Current Research Projects
"Utilizing a needs analysis framework to design a task-based Spanish for specific purposes course" with Dr. Mackenzie Coulter-Kern (Manchester University) and Dr. Madison Wray (University of Wisconsin Madison)
In this project we conducted a needs analysis to determine what type of Spanish for specific purposes course would most benefit a community in Northeastern Indiana with a growing Hispanic population. We then designed a task-based syllabus and are currently teaching a Spanish for Educators course to prepare teachers and educators to better communicate and interact with their Spanish speaking students and guardians."Sociophonetic learning in the classroom: Exploring task-based interventions" with Dr. Megan Solon (Indiana University)
In this project we explore how task-based interventions related to perception of Spanish coda /s/-weakening impact second languages learners' abilities to perceive and categorize variants of Spanish coda /s/. Additionally, we explore how using open versus closed tasks (i.e., a task with one possible solution versus a task with multiple solutions) may impact learners' perception and categorization of variable Spanish coda /s/.Recent Publications
Journal Articles
Goebel-Mahrle, T., & Hanson, S. (2020). A variationist analysis of clitic climbing in heritage and monolingual speakers of Spanish, IULC Working Papers, 20(1), 1-25.
Willis, E. W., Hanson, S., Geeslin, K., Henriksen, N. (accepted). The second language acquisition of regionally indexed variants: The case of complex (re)mapping and the interdental /θ/ during a study abroad program. Hispania.
Book Chapters
Hanson, S., & Schoonmaker-Gates, E. (2025). Interlocutor perceptions of regional phone use in L2 Spanish: The Castilian Spanish /θ/. In M. Solon, M. Kanwit, & A. Gudmestad (Eds.), Research at the intersection of second language acquisition and sociolinguistics: Studies in honor of Kimberly L. Geeslin (pp. 178-202) . John Benjamins Publishing Company.
Geeslin, K. L., & Hanson, S. (2023). Collecting and analyzing L2 sociolinguistic data. In A. Mackey & S. Gass (Eds.), Current approaches to second language acquisition research (pp. 143-169). Wiley Blackwell.
Geeslin, K. L., & Hanson, S. (2022). Sociolinguistic approaches to communicative competence. In M. Kanwit & M. Solon (Eds.), Communicative competence in a second language: Theory, Method, and Applications (pp. 40-59). Routledge.
Master's Thesis
Hanson. S. (2019). The perception of the interdental fricative in second language Spanish. Florida State University. (Under the direction of Carolina González).
Conference Presentations
Hanson, S. (2025, September 10-12). Perception and production of regionally indexed phonological variation: Castilian Spanish /θ/ and /s/ [Conference presentation]. Linguistic Symposium on Romance Languages. Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic.
Hanson, S., & Schoonmaker-Gates, E. (2025, April 23-25). Interlocutor perceptions of regional phone use in L2 Spanish: The Castilian Spanish /θ/ [Poster presentation]. New Sounds. Toronto, Canada.
Coulter-Kern, M., Wray, M., & Hanson, S. (2025, April 2-4). Utilizing a needs analysis framework to design task-based Spanish for specific purposes course [Conference presentation]. The 11th International Conference on Task-based Language Teaching (IATBLT). Groningen, The Netherlands.
Coulter-Kern, M., Wray, M., & Hanson, S. (2025, February 28-March 1). Utilizing a needs analysis framework to design task-based Spanish for specific purposes course [Conference presentation]. Diálogos XXII. Bloomington, IN, United States.
Hanson, S., & Schoonmaker-Gates, E. (2024, November 7-9). Interlocutor perceptions of regional phone use in L2 Spanish: The Castilian Spanish /θ/ [Conference presentation]. New Ways of Analyzing Variation (NWAV). Miami, FL, United States.
Hanson, S. (2024, October 17-19). Second language acquisition of regionally indexed phonological variation: Advanced L2 Spanish speakers and the apicoalveolar fricative [s̺] [Conference presentation]. Hispanic Linguistics Symposium. Omaha, NE, United States.
Solon, M., Blaker, N., Jonard, K., Kanwit, M., & Hanson, S. (2024, October 17-19). Exploring an EIT as a tool for accessing sociophonetic knowledge [Conference presentation]. Hispanic Linguistics Symposium. Omaha, NE, United States.
Hanson, S. (2024, April 18-20). Acquisition of geographically indexed phonological variation: The case of the Castilian Spanish /θ/ and /s/ among advanced second language Spanish speakers [Conference presentation]. 11th International Workshop on Spanish Sociolinguistics (WSS11). Buffalo, NY, United States.
Hanson, S. (2024, March 15-16). Fuzzy perceptual (re)categorization of the Castilian Spanish /θ/ among L2 Spanish speakers [Conference presentation]. Current Approaches to Spanish and Portuguese Second Language Phonology (CASPSLaP). Raleigh, NC, United States.
Solon, M., & Hanson, S. (2023, September 6-8). Sociophonetic development in the classroom: Exploring a task-based intervention [Conference presentation]. 14th Annual Pronunciation in Second Language Learning and Teaching (PSLLT). West Lafayette, IN, USA.
Hanson, S. (2023, June 21-23). An acoustic analysis of the Castilian Spanish /s/ and /θ/: A comparison of native and nonnative speakers [Conference presentation]. The 9th International Conference on Experimental Phonetics (CIFE). Vigo, Spain.
Solon, M., & Hanson, S. (2023, June 19-21). Sociophonetic learning during open vs. closed tasks [Invited colloquium]. The 10th International Conference on Task-based Language Teaching (IATBLT). Khon Kaen, Thailand.
Hanson, S. (2022, August 25-27). Technology-mediated TBLT and task complexity: Acquisition of second language Spanish stops /p t k/ and rhotics /r ɾ/ [Conference presentation]. The 9th International Conference on Task-based Language Teaching (IATBLT). Innsbruck, Austria.
Goebel-Mahrle, T., & Hanson, S. (2020). A variationist analysis of clitic climbing in heritage and monolingual speakers of Spanish [Conference presentation]. Díalogos XVII. Bloomington, IN, United States.
Hanson, S. (2019). The perception of the interdental fricative in second language Spanish speakers [Conference presentation]. Hispanic Linguistics Symposium (HLS). El Paso, TX, United States.