Jessica L. Sturm

Ph.D., French, Second Language Acquisition/Teacher Education, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign

About Me

I love to read, watch films, play tennis, run, practice yoga, cook, bake, travel, and I have four crazy cats. I like to watch tennis, soccer, rugby, handball, basketball, and baseball (Detroit Tigers!). My grandfather was a Purdue alumnus, Class of 1942.

I have had the opportunity for several years to work with students applying for Fulbright English Teaching Assistantships abroad, and it is fascinating to see what students have already accomplished and what their plans for the future are.  In French, I love seeing students engage with the culture. 

My current research is about using sports as a cultural lens for teaching languages.  My favorite classes to teach are French Pronunciation, French Food Culture, and French Sports Culture. I am looking forward to teaching Intro to World Food Culture in our new undergraduate certificate in World Food Cultures.

Specialization

Second Language Acquisition; French as a foreign language; L2 pronunciation; 

Teaching interests:  French, French phonetics and pronunciation, second language acquisition, pedagogy; French food culture; French sporting culture.

Research interests:  L2 French pronunciation, classroom language acquisition, technology in the L2 classroom, sports as a cultural lens for teaching languages.