Professor Liudmila Klimanova (Russian & Slavic Studies) was awarded the 2021 Dorothy Chun Award for Best Article in Language Learning & Technology Journal for her recent publication, “The evolution of identity research in CALL: From scripted chatrooms to engaged construction of the digital self” (Language Learning & Technology, 24(3), 186–204).  

The Dorothy Chun award is given to the best journal article published in Language Learning & Technology in 2021.  The topic of the selected article highlights innovative Computer Assisted Language Learning research that may benefit a broad scope of language learners. Prof. Klimanova’s article how identity research has evolved in the past 30 years; she presents critical issues related to identity and outlines three historical periods that identify conceptual shifts over the years. These periods include: the communicative turn (roughly from 1995-2000), the social and intercultural turns (2000-2010) and the critical and multilingual turns (2010-2020). One goal of her article is to provide ways to merge identity studies with second language acquisition. The Dorothy Chun’s award committee announced the award on February 7. 2022.

Congratulations to Prof. Klimanova on this special recognition!

The full announcement can be found on the LL&T journal website - https://www.lltjournal.org/dorothy-chun-award/

The Department of Russian and Slavic Studies took part in a ceremony organized by Tucson's Vice Mayor Nikki Lee to to dedicate a new Peace Pole and pavilion honoring resilience, health, strength and equity. Valentina Vinokurova (PhD Candidate, SLAT Program) and Dr. Colleen Lucey (Assistant Professor of Russian and Slavic Studies) spoke of the importance of peace between the US and Russia. 

The peace pole, which is located at Groves Lincoln Park (8123 E Poinciana Drive), contains the words “May Peace Prevail On Earth” in eight languages that represent the rich diversity of our city: English, Spanish, Hebrew, Arabic, Russian, Swahili, Chinese, and Tibetan. The pavilion includes a special dedication plaque to the Tohono O'odham Nation honoring the native land. 

In the Spring of 2021, Human Rights Practice and Russian and Slavic Studies students in RSSS 308 Communicating in a Cultural Context led by Professor Liudmila Klimanova collaborated with students from the American University of Central Asia and Peter the Great St. Petersburg Polytechnic University, Russia, Together, they produced social justice podcasts for four NGOs from Central Asia. The topics of the podcasts included homelessness and housing rights, ecological tourism, women's rights in Central Asia, and many more. Watch a short documentary created by Emmy-Award winning film director and videographer, Leslie Epperson, about this fascinating initiative. 

As part of ongoing talks aimed at strengthening the governmental and educational relationships between the University of Arizona and Kazakhstan, a delegation visited College of Humanities leadership to discuss potential collaboration.

The visit and tour of the Center for English as a Second Language on Nov. 2 included:

• Yerlan Shulanov, Rector of North Kazakhstan State University Named for Kozybayev
• Gani Nygymetov, Deputy Governor of North Kazakhstan Oblast
• Rustem Issavayev, Embassy Representative
• Brent White, Vice President, Global Affairs
• Daniel Palm, Associate Vice President, Global Affairs
• Alain-Philippe Durand, Dorrance Dean of the College of Humanities
• Robert Côté, Director of the Center for English as a Second Language
• Sumayya Granger, Associate Director of the Center for English as a Second Language
• John Leafgren, Head of the Department of Russian and Slavic Studies
• Valentina Vinokurova, doctoral student in Second Language Acquisition and Teaching

The visit followed a trip to Kazakhstan for a delegation of University of Arizona deans, including Durand. Their trip, from October 17 to 23, included meetings at the U.S. Embassy and at Kozybayev University.

“I was very impressed by our visit to Kazakhstan and am excited about the potential for a great collaboration and partnership between the College of Humanities and Kozybayev University,” Durand said.

Kazakhstan is the world’s largest land-locked country and the 9th largest by land mass overall. The nation of 18.8 million people declared its independence from the Soviet Union in 1991.

About 20 percent of the population in Kazakhstan speaks English, Nygymetov said, so there is a significant need to train more English teachers. With longstanding expertise in intensive, foundational English instruction, the UA’s Center for English as a Second Language could be a significant partner in that effort.

“We want this partnership with the University of Arizona to be a model for other regions in Kazakhstan,” Nygymetov said.