Robert Yates
Professor of English/TESL
Universty of Central Missouri State
Warrensburg, Missouri 64093
ryates@ucmo.edu (660) 543-8741 Fax: (660) 543-4076
Earned Degrees
Degree
Date
PhD.
1990
M.A
1986
Institution
Major Concentration
University of Illinois
at Urbana-Champaign
Applied Linguistics: Second
language acquisition
University of Illinois
at Urbana-Champaign
Applied Linguistics
M.A.
1983
University of Illinois at Chicago
Linguistics: Specialization in
TESOL
B.S
1982
Northwestern University
Communication Studies.
Teaching experience
Aug. 1990-present
UCM
Aug. 1984-Aug. 1990
University of
Illinois-CU
1983-1984
1982-1983
National College
of Education
University of
ILLINOIS-CHICAGO
Professor (since 2003)
Grad. Asst. part-time
adjunct
instructor
teaching Asst. part-time
Primary Area(s) of Teaching and Scholarship: applied linguistics, second language acquisition,
grammar, and basic writing.
Course Responsibilities
English 1020
English 1030
English 1080
English 1190
English 2230
English 3110
English 4110
English 4850
English 5120
English 5010
English 5110
Rhetorical Writing
Rhetorical Writing II
Advanced Composition (new course for 2006-7)
Expository Composition in English as a Second Language
Film and Literature (Topics include The Western; Vietnam;
Civil War; and Addiction)
English Grammar
Linguistics
Introduction to Principles of Second Language Teaching*
Second Language Acquisition
Introduction to Graduate Studies for TESL
Advanced Pedagogical Grammar for TESL
* This course is now English 5120.
English 5870
TESOL II: The written language
English 5890
Practicum in English as a Second Language
Special 3 week courses at the Maastricht Center for Transatlantic Studies
International English (2000)
A Second Regard: Hollywood Remakes of European Films (2002)
Articles
Yates, Robert, & Kenkel, Jim (forthcoming). Underlying principles of organization
principles. Journal of Applied Linguistics.
Muchisky, Dennis, & Yates, Robert (2004). Response to Bartels and Freeman and Johnson to
“On reconceptualizing teacher education.” TESOL Quarterly, 134-140.
Kenkel, James, & Yates, Robert. (2003). A developmental perspective on the relationship
between grammar and text. Journal of Basic Writing, 22, 35-49.
Yates, Robert, & Muchisky, Dennis. (2003). On reconceptualizing teacher education. TESOL
Quarterly, 37, 135-147.
Yates, Robert, & Kenkel, James (2003). Responding to sentence-level errors. Journal of Second
language writing. 22, 29-47.
Yates, Robert, & Muchisky, Dennis. (September, 2002) A reader reacts "Second Language
Teacher Education." TESOL Matters, 12(2), 3-4
Yates, Robert, & Kenkel, James. (Fall, 2001). On the dysfunctional nature of systemic functional
grammar. Academic Exchange Quarterly, 5(3), 100-105.
Kenkel, James, & Yates, Robert. (Fall, 2000) A justification for teaching grammar. Syntax in
the School, 17(1), 1+.
Yates, Robert. & Tillyer, David (1995) Students teaching future teachers. With David Tillyer.
ESL in Higher Education Newsletter. 14, 1+.
Proceedings
Yates, Robert, & Kenkel, James. (1996) On using grammar checkers. Proceedings of the
Assembly for the Teaching Grammar.
Kenkel, James, & Yates, Robert. (1995) Grammar and literacy: Embedding outside sources in
texts. Proceedings of the Assembly for the Teaching Grammar.
Kantz, Peggy, & Yates, Robert (1994) Whose judgments? A survey of faculty responses to
common and highly irritating writing errors. Proceedings of the Assembly for the
Teaching of English Grammar.
Yates, Robert. (1993) On the acquisition of argument structure in second language learning.
Proceedings of the 27th Annual Mid-America Linguistics.
Conference/Conference on Siouan-Caddoan Languages.
Reviews
Review Larry Andrew’s Linguistics for L2 teachers (2003, January).
http://www.ESLminiconf.net/jan2003/andrewsreview.html
Review of Koster, C. & Wijnen F. (eds.) (1996). Proceedings of the Groningen
Assembly on Language Acquisition. Studies in Second Language Acquisition,
19(4) 519-20, 1997.
Review of V. Cook's Linguistics and Second Language Acquisition. Studies in Second
Language Acquisition, 18:2, 1996.
Yates/3
Review of the Longman Activator. With Cheryl Eason. TESOL Quarterly, 29:209-11
1995.
A plethora of textbooks on SLA. TESL-EJ 1:3. 1995 (www.kyotosu.ac.jp/information/tesl-ej/ej03/r21.html)
Scholarly presentations since 1997
October, 2007. Ten plus papers every language teacher should read. MIDTESOL. Lake of the
Ozarks, MO.
March, 2007. With James Kenkel. Understanding and treating “untreatable” errors. TESOL.
Seattle, WA.
November, 2006. With Dennis Muchisky. On TESOL at 40: A view from the Heartland.
MIDTESOL. Ceder Rapids, IA.
October, 2005. Why Chomsky still matters to language teachers. MIDTESOL. Lee’s Summit,
MO.
July, 2005. With James Kenkel. On the grammar-text interface in developmental writing. AILA.
Madison, WS.
March, 2005. With James Kenkel. Research the grammar text interface. TESOL. San Antonio,
TX.
March, 2005. Ten papers every language teacher should have read. Missouri MIDTESOL.
Springfield, MO.
October, 2004. With Dennis Muchisky. What do you know about methods? MIDTESOL.
Independence, MO.
October, 2003. On the differences between American and British English. MIDTESOL.
Lincoln, NE.
March, 2003. With James Kenkel. Analyzing errors from an interlanguage perspective. TESOL.
Baltimore, MD.
March, 2003. The comparative fallacy of systemic functional grammar. American Association
for Applied Linguistics. AAAL, Arlington, VA.
March, 2003. With Jim Kenkel. Underlying principles of organizational competence. American
Association for Applied Linguistics. AAAL, Arlington, VA.
March, 2003. Evaluating learner dictionaries. Missouri MIDTESOL. Southwest Missouri State
University, Springfield, MO.
February, 2003. With Jim Kenkel.. On the grammar-text interface of L1 and L2 developing
writers. Georgetown University Roundtable. Georgetown University.
October, 2002. On the nature of student errors. MIDTESOL. Iowa State University. Ames, IA.
April, 2002. With James Kenkel. Teaching the Grammar of Discourse. Annual international
conference of TESOL. Teachers of English to Speakers of Other Languages. Salt Lake
City, UT.
March, 2002. On the grammar-text interface of developing writers. Missouri Philological
Society. Central Missouri State University.
February, 2002. With James Kenkel. Learner knowledge of form-meaning connections in text
construction. Conference on form-meaning connections in second language acquisition.
Sponsored by the University of Illinois at Chicago. Chicago, IL.
October, 2001. On teaching organizational competence. MIDTESOL annual convention.
MIDTESOL. Blue Springs, MO.
Yates/4
July, 2001. With James Kenkel. On observational and explanatory descriptions of English
grammar. ATEG (Assembly for the Teaching of English Grammar) annual conference.
Parkville, MO.
July, 2001. What kind of grammar structures are complex? Part of the pre-conference minicourse offered by ATEG. Parkville, MO.
February, 2001. With Dennis Muchisky. On reconceptualizing teacher education research.
TESOL. St. Louis, MO.
February, 2001. With Jim Kenkel. Responding to sentence-level errors in student writing.
TESOL. St. Louis, MO.
September, 2000. With Jim Kenkel. The Influence of the Basic Variety on the Writing of
Instructed Learners. Second Language Research Forum. Madison, WI.
July, 2000. With Jim Kenkel. The agrammatical nature of texts: Implications for teaching
writing and grammar. ATEG annual conference. Brooklyn, MN.
October, 1999. With Dennis Muchisky. What you need to know about the history of language
teaching. MIDTESOL Annual Conference. Iowa City, IA
Yates/5
July, 1999. With Jim Kenkel. We’re Prescriptivists. Isn’t Everyone? ATEG annual conference.
Raritan, NJ.
May, 1999 With Dennis Muchisky. On the status of disciplinary knowledge in language teacher
education. International Language Teacher Conference. Minneapolis, MN.
April, 1999. With Jim Kenkel. What do learners already know? 52nd Annual Kentucky Foreign
Language Conference. Lexington, KY.
March, 1999. The incomplete nature of the whole language. Missouri MIDTESOL. Springfield,
MO.
October,1998. What learners already know. MIDTESOL Annual Conference. St. Louis, MO.
July, 1998. With Jim Kenkel. Grammatical competence and punctuation. ATEG annual
conference. Seattle, WA
November, 1997. Students know more grammar than we think they do. Missouri Association of
Teachers of English, Tan-ta-ra, MO.
October, 1997. With Jim Kenkel. The grammar of L2 Learners' texts. MIDWEST Regional
TESOL, Milwaukee, WI.
July, 1997. With Jim Kenkel. On the dysfunctional nature of systemic-functional grammar, or
putting the cart before the horse. ATEG annual conference. Williamsport, PA.
April, 1997. The Ebonics Debate: An ESOL Perspective. Missouri South State College,
Missouri MIDTESOL, Joplin, MO.
March, 1997. Are we losing the L in TESOL? Annual international conference of TESOL.
Orlando, FL.
Activities within professional organizations.
Vice-President of the Fellowship of Missouri Education Workers/MNEA. (2006-present)
Reviewed two papers for TESOL Quarterly (2005-6)
Reviews a paper for Language Learning (2006)
President of the Missouri Association of Faculty Senates (2003-04)
Reviewer for Heinle & Heinle Award for best research paper in Second Language
Acquisition in 2003.
Past President, MIDTESOL, Fall, 1996-Fall, 1997; President, Fall, 1995-1996; First
Vice-President, MIDTESOL, Fall, 1994 -Fall, 1995.
Reader for abstracts submitted to the Applied Linguistics Interest Section of TESOL for
TESOL ‘04, TESOL ‘02, TESOL '97, TESOL '96, TESOL '94, TESOL '93.
Employment counselor. TESOL '97, TESOL '94, TESOL '93, TESOL '92.
Co-editor of the newsletter for MIDTESOL. 1991 to Fall, 1994.
Reader of abstracts submitted to Midwest Regional TESOL, 1994.
Associate Executive Secretary, Missouri Philological Association. 1992 to 1994..
CURRENT ACADEMIC AND PROFESSIONAL MEMBERSHIPS
American Association for Applied Linguistics
Fellowship of Missouri Educations Workers / Missouri National Education Association
NATIONAL COUNCIL FOR THE TEACHING OF ENGLISH
TESOL
MIDTESOL