Center for Language Acquisition at the Pennsylvania State University

About


About

The Center for Language Acquisition (CLA) is a research unit in the College of Liberal Arts at The Pennsylvania State University. Its primary responsibility is to carry out and support broad-based research on the teaching, learning, and assessment of foreign and second languages. In collaboration with the various foreign and second language-teaching components of the College the Center also develops and implements pedagogies grounded in the most recent advances in technology.

 

CLA research activities include:

  • Establishment and direction of the Center for Advanced Language Proficiency Education and Research (CALPER), one of fourteen National Language Resource Centers funded through the U.S. Department of Education. Visit CALPER online at http://calper.la.psu.edu
  • Research in the areas of second language acquisition and psycholinguistics
  • Research on the teaching and learning of foreign literatures and cultures
  • Research assessing the effects and efficacy of computer-mediated foreign language teaching and learning
  • Research on the assessment of language proficiency
  • Development and analysis of foreign language learner corpora
  • Development and analysis of corpora based on learners' interactions with international teaching assistants (ITAs)
  • Creation of corpus-informed materials to support the professionalization of ITAs
  • Assessing cognitive and linguistic performance in elderly populations

 

CLA enrichment and support activities include:

  • Sponsor an International Summer Institute in Applied Linguistics beginning in 2002, with a subsequent institute in 2005 and another scheduled for 2008
  • Convene an on-campus speaker series of internationally recognized experts in the areas of second and foreign language acquisition and applied linguistics
  • Provide modest financial support for faculty research projects
  • Foster outreach programs for foreign language and ESL teachers
  • Gil Watz Fellowships and Visiting Scholar Program
  • Provide support for graduate student travel to major national and international conferences on applied linguistics
  • Spector and Gorski Lecture Series
  • Sponsor LAGO (the Language Acquisition Graduate Student Organization)
  • co-sponsor of SLRF 2004


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