News

Apr 9, 2025

Words of Excellence: WLC Honors Top Language Students at Annual Awards Ceremony

The Department of World Languages & Cultures recently hosted its annual student awards ceremony, celebrating academic excellence across its diverse language programs. The event honored both undergraduate and graduate students who have demonstrated exceptional dedication and achievement in their language studies. More than 100 students were recognized during the ceremony, receiving awards ranging from Outstanding…

Mar 27, 2025

High Impact Teaching and Learning in Gandoca, Costa Rica

During spring break 2025, the Department of World Languages and Cultures’ TESOL section (Teaching English to Speakers of Other Languages) together with GIVEVolunteers.org, and local community leaders, collaborated to provide a high-impact teaching and learning experience for local K-6 and high school students as well as adults. WLC MA in TESOL candidates spent several months…

Mar 6, 2025

NC State Hispanic linguistics program makes an impact at SLINKI/SLISE conference

More than 20 faculty and graduate students from the Hispanic linguistics program recently attended the Spanish Linguistics in North Carolina (SLINKI) and Spanish Linguistics in the Southeast (SLISE) conference, hosted by East Carolina University. Originally founded at NC State in 2011, the conference provides a space for researchers across the region to share their work…

Feb 26, 2025

WLC Grad Students Shine at TESOL & Applied Linguistics Conference

Graduate students from NC State’s World Languages & Cultures program recently took the stage at the TESOL & Applied Linguistics Graduate Student Conference (TALGS) at Greensboro College, showcasing their research and insights in the fields of linguistics and ESL instruction. Hosted annually by Greensboro College and East Carolina University, TALGS provides a platform for graduate…

Feb 14, 2025

Professional Development Workshop for Teachers of Multilingual Learners

On Thursday, January 23, 2025, Assistant Professor Ali Turner led a professional development workshop for English language teachers from Raleigh Parks and Recreation. The session focused on implementing TESOL’s Six Principles for Exemplary Teaching of English Learners in the classroom. Graduate students in the MA program with concentration in TESOL—Paula Dechima, Meghanne Brunsink, and Jocelyn Hughes—assisted in…

Dec 4, 2024

Remembering Dr. Tom Feeny

The Department of World Languages and Cultures recently lost a beloved professor, colleague and friend, Dr. Tom Feeny, who passed away at the age of 87. Tom was a long time faculty member in WLC, having taught at NC State for 53 years. A professor of Spanish, Tom also taught Italian and French since joining…

Nov 20, 2024

Onigiri Action Event Shares Culture and Helps Children in Need

The Japanese Program in the Department of World Languages & Cultures recently held their second annual Onigiri Action event. This popular event, held on Friday November 8, attracted over 60 participants who took part in the global Onigiri Action campaign. This initiative, designed to help feed school children in need, encourages people to post photos of onigiri…

Oct 16, 2024

WLC Faculty Member Spends Fulbright Year in Germany

What did you study and where (degrees) I received both my Bachelors and Master’s Degrees in German at California State Long Beach. I received my PhD in German Studies with a Dissertation titled “Kafka goes to New York: Reading Kafka in Seinfeld’s America” from Penn State, and in the same year I received my Master…

Sep 19, 2024

Linguistic outreach at La Fiesta del Pueblo

Spanish is the second most widely spoken language in North Carolina, and the language used by the Latino residents of the state is changing due to influences from English, as well as due to contact between different varieties of Spanish. Hispanic linguistics faculty and graduate students in WLC are at the forefront of documenting and…

Sep 18, 2024

WLC Welcomes New Faculty

The Department of World Languages & Cultures welcomed seven new full time faculty members this fall semester, in French, Japanese, Spanish, TESOL, and a new language for NC State, Korean. Keep reading to learn more about our new faculty. Sarah Brandt, Spanish and Foreign Language Education Where did you study and what was your focus:…