This portfolio was created in 2018 as a dossier for fixed-term promotion at MSU. The current center of my digital presence is on this site:

alanier.msu.domains

I am an applied linguist and language teacher educator, currently serving as Director of the online MA in Foreign Language Teaching program at Michigan State University. Since joining the program in 2013, I have designed and taught online courses in pedagogical methods, second language acquisition, culture and intercultural competence, language concepts, sociolinguistics, foreign language literacy, and reflective teaching. The MAFLT is a rigorous distance-based program that enhances theoretical knowledge and practical skills among teachers of over a dozen languages.

My research, writing, and presentations have focused on social and cultural aspects of language learning and use, particularly in regard to less-commonly taught languages (LCTLs), heritage language learners, and online learning. My dissertation focused on language, literacy, and identity in young learners of Arabic as a foreign language. I have also published on intercultural communication in a distance learning environment, and I present regularly on intercultural competence and corpus-based pedagogy.

My career as a language instructor began in 2002, when I moved to the Czech Republic to teach English as a foreign language (EFL). I have since taught overseas and in the U.S. in private language schools, intensive English programs, and undergraduate and graduate programs. I am also trained as an actor, director, musician, and dancer, and I have worked with emerging bilinguals on improvisation techniques and full productions.

In the MAFLT, the courses that I teach most often are the Methods course, the Foreign/Second Language Acquisition course, the course on Culture in Foreign Language Teaching, and a Special Topics course that alternates between Literacy in a Foreign Language and Sociolinguistics and Spoken Language. I also mentor the final master's projects, known as Experiential Modules, in alternate years; serve on the admissions committee; evaluate final portfolios; support marketing and recruitment efforts; and advise students as needed. My appointment is in the academic unit of CeLTA, and I am affiliated faculty in the SLS/TESOL program where I teach face-to-face courses in alternate years and work with students.

The pages of this site offer an overview of the courses I have developed and taught, student feedback on those courses, presentations and workshops I have given at MSU and other institutions, and research projects initiated since I arrived here. My reflective essay is embedded below. If you have any questions or would like to see further materials, please do not hesitate to contact me at alanier at msu dot edu.