Biography
I have always been an avid traveler and language learner. Starting when I was about
16, I’ve spent significant time in Colombia, Costa Rica, Argentina, Colombia, Germany,
the Netherlands, Malaysia, and Mainland China. More casually, and for shorter periods,
I’ve visited Mexico, Canada, Venezuela, Puerto Rico, and most of the countries of
Western and Central Europe, as well as Israel, Turkey, Japan, Singapore, and Taiwan.<br><br>Besides
German and Spanish (which I teach at WCU), I also speak Dutch at an intermediate level
and am currently working to learn Mandarin, for which I passed the HSK Level 2 exam
a few years ago, and am working toward HSK3. More informally, I've also studied Hebrew,
Yiddish, and Cherokee, but unfortunately I'm not able to have a meaningful conversation
in any of those languages anymore. Time to freshen up!<br><br>I'm also a bit of a
technology freak and am an amateur web programmer on the side. My most significant
accomplishment in this area has been the development of a vocabulary building application
for language learners call Lexicubes, which is being used at multiple universities.
I've also developed chatbots for language learning, and several ad hoc online systems
including a language assessment platform, a slideshow system, a grade curver app,
and a lightweight CMS.
Teaching Interests
I currently teach all levels of German language and culture. I also occasionally teach
Spanish courses, as needed.
Research Interests
My main research interests are in second language acquisition, language learning technology,
German popular culture, Germans in Latin America, and the German filmmaker Werner
Herzog, who has made several films in and about Latin America and is also a Spanish
speaker.
