Hillman, Sara Assistant Professor

I am an applied linguist with specialization in the interdisciplinary fields of second language studies and sociolinguistics. Broadly, I seek solutions to language-related problems with the goal of empowering individuals and communities. My research takes a qualitative, sociological, and anthropological approach to understand how people learn, teach, and use languages, as well as people's ideologies about languages and the intersection of their language ideologies, language use, and social identities. I am also interested in how these intersections both shape and are shaped by pedagogies and broader language planning and policy. I have primarily conducted research with underexplored populations of Arabic-speaking university students and teachers, both within the context of Arabic heritage language classrooms in the United States and English-medium instruction (EMI), American branch campuses in Qatar.