group of participants was that the MIIS students had the chance to network with Monterey Institute alums who are already active in the Spanish market, as well as other interpreters who primarily work at the European institutions.International Conference Interpretation Practicum

The conferences covered a wide variety of topics, such as smart cities, psychology, immigration policy, and how to write a crime novel. Exposure to high-level material enabled participants to hone their skills in an authentic environment while receiving extensive feedback on their interpretation. Because the conference topics change every summer, some interpreters have even opted to repeat the course two years in a row.

All in all, the camaraderie and conference material—not to mention living and working in a turn-of-the-century former royal palace located on the scenic northern coast of Spain—made this summer practicum an informative and enjoyable experience for students and working professionals alike.