Center for Language Acquisition at the Pennsylvania State University

Gil Watz Programs



Gilbert R. Watz (PSU '49) was a committed supporter and benefactor of the Center for Language Acquisition.  He believed that mastery of a second language was essential not only for successful participation in the global marketplace, but also as a bridge to increased intercultural understanding and community service.  Though an oil industry executive by trade, he dedicated himself to learning Spanish as an adult, and provided many years of volunteer service as an interpreter in the Greater Houston area.  His generosity has provided substantial resources for building a vibrant and exceptional Applied Linguistics community at Penn State, including dissertation fellowships, awards to outstanding graduate students, sponsored lecture series, and most recently, an endowed Early Career Professorship in Languages and Linguistics.  Gil Watz was a warm and enthusiastic supporter of undergraduate and graduate education at Penn State, and we are truly grateful for his many contributions over the years.

 

 

Gil Watz Memorial Lecture, 2012-2013

 

Professor Merrill Swain, Professor of Second Language Education at OISE, will deliver this year's Watz Memorial Lecture.

 

Monday, April 9, 2013

 

2:30-4:00 p.m.

 

Foster Auditorum (Paterno Library)

 

 

"Affective and Cognitive Enhancement Among Older Adults:  The Role of Languaging"

 

 

Global rates of mild cognitive impairment (MCI) converge in the 14-18% range for persons aged 70 years and older.  One possible source of MCI among older adults may lie in teh lack of opportunities they have to use language.  If opportunities are limited, then cognitive loss rather than cognitive maintenance or development might occur.  In this talk, I will discuss three exploratory case studies of residents with MCI who were living in a long-term care facility and who raely engaged in conversations with staff, other reisdents or visitors. Each of these residents engaged in "languaging" activities with a researcher during a two-to three-month period.  Languaging is the use of language to mediate higher mental cognitive and affective processes.

 

I will discuss both the theoretical foundations of the study and the results.  The theoretical basis draws on Vygotsky's work which proposed language as one of the most important mediating tools that human beings have at their disposal for the development and use of higher mental processes. Vygotsky also argued that cognition and emotion are inextricably intertwined.  Based on these ideas, our research explored the cognitive/affective consequences of languaging for our three participating residents.

 

 

Merrill Swain is Professor Emerita of Second Language Education at the Ontario Institute for Studies in Education in Canada.  Her research focuses on sociocultural approaches to the teaching and learning of second languages in immersion programs and in traditional language learning classroom settings.  She has received numerous  awards for her outstanding contribution to the field of second language acquisition, notably for work on communicative competence, the Output Hypothesis, and innovative approaches to second language classroom research methodologies.

 

 

 

Gil Watz Outstanding Graduate Student Award

 
This award is given to an outstanding graduate student in Applied Linguistics each year.
 
 
2012-2013  Larysa Bobrova and Jiyun Kim
2011-2012  Sungwoo Kim
 
 
 

Gilbert R. Watz Graduate Fellowship in Languages & Linguistics

 
This fellowship awards a year-long teaching release to a doctoral student in Applied Linguistics who has demonstrated exceptional accomplishments in teaching, research, and service.
 
2012-2013   Dorothy Worden
2012-2013   Brody Blumel
2011-2012   Sungwoo Kim
 
 

Gil Watz Dissertation Grants

 

The Center for Language Acquisition (CLA), in collaboration with the College of the Liberal Arts Humanities Initiative Dissertation Program, is pleased to offer Gil Watz Dissertation Grants.  These combined awards are for Humanities doctoral students who are working on a dissertation in Applied Linguistics and are supported on assistantship. The research grant provided by the CLA works in combination with the Humanities Departmental Dissertation Release Award for one semester and those awarded will have the title of Gil Watz Dissertation Fellow.

 

Up to five fellows may be named per academic year, on a competitive basis.  Gil Watz Dissertation Fellows will be awarded a research grant of $1000 during the fall or spring semester.  For summer fellows, in lieu of the Humanities Departmental Dissertation Release Award, the student is granted a $3000 scholarship from the College per the Humanities Initiative Dissertation Program, and an additional $750.00 research grant from the CLA.

 

Gil Watz Dissertation Fellows are required to submit a two-page report outlining the research conducted during the award semester, and are expected to make at least one public presentation at Penn State on their dissertation research.  Presentations can be given in a variety of venues, including the Department of Applied Linguistics Round Table.

 

 

Eligibility and Application Procedures:

 

 The CLA will award a research grant to the Gil Watz Dissertation Fellow during the semester in which the student has received an automatic Humanities Departmental Dissertation Release Award.  Students must meet the eligibility requirements of the College's Humanities Initiative Dissertation Program which can be found at:

 

http://www.la.psu.edu/graduate/funding-and-awards/humanities-initiative-dissertation-support-semester-release-opportunities

 

Applicants should forward their materials electronically to the Office of the Associate Dean for Graduate Studies via Lynn Sebulsky (lms50@psu.edu), and should include the following:
 

  • a summary of their dissertation proposal 

  • a statement indicating why research support is required and for what purpose the research funds will be used

  • an indication of the semester in which the student would like support as a Fellow  (fall, spring, or summer semester)

  • an updated CV

 

 

Application Deadlines:

 

  • For spring: October 15 (or closest working day prior to this date)

  • For summer: February 15 (or closest working day prior to this date)

  • For fall: the first Monday in April

 

 

Applications are reviewed by the Associate Dean for Research and Graduate Studies, Dr. Denise Solomon, and sent for consideration to the Center for Language Acquisition, 304 Sparks Building. Direct questions regarding the Watz Fellow opportunity can be addressed to Dr. James Lantolf (JPL7@psu.edu), Director of the Center for Language Acquisition, 304 Sparks Building.

 

 

Gil Watz Visiting Scholar Program

 

The Gil Watz Visiting Scholar Program provides an opportunity for Applied Linguistics scholars at institutions other than Penn State to spend up to one semester in residence at Penn State.  Visiting scholars are encouraged to pursue research projects, and to interact with department graduate students and faculty, both formally, through workshops and lectures, and informally, through one-on-one and small group meetings. The program provides a stipend for travel and lodging and a modest honorarium for workshops and lectures. For a list of previous Gil Watz Visiting Scholars, please click here. Those interested in applying to this program should contact Dr. James Lantolf, Director of the Center for Language Acquisition at JPL7@PSU.EDU 









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