Recent Presentations and Publications by OEPP Staff
Dekydtspotter, L., Miller, A. K., Swanson, K., Cha, J.-H., Xiong, Y., Ahn, J.-H., Gilbert, J., Pope, D., Iverson, M., & Meinert, K. (2024). Hierarchical neural processing in broadband oscillations for syntactic and semantic operations accounts for a single epistemology in native and nonnative French. Frontiers in Human Neuroscience, 18, Article 1320786. https://doi.org/10.3389/fnhum.2024.1320786
This study uses EEG to investigate the neurocognitive activity that underlies the way that native and non-native speakers interpret sentences as they unfold incrementally in real time, as in listening to speech. Native and non-native speakers are found to engage in the same cognitive processes at the same time and to implement them with the same neurocognitive activity.
Dunn, F. (2025, April 11). Language learning through virtual reality [Poster presentation]. Purdue Festival of Teaching and Learning, West Lafayette, IN.
This pilot project explored the integration of fully immersive virtual reality (VR) presentations in English 620 for international graduate students. Using the app Wooorld, students practiced and delivered a presentation to build confidence and communication skills.
Dunn, F. (2024, Autumn). Are you enthusiastic about language? Prove it. The English Connection, Korea TESOL.
This article encourages language educators to model linguistic curiosity and passion in the classroom. Drawing on personal teaching experience, it offers practical strategies to help teachers inspire enthusiasm and authentic engagement among learners.
Dunn, F. (2025, March 28). Self report on using a student-led digital dictionary for increasing interaction in an online classroom. [Workshop]. Study Day on Online Interaction and Language Learning, INALCO, Paris, France.
This presentation reported on the implementation of a collaborative digital dictionary project where students contributed words from their first language with no direct English equivalent. Grounded in Self-Determination Theory, the project aimed to foster learner autonomy, competence, and relatedness to increase classroom interaction in online environments.
Dunn, F. (2024, November 23). Exploring languages in the classroom [Workshop]. Indiana Teachers of English to Speakers of Other Languages (INTESOL) 2024, Indianapolis, IN.
This interactive presentation introduced a classroom activity in which students build a shared multilingual digital dictionary featuring words from their first language with no direct English translation. The session focused on practical classroom applications and audience participation in creating and using the tool.
Dunn, F. (2024, November 26). Virtual reality for experiential communication skills development. Experiential Education Program Development Grant, Purdue University. Amount awarded: $5,000.
This Experiential Education grant supports the integration of virtual reality into English 620 to enhance communication skills for international graduate students preparing for teaching roles.
Haugen, M. & Swanson, K. (2024, June 12). Cultivating Communicative Competence: Tools for Polishing the Speaking Skills of International Graduate Students. Colloquium on Graduate Communication Summer Institute. Virtual.
This 75-minute workshop prepares specialists in graduate communication to help their students improve their speaking by introducing technology (including AI) that students can use independently to learn about and practice their pronunciation and suprasegmentals.
Lan, G., & Li, X. (2024). Factor analysis in writing research: Investigating grammatical complexity in science. In S. M. Curle & J. Pun (Eds.), Researching English medium instruction: Quantitative methods for students and researchers (pp. 92-106). Cambridge University Press.
This chapter demonstrates how factor analysis can be applied to investigate grammatical complexity in scientific writing within English-medium instruction (EMI) contexts. The chapter offers a step-by-step guide to conducting factor analysis, discusses key findings, and highlights its value for researchers exploring linguistic features in academic and disciplinary writing.
Runnals, P. (2024, December 11). Prioritizing intelligibility in English language teaching. Bridge Education Group Expert Series. https://bridge.edu/tefl/blog/prioritizing-intelligibility-english-language-teaching/
This workshop taught practical methods for teaching pronunciation and conversational skills to bolster student confidence and success.
Swanson, K. (2024, November 23). Teaching the Music of English: A Primer. Indiana Teachers of English to Speakers of Other Languages (INTESOL) 2024. Indianapolis, IN.
This 90-minute workshop prepares instructors of English as a Second Language to help their students improve their speaking by focusing instruction on suprasegmentals. It introduces suprasegmentals and their mechanics in American English and it models the use of engaging activities and helpful resources (including AI) that give students practice producing appropriate suprasegmentals.
Swanson K. (2025, March 20). Increasing Comprehensibility in International Teaching Assistants: Facilitating Independent Learning and Practice using Online Tools [Paper Presentation]. Teaching English to Speakers of Other Languages (TESOL) International Convention. Long Beach, CA, March 20.
This presentation in the Academic Session for the International Teaching Assistant Interest Group in TESOL proposes that instructors of English as a Second Language can help their students improve their speaking most efficaciously by using technology (including AI) to concretize the Communicative Framework (Celce-Murcia et al., 2010), as this approach allows students to practice more independently.
Wright, J. (2024, October 25). A tapestry of experiences: Fostering inclusive multicultural and multilingual classrooms [Conference presentation]. Fourth International Conference on Literacy, Culture, and Language Education, Purdue University, Lafayette, IN.
This workshop explored practical, inclusive communicative activities designed to ensure that all students could share and hear one another’s diverse backgrounds and cultural experiences, fostering a more equitable and connected classroom environment.