Research

As a language learner, teacher and teacher educator, I am curious about how individuals view themselves as learners and teachers and how this relates to their learning and teaching experiences.

My research uses ethnographic, narrative, and discourse analytic approaches to investigate and support the experiences of students and teachers engaged in additional language education. In particular, my work examines language learning investment, linguistic identity development, and enrollment/continuation trajectories among students engaged in postsecondary world language study, as well as identity, wellbeing, and emotion labor among pre-service and in-service language teachers in a variety of contexts. See below for a description of some current projects.

My research has been awarded an ACTFL Research Priorities Grant and a National Federation of Modern Language Teachers Associations / Modern Language Journal Dissertation Writing Support Grant.

Here is a recent presentation from the Thriving Language Programs Learning Community organized by the Center for Language Teaching Advancement at Michigan State University:

Current Projects

More-than-language Learning and Enrollment Plans

This project documents and investigates student development in multiple non-linguistic competency areas during language study, and it explores how raising students' awareness of this development might inform their continued enrollment plans.

Presentations:

Cinaglia, C., & Coss, M. D. (2025). Student perceptions of more-than-language development and enrollment plans. ACTFL Convention and World Languages Expo, New Orleans, LA.
Violin-Wigent, A., Coss, M. D., & Cinaglia, C. (2025). Harnessing rationales for world language study to support student motivation: A practice-based research collaboration. American Association for Applied Linguistics (AAAL) annual conference, Denver, CO.
Coss, M. D., Cinaglia, C., & Violin-Wigent, A. (2025). What (all) do students really get from language classes, and why do they (not) stay enrolled? 2025 Modern Language Association (MLA) annual convention, New Orleans, LA.
Coss, M. D., Cinaglia, C., & Violin-Wigent, A. (2024). Exploring the relationship(s) between students' perceptions of non-linguistic competency development and their enrollment decisions. Symposium on Language Pedagogy in Higher Education (SOLPHE), The Ohio State University (online).

Investment in Language Learning and Continued Language Study

This project examines students' language learning trajectories and evolving continuation plans during a semester-long Spanish course through the lens of investment. Using narrative methods, it investigates how linguistic expertise and language learning success are interactionally negotiated and socially constructed in and out of classroom spaces.

Presentations:

Cinaglia, C. (2025). Beyond enrollment plans: Using narrative inquiry to examine language learning investment across space and time. Second Language Research Forum 2025, Northern Arizona University, Flagstaff, AZ.
Cinaglia, C. (2025). Investment in studying Spanish at a U.S. university: Linguistic identities and discourses about language study. American Association for Applied Linguistics (AAAL) annual conference, Denver, CO.
Cinaglia, C. (2025). Looking beyond motivation to understand why students (don't) study langauges: Investment, linguistic identities, and discourses about langauge study. 2025 Modern Language Association (MLA) annual convention, New Orleans, LA.

Student Beliefs About Required Language Study

This project investigates student perceptions about the benefits and rationales behind additional language study as part of a postsecondary liberal arts curriculum, and it explores student perspectives in relation to instructional practices and institutional curriculum and policy texts.

Publications:

Cinaglia, C. (2024). (Re)shaping students' attitudes toward learning Spanish in the US: An autoethnography of a teacher as policy interpreter. In M. Barbosa & T. Bugel (Eds.), Langauge attitudes and the pursuit of social justice: Identity, prejudice, and education (pp. 99–119). Routledge. https://doi.org/10.4324/9781003462736-8
Cinaglia, C. (2023). University students' beliefs about the language requirement: Policy as articulated and as perceived. In E. Heidrich Uebel, F. A. Kronenberg, and S. Sterling (Eds.), Language program vitality in the United States: From surviving to thriving in higher education (pp. 141–157). Springer Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-031-43654-3_11

Presentations:

Cinaglia, C. (2024). Promoting student buy-in to language study: A teacher's autoethnography. ACTFL Annual Convention and World Languages Expo, Philadelphia, PA.
Cinaglia, C. (2023). More than a requirement? University language policy vs. student perceptions. ACTFL Annual Convention and World Languages Expo, Chicago, IL.
Cinaglia, C. (2022). "It boils down to respect": A positioning analysis of identity and investment in learning Spanish. American Association for Applied Linguitics (AAAL) annual conference, Pittsburgh, PA.

Language Teacher Identity, Emotions, and Wellbeing

This project explores the emotional experiences of language teachers in different roles, career stages, and institutional contexts, to understand how alignments and tensions within teachers' broader ecologies shape their wellbeing and identity development.

Publications:

Cinaglia, C., Montgomery, D. P., & Coss, M. D. (2024). Emotionally (in)hospitable spaces: reflecting on language teacher–teacher educator collaboration as a source of emotion labor and emotional capital. International Review of Applied Linguistics in Language Teaching, 62(3), 1321–1347. https://doi.org/10.1515/iral-2024-0087
Montgomery, D. P., Cinaglia, C., & De Costa, P. I. (2024). Enacting well-being: Identity and agency tensions for two TESOL educators. In Z. Tajeddin & B. Yazan (Eds.), Language teacher identity tensions: Nexus of agency, emotion, and investment (pp. 212–230). Routledge. https://doi.org/10.4324/9781003402411-17
Cinaglia, C. (2023). Collaborative complaints, alignment, and identity positioning during teacher-mentor post-observation meetings. Journal of Language, Identity, and Education, 1–23. https://doi.org/10.1080/15348458.2023.2282694
Cinaglia, C., Montgomery, D. P., & De Costa, P. I. (2023). Teaching-as-caring and caring institutions: An ecological view of TESOL teacher well-being. The European Journal of Applied Linguistics and TEFL, 12(1), 191–211. https://doi.org/10.35542/osf.io/kf4et

Presentations:

Montgomery, D. P., Zang, L., Cinaglia, C., & De Costa, P. I. (2026). Caring against the grain: Scaling mentorship for language teacher well-being. TESOL International Convention & Expo, Salt Lake City, UT.
Cinaglia, C., Montgomery, D. P., & Coss, M. D. (2024). Language teacher–teacher educator collaboration as source of emotion labor and emotional capital: A collaborative autoethngoraphy. 10th International Conference on Language Teacher Education, University of Minnesota, Minneapolis, MN.
Montgomery, D. P., Cinaglia, C., Coss, M. D., & De Costa, P. I. (2023). Enacting teacher well-being: A research-practice-reflection dialogue. TESOL International Convention & Expo, Portland, OR.
Cinaglia, C., Montgomery, D. P., & De Costa, P. I. (2022). Teacher identity and well-being: A comparative case study. TESOL International Convention & Expo, Pittsburgh, PA.

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