MEDIA RELEASE
PROFESSOR ALFONSO GUERRIERO RECEIVES
GRANT FROM JOHN F. KENNEDY
PRESIDENTIAL LIBRARY
NEW YORK, NY-February 2, 2015 –Alfonso Guerriero, Professor of Modern Languages and
Comparative Literature in the Weissman School of Arts and Sciences at Baruch College, has
been awarded a $1,500 grant by the John F. Kennedy Presidential Library in Boston to support
his research with English Language Learning (ELL) students. The grant will allow Professor
Guerriero to travel to Boston, home of the largest Ernest Hemmingway collection in the world,
to conduct more research on his study linking the success of ELL students in academic literacy to
the works of Ernst Hemmingway. “A Preliminary Study of ELL College Students and their
Development of Academic Literacy through Ernest Hemingway's Journalistic Style” explores the
connection between ELL student success and engagement in the classroom with the stylistic
works of the famed author. Professor Guerriero first realized the connection when working with
students in his Great Works of Literature II class who had difficulty with the readings of
assigned authors, but who became more engaged when reading and discussing Hemmingway’s
short stories.
“Many of these students have difficulty in meeting some of the academic literacy standards
required by the course.” said Professor Guerriero. “Since English is not their native language,
ELL students have difficulty in reading some of the assigned authors. Many of these works
include translated versions of Voltaire, Machado de Assis, Mustafa Effendi, and Gabriel Garcia
Marquez, as well as English and American writers such as John Keats, William Blake and
Herman Melville. However, when Hemingway’s short stories are assigned, I noticed more
students are engaged in the reading and are able to read his written works.”
“Based on the data gathered, I developed a hypothesis that explains why ELL college students
are more engaged in the classroom and confident in their expressive language. Because Ernest
Hemingway was a journalist trained to write in short sentences, using dialogue, repetition, and
simple grammar, his writing style allows ELL intermediate and advanced students, to be more
successful in achieving academic literacy.”
Professor Guerriero has spent the past 3 years collecting data for his study and has traveled to
Cuba several times over the past decade with Dr. Wayne Finke. In 2010, he taught a Feit seminar
class about Cuban Cinema/History.
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About Baruch College:
Baruch College is a senior college in the City University of New York (CUNY) with a total enrollment of
more than 18,000 students, who represent 164 countries and speak more than 129 languages. Ranked
among the top 15% of U.S. colleges and the No. 4 public regional university, Baruch College is regularly
recognized as among the most ethnically diverse colleges in the country. As a public institution with a
tradition of academic excellence, Baruch College offers accessibility and opportunity for students from
every corner of New York City and from around the world. For more about Baruch College, go to
http://www.baruch.cuny.edu/.
MEDIA CONTACTS:
Manny Romero, (646) 660-6141, manuel.romero@baruch.cuny.edu
Mercedes Sanchez, (646) 660-6112, mercedes.sanchez@baruch.cuny.edu