MORRIS A. GEVIRTZ
nd
2305 E. 2 Street, Apartment 27, Bloomington, Indiana, 47401, USA
812-307-9499 | moegev@gmail.com
EDUCATION
Indiana University, Bloomington, Indiana
M.A. in Hispanic Linguistics
Expected May 2013
Ball State University
B.A. in Classical Cultures
2007
AWARDS
Eta Sigma Phi (Classics Honor Society)
2007
TEACHING EXPERIENCE
Associate Instructor
January 2006 – January
2011 – present
Indiana University, Bloomington, Indiana
 Taught entry-level Spanish courses: HISP-S 150 and HISP-S105
 Applied Communicative Language Teaching (CLT) guidelines
to semester-long courses.
 Developed materials for daily course instruction: Including:
worksheets, PowerPoint presentations, Target language tasks.
 Established weekly book club to provide students with additional
exposure to the Spanish language and its varied cultures.
Spanish Tutor
2010 – present
Freelance basis in Bloomington, Indiana; worldwide
www.moespanish.wordpress.com
 Teaching Spanish to new and returning learners.
 Using varied media: classic and modern movies, classic Spanish
texts, poetry, literature excerpts, online software for phonetics
and writing development.
 Helping students develop complex projects such as subject
exposés and essays as a means for language learning.
English as a Second Language Tutor
Freelance basis in Bloomington, Indiana
 Assisted learners of English in developing phonetic proficiency,
improving grammar, vocabulary and writing skills.
 Paid special attention to students’ acquisition of new pragmatic
skills and structures.
 Developed own phonetics materials and exercises.
2010 – 2011
MORRIS A. GEVIRTZ
PAGE 2
English Instructor
2009
Instituto Peruano Canadiense, Huaraz, Ancash, Perú
 Taught English grammar, orthography, phonetics and idiomatic constructions to
students of varied ages: 12- 50+ years of age.
 First instructor at institution to use linguistic materials, including internet resources
to teach American Vernacular English accent.
 Taught a two week phonetics seminar to advanced language students.
RELATED EXPERIENCE
Presenter
IEHA Conference, Bloomington, Indiana
 Presented on alternative food sourcing and the U.S. food system
September 2012
June – July 2007
Lecturer
Community Center for Vital Aging, Muncie, IN
 Taught three week introductory course in ornithology to senior
citizens.
Teaching Assistant/Spanish Tutor
January 2005 – May 2007
Ball State University, Muncie, Indiana
 Prepared materials, delivered lectures, substituted for professor.
 Assisted students with Spanish, history, and etymology.
 Provided Audio-Visual equipment support.
RESEARCH INTERESTS
The relationship between human and non-human languages.
 It is commonly held by many investigators in linguistics that “language” is a human
ability alone. A synthesis of the current body of work in historical anthropology,
computer science, cognitive science, psycholinguistics, phonetics and biology can show
that this assumption is both likely wrong and crippling to language research.
How to test language-hood.
 Related to the above idea, it is currently unknown how one would test a signal to
verify whether it is linguistic in nature or not. This stems directly from the fact that
linguists do not have a working definition of language.
Computer-enhanced language learning.
 Computer technology is grossly under-used in language pedagogy. I am currently
working to remedy this by developing simple programs that make use of technologies
from today and yesterday to meaningfully enhance language learning.
Alternative approaches to second language acquisition
 Despite much debate as to how language is best learned, few conclusions on the matter
are categorical and predictive. The best angle is to create curricula that are flexible
enough to appeal to most language learners, their interests and education backgrounds.
LANGUAGES
Spanish – Native language
English – Native language
French – Conversational; can
read, write, and speak.
Latin, classical – Reading
knowledge