Professor LeeAnne Langton (ENGL) Receives Senior Language Fellowship

September 10, 2012

The College of Liberal Arts congratulates Professor LeeAnne Langton (ENGL) for receiving a prestigious Senior Language Fellowship offered by the U.S. Department of State and Georgetown University. The fellowship supports 10 months at Tanzania’s St. Augustine University where Langton will teach and develop curricula.

Langton earned her B.A. in Linguistics from the University of California, Los Angeles, and her M.A. in Linguistics from CSULB. Langton is fluent in the Bantu languages of Swahili and Shingazidja. “I think it was the combination of my knowledge of these languages as well as my work in heritage language literacy and student success here at CSULB that earned me this fellowship,” Langton explained. In addition, Langton specializes in teaching English as a Second Language (ESL) and values teaching English alongside, rather than at the expense of, other languages. “I hope my work in Tanzania will promote bi-literacy and multi-literacy. I want to support teachers teaching Kiswahili and English simultaneously.” Langton also knows French, German, Japanese, Spanish, and Vietnamese. She was distinguished as the University Honors Program’s Most Valuable Professor in 2011, and has served as a mentor for CSULB’s Partners for Success Program.

During the summer of 2012, Langton attended a fellowship orientation in Washington D.C. where she networked with people from around the world and prepared for her 10 months in Africa. “I made contacts with people I had only read about and with scholars in my languages,” said Langton. “I was introduced to regional language officers, including one at the home embassy in Tanzania.”

Expectations are high for Senior Language Fellowship recipients. “Participants in this fellowship are expected not only to present at ESL conferences but to be the plenary speaker,” Langton explained. “We are expected to publish, and develop and sponsor scholarships, including Fulbright Scholarships, for the teachers we meet. We are expected to create grants.” Yet, despite these high expectations, Langton looks forward to empowering other teachers and seeks to be a role model like those she has had at CSULB. Her role models include English Department Chair Eileen Klink, Associate Vice President for Undergraduate Studies and Academic Advising Lynn Mahoney, and Professor Tim Caron.

Langton will return to the U.S. in November 2013, and hopes to bring with her a stronger voice for ESL students and lecturers at CSULB. “I have come to understand that ESL is a universal issue and a tool for economic development. I really think my participation in this fellowship will strengthen my commitment to education and my pedagogy. I think this fellowship will make me an even more creative and effective teacher.”

Click here to read the full article from Inside CSULB.

Photo courtesy of LeeAnne Langton.