Office: Posner Hall 355
Email: vancomp [at] cmu [dot] edu
I joined the Department of Modern Languages at Carnegie Mellon University in 2012 after completing my PhD in Applied Linguistics at the Pennsylvania State University. At CMU, I teach and supervise research in applied linguistics/second language acquisition as well as in French and Francophone Studies. In addition, I currently serve as the Associate Head of the Department of Modern Languages.
As an applied linguist, I have broad interests related to the roles that language use and language learning play in the lives of people in the real world. My research focuses primarily on extensions of Vygotskian cultural-historical psychology to second language research, with specific focus on language learning in instructed contexts. Much of my recent work has investigated developmental consequences of concept-based instruction, dynamic assessment, and classroom interaction. The overarching goal of this work is to understand how people learn languages and how language use reflects, and shapes, cognition.
A list of publications is available here.
A list of courses offered and research supervision is available here.