MODERN
F A L L 2 0 11
Languages
www.wku.edu/modernlanguages
Welcome to the Modern Languages Department
at Western Kentucky University! We offer majors
and minors in French, German, Spanish, as well as
beginning courses in Arabic, Chinese, Japanese,
Swahili and Russian.
We hear so many amazing stories of how
knowledge of another language changes
lives and shapes careers. Here are a few that
stand for many more. Would you like to share
your story with us? Email the Department
Head at laura.mcgee@wku.edu.
Student Profile: John David Ryan
When John David Ryan began his studies at
WKU in 2001 with a major in Religion, he had no
idea he would one day choose to add Spanish to
his skills. He completed four semesters towards
his B.A. and then decided to take time off from
college and get some experience that would
help him focus his goals.
Today John David works full time as a
Community Involvement Minister for Broadway
United Methodist Church. He has been on staff
there since 2008. His job is to build partnerships
in the community, and he uses non-traditional
approaches to community development to do
so. “It really has opened up my world view,” he
says of his work with the Hispanic community.
John David is clearly a people person who finds
his job extremely rewarding. In Fall 2011, he
will resume his studies at WKU, with a major in
Spanish. He hopes that adding to his Spanish
skills will help him to be more effective in his
ministry and community work. Welcome to our
Spanish program, John David!
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Student Profile: Adam Spinks
Adam Spinks, a Social Studies major and
French minor who is pursuing teacher
certification, participated in the KIIS summer
program in Quebec this July. He enjoyed being
immersed in a French-speaking culture that
was different from the one he was exposed to
last summer in Paris. This semester Adam is
an Assistant Academic Team Coach for Warren
County Schools.
New Department Head
Dr. Laura G. McGee is the new
Head of the Department of Modern
Languages. She earned her Ph.D.
in German Language
and Literature at
the University of
Washington in Seattle
in 1996, and has been
a faculty member in
the German program
at WKU since 1997. She
is a Fulbright Scholar
who has published
her research in journals both here
and abroad. Dr. McGee is active in
the profession of language teaching.
She has served as President of the
Kentucky Chapter of the American
Association of Teachers of
German, and she directed an
Improving Educator Quality Grant
that provided study
abroad experiences
to language
teachers from
across the state of
Kentucky. Under
her leadership
as Interim Head
from 2009-2011,
the Department
has expanded its
offerings in world languages.
Dr. McGee was named Head
as a result of a national search
conducted in 2010-2011.
Fulbright Language
Teaching Assistants
The Department of Modern Languages is very fortunate to have
two Fulbright Language Teaching
Assistants during the 2011-2012
academic year. Khadidja Belhadj
comes from Algeria, and will teach
beginning Arabic. Bernadette
Ombayo comes from Kenya and will
teach beginning Swahili. They were
selected through a highly competitive process that considers their
potential as teachers and ability to
serve as ambassadors of their native
cultures. A similar program is also
available to American students who
want to spend a year abroad after
earning a B.A. Read more about
this opportunity at: www.iie.org/
fulbright.
Fulbright offers opportunities for students and faculty from the United States
to teach and conduct research abroad.
Learn how to apply at: http://www.iie.
org/fulbright. Contact Dr. Audra Jennings
at the Office of Scholar Development
to learn about additional international
fellowship opportunities.
New Faculty
Dr. Ke Peng is an Assistant Professor of Chinese
who earned her Ph.D. in Second Language
Acquisition with an emphasis on Chinese at
Arizona State University. She has been teaching
Chinese for over ten years. Her research interests
include Chinese linguistics, pedagogy, online
instruction and Chinese history and culture. Dr.
Peng is tasked with creating a curriculum that
leads to a major and minor in Chinese.
Melba Amador has just joined our faculty as
an Instructor of Spanish for the 2011-2012 year.
She comes to us from the University of New
Mexico, where she is a doctoral candidate in
Hispanic Literature. She is currently completing a
dissertation on the work of three Latina Caribbean
writers. Ms. Amador brings substantial teaching
experience with both “second” language and
“heritage” learners of Spanish.
Gaelle Jego joins the French faculty as a Part
Time Instructor of French. Ms. Jego has taught
French in Pennsylvania and in China before
coming to WKU. She has a Certificate in Teaching
French as a Second Language earned in France.
Ayano Sonoda
joins the Modern
Languages Faculty as
a Teaching Assistant
in Japanese. Ms. Sonoda comes to us from Tokyo,
Japan. She will earn an M.A. in Sociology while
at WKU. Ms. Sonoda spent two months during
summer 2011 as a participant in the intensive
“Chinese and Japanese Teacher Training Institute”
at Portland State University in Oregon.
Fulbright Language Teaching Assistants Bernadette Ombayo and Khadidja Belhadj
Returning “New” Faculty
Michelangelo Zapata returns this fall to begin a position as a
continuing Instructor of Spanish. Mr. Zapata earned his M.A. in
Spanish at Indiana University, Bloomington, in 2010. Mr. Zapata is
a man of many talents—he also has a B.A. in French, and nearly
majored in music instead of Spanish in college. In spring 2011
he taught a special section of Spanish 102 for Music majors and
accompanied the band to Costa Rica for a service trip in summer 2011.
Dr. Sven Andersen returns to WKU for a second year in a visiting
capacity, this time as a Visiting Assistant Professor. In August of 2011,
he defended his dissertation and earned his Ph.D. in German at the
University of Florida. Congratulations, Dr. Andersen!
Study Abroad Blogs
What a great way to create a record of what you are
learning WHILE it is happening! Check out these cool
blogs by our students:
Modern Languages Students Say “Thank You”
Micah McClendon, a double major in Spanish and Communication, received
a Walls Travel Award for $1000 to study in Segovia in the spring semester 2011.
From: McClendon, Micah, L
Sent: Friday, May 20, 2011 2:00 PM
To: Modern Languages at WKU
Subject: Study Abroad Photos
Hola,
I returned home from Spain a few weeks ago
and just wanted to say thank you again for the
scholarship you extended to me which helped
my adventure possible. Studying in Spain for
the semester may have been one of the best
decisions I’ve ever made, and I cannot even begin
to describe the level of intellectual and personal
value I received from my coursework, relationships,
and adventures. Thank you also, Mrs. McGee, for
the study abroad book, which helped define my
semester as one of professional development as I
advanced many of my career and personal goals.
davevickery.blogspot.com
It’s difficult to describe to friends and family
how my experience changed me, or how
I learned more than simply the Spanish
language, everything is more or less the
same here in Kentucky and I’ve done so much
and traveled so many places. The attached
pictures should shed light on some of my
unique experiences in Spain.
Thank you again for helping to make my
dreams to study abroad a reality. I was very
pleased with the educational value of my
experience with KIIS and highly suggest study
abroad to all WKU students.
David Vickery earned degrees in Math and
German with teacher certification. He took
advantage of the opportunity to student teach
abroad. Contact Dr. Fred Carter in the College of
Education if you would like to know more about
student teaching abroad.
kentuckyecuadorpartners.blogspot.com
The blog for Kentucky Ecuador Partners features
entries by WKU Honors College student Nick
Bratcher, a Journalism and Spanish major who
participated in the KIIS Ecuador program directed
by Dr. Sonia Lenk in summer 2011.
Sincerely,
Micah McClendon
Junior, Western Kentucky University
Traditional Spanish
dancers celebrate the
Fiesta de Santa Agueda
in Zamarramala
– Photo by Micah
McClendon
Ana Weiss and Mimi Illges, participants in the 2011
Intensive Intermediate German Program in Munich.
munichmimi.blogspot.com
Mary Phil Illges took German 101 and liked it
so much that she decided to study abroad the
following summer in Munich, Germany. On her blog,
she describes life with her host family, as well as her
adventures on weekend travels in Europe.
Find links to more study abroad blogs at:
www.wku.edu/studyabroad/about_us/blogs_
testimonies.php .
Scholarships
More than 70% of language majors
study abroad. In addition to the
Worldtopper Scholarship available to
all students at WKU, the Department
of Modern Languages is pleased to
be able to provide additional support
through the William Ralph Walls Jr.
International Award and the Finley
C. Grise Award. Read more about
these at http://www.wku.edu/
modernlanguages/scholarships ,
and about Worldtopper Scholarships at
http://www.wku.edu/studyabroad/
students/students.php.
Elizabeth Geiman
Brian Deignan
Micah McClendon
Morgan Mickelson
Tracy Scherzer
Sara Glanz
Nicholas Bratcher
Emily Kinslow
Whitney Reno
Erin Ruppelt
Autumn Ward
Austin Warren
Finley C. Grise Scholarship
William R. Walls Travel Award
William R. Walls Travel Award
William R. Walls Travel Award
Finley C. Grise Scholarship
William R. Walls Travel Award
William R. Walls Travel Award
William R. Walls Travel Award
William R. Walls Travel Award
William R. Walls Travel Award
William R. Walls Travel Award
William R. Walls Travel Award
spring 2011
spring 2011
spring 2011
spring 2011
fall 2011
summer 2011
summer 2011
May 2011
summer 2011
summer 2011
summer 2011
summer 2011
Regensburg, Germany
Segovia, Spain
Segovia, Spain
Regensburg, Germany
Spain
Argentina
Ecuador
Semester at Sea
Paris, France
Spain
Ecuador
Ecuador
$1000
$1000
$1000
$1000
$1200
$400
$400
$400
$400
$400
$400
Awards to Outstanding Students in 2010-2011
Jill Owen
Rialda Zukic
Paul Sanford
Teresa Cox
Outstanding Senior French Student
Outstanding Senior German Student
Outstanding Senior Spanish Student
Sigma Delta Pi Spanish Honor Society Award
$100
$100
$100
$100
News from our Programs
Our faculty members are doing so many things— ­it would
be impossible to include everything! Here you will find quick
facts and updates from each of our language programs.
The course offerings in Arabic will double in
2011-2012, with Khaldoun Almousily and Khadidja
Belhadj working together so that we can offer
beginning and intermediate Arabic. Khaldoun
Almousily has the honor of being the first certified
interpreter for Arabic in the state of Kentucky.
Dr. Nathan Love of the French program
served as a reader for the French AP
exams. Dr. Karin Egloff published a
number of literary reviews in French
Review, and traveled to France during
the summer. Eddy Cuisinier directed a
study abroad program in Quebec for
the Kentucky Institute of International
Studies in summer 2011.
The Chinese program has tripled its beginning courses in
fall 2011, with six sections offered, as well as intermediate
Chinese courses in fall and spring. Dr. Ke Peng will create
third year courses for 2012-2013, and proposals for a Chinese
major/minor are in the works. WKU will be an exciting place
to study Chinese as the Department of Modern Languages,
the Confucius Institute and the Chinese Flagship collaborate
to offer rich programming related to China. Chinese Instructor Hao Ran comes to us through China’s Han Ban program.
She took part in a two month program on the teaching of
Chinese language at Portland State in summer 2011. The
program was offered by The ALLEX Foundation, the Alliance
for Language Learning and Educational Exchange.
Japanese is a very popular language
program that is adding intermediate
courses in the 2011-2012 academic year.
Beginning courses will be taught by
Ayano Sonoda, who comes to us through
the ALLEX Foundation, and intermediate
courses by Joe Ertl, a full time translator
and interpreter for Bando USA.
The German program is pleased to have Dr. Sven
Andersen return for a second year in a visiting position. Tim
Straubel was recognized with the Potter College of Arts
and Letters Student Advisement Award for his work with
students and study organizations. Dr. Laura McGee had two
articles on the cinema of Andreas Dresen appear during
the past academic year. She spent three weeks in China in
summer 2011 with the support of the Confucius Institute
and WKU.
For the Spanish faculty, service and outreach are a big deal. Dr. Melissa Stewart and the
students in her Spanish Translation and Interpreting class were recognized by the Alive Center
for their service learning project. The students translated informational materials related to
child safety into Spanish for distribution in the local Hispanic community. Students in Dr. Sonia
Lenk’s summer program in Ecuador used their Spanish skills to conduct service projects in
an Afro-Indigenous village called Santa Ana. They brought donated computers, set them up
and trained community members to use them. They also raised the money to buy playground
equipment and helped set it up, and they taught village members to market their location
for tourism. Gustavo Obeso and Michelangelo Zapata ran the Homework Help program at St.
Joseph’s School, as well as a free Spanish program for children at the Warren County Public
Library. Susann Davis taught Spanish to children at Potter Gray Elementary School on Friday
afternoons. Dr. Inma Pertusa continues to direct the Semester in Segovia program for KIIS, and
works on innovative research collaborations with Spanish majors. Roberto Jimenez-Arroyo and
Bonita Phelps at the Glasgow campus have been working hard to identify internship opportunities for Spanish majors – with some amazing results. Eder Maestre teaches three special
sections of Spanish 102 for Health Care every fall semester.
Ekaterina Myakshina returns for her second year with us
teaching beginning Russian courses. In summer 2011 she
made a trip to her home town of Perm, Russia, to explore
the possibility of offering a language program for WKU
students there in summer 2012.
First and second semester Swahili classes are taught by
Fulbright Language Teaching Assistant Bernadette Ombayo
from Kenya.