Issue 4
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During Winter and Spring 2026, LRC, guided by our Advisory Board, has continued to foster a vibrant multilingual campus through advocacy and outreach, the sponsorship of creative teaching initiatives, rich professional development opportunities, and support for all students in their language learning journeys. In this issue, we share highlights from our recent activity and collaborations, and the ongoing projects that contribute to increasing the visibility of world languages across disciplines.
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Welcome Alexis!Program Assistant for MADs and LRC
Additionally, we warmly welcome Alexis Kellogg, who joined the LRC team in April of 2026! With a diverse background in finance, administration, and music, Alexis is excited to bring her analytical and creative skills to this important hub at the heart of Weinberg College. |
Undergraduate education and advisingReady to Welcome Class of 2030We are delighted to welcome the Class of 2030. This year, LRC had the opportunity to participate in Wildcat Days for admitted students in April and connect with new students earlier than usual. Admitted students were eager to learn about various language study opportunities and were excited to discover that Northwestern offers many languages not available in their high schools.
Prof. Deborah Rosenberg at Wildcat Days Working closely with language departments, the Weinberg Dean’s Office, and the Office of the Provost, LRC is ready for the Class of 2030. Language placement test information is updated in Purple Prep for NU#2030 and the LRC’s new For New Undergraduate Students webpage has launched. Incoming new Weinberg students will receive reminders from LRC about the language placement test throughout the summer via the Weinberg College Class of 2030 Instagram account (@weinberg2030). Please encourage new students in your unit to complete the online language placement by July 31st! Language placement test information is available on the LRC’s Language Placement webpage. During Wildcat Welcome 2026, LRC will participate in the Academic Directions Fair, answer students questions, and help connect students with language departments. For more information, visit: |
Graduate Education and advisingFor graduate students whose scholarship relies on materials written in languages other than English, a high level of language proficiency is essential for their research success. Building on this need, the LRC hosted a well-attended information session in January 2026 titled Navigating Language Study at Northwestern: Resources for Graduate Students. The session highlighted resources and funding opportunities to support students in achieving their language-learning goals. The DeCoster Grant for Language Study continued to support awardees in completing essential language coursework and advancing their research. Congratulations to the six recipients from the departments of Black Studies, Spanish and Portuguese, Religious Studies, and Art History, who will further their study of Spanish, Kichwa, Portuguese, and Catalan during summer 2026! For general information, visit the For Graduate Students webpage for resources and funding opportunities. The LRC also provides individualized support for graduate students and their advisers; please feel free to contact us. |
less commonly taught languagesNorthwestern offers a wide array of languages, including Arabic, Chinese, Czech, Ancient Greek, Hebrew, Hindi-Urdu, Japanese, Korean, Latin, Persian, Polish, Portuguese, Russian, Swahili, and Turkish, providing students with opportunities to develop distinctive linguistic and intercultural skills that set them apart in today’s global landscape. This year, the LRC continued its support for the study of Native American and Indigenous languages by compiling a comprehensive course offerings list through BTAA CourseShare. Interested faculty and advisers can access this list in Weinberg Commons. BTAA CourseShare ProgramThis academic year, Northwestern hosted three successful courses (one in Advanced Tibetan and two in Ancient Greek). Faculty interested in hosting a course share through CourseShare can learn more here and/or contact the LRC for more information. In the academic year 2025-2026, Northwestern students, both undergraduate and graduate, learned Armenian, Dakota, Greek (Modern), Indonesian, Ojibwe, Quechua, Yiddish through CourseShare. Faculty Information SessionIn April 2026, Ryan Platte, Professor of Instruction in Ancient Greek, led an interactive session titled “Making Hybrid Work: A Practical Demo for LCTL Courseshare Instructors,” sharing his experience teaching an Ancient Greek class in a hybrid format through CourseShare.
Prof. Ryan Platte teaching a hybrid Ancient Greek course Students interested in learning languages not offered at Northwestern can find more information on the Languages Not Offered at Northwestern page, and the FAQs webpage. |
Initiatives for Language learningLanguage Enrollment Data Visualization ToolWe are excited to share the Weinberg College Undergraduate Majors/Minors and Enrollment Data, a dynamic data visualization tool developed by Institutional Analysis. In collaboration with their team, the LRC contributed to the creation of new, dedicated tabs for Weinberg Language Enrollment Data. In addition to displaying enrollment by language, course level and characteristics, the new tabs allow departments and programs to explore enrollments by school, the number of language courses taken before graduation, and more. These enhancements make the tool an especially valuable resource for gaining insight into language study trends, supporting informed program planning, and advancing data-driven decision-making. Language Background Survey 2026Building on the success of last year’s Language Use Survey, the LRC will administer this university-wide survey in summer 2026 to gather data on incoming students’ language backgrounds and interests in language study. This survey provides valuable insights into students’ multilingual experiences and preferences and generates data that can inform future programming in language departments. The LRC will share the results for the Class of 2030 in the fall. New! Special Interest Groups (SIG)Spring quarter marked the launch of a new initiative focused on Special Interest Groups (SIGs) to provide a platform for colleagues with shared interests to collaborate and exchange ideas on a wide range of language teaching and research topics. This initiative is co-sponsored by the LRC and the Council on Language Instruction. The inaugural faculty-led SIG is HIVE (Heritage Languages, Initiatives, Voices, and Engagement), an inclusive and collaborative community that aims to exchange ideas, share effective teaching practices, and develop new approaches for working with diverse language learners, including those in mixed L2 and heritage classes. If you are interested in joining this group, please contact Julia Oliver Rajan at julia.oliverrajan@northwestern.edu. Faculty can propose a new SIG by submitting a proposal to cli@northwestern.edu. Shoutout to the Chicago Language Symposium 2026The Chicago Language Symposium, held virtually in April 2026 and hosted by the University of Chicago Language Center, brought together educators and practitioners for a collaborative exchange. The symposium is annually co-organized by the Council of Language Instruction, in partnership with the University of Illinois Chicago Sandy Port Errand Language Center and DePaul University. This year’s theme, “Surviving in a Time of Change,” framed a series of engaging presentations, including contributions from several Northwestern faculty (Rana Raddawi & Ragy Mikhaeel, MENA; Denise Bouras & Marta Agüero Guerra, Spanish and Portuguese; Julia Oliver Rajan, Spanish and Portuguese.) Northwestern University will host the symposium in 2027. Media and Design Studio Language Learning UpdatesIt has been an exciting quarter for the Media and Design Studio and its support for language classes and projects. First, MADS has attained yet another milestone with the initial completion of Akrobatik, an interactive textbook and language practice platform used by nearly 80 students in second year German. Each of its twelve chapters feature comprehensive grammar instruction, coverage of cultural themes, and varied exercises. Many new features introduced on the Akrobatikplatform are now also being shared with the similarly minded project targeting intermediate French, which will be introduced later this year as "French Forward." Chatbots and AI are also a focus of MADS attention and software development. Work on "JACK", the language practice chatbot, currently used by students of Chinese and Korean, will continue over the summer and include the adding of new role-play capacities, greater customization of conversational dynamics, and modes of voice interaction. MADS hopes to add capacity for linguistic analysis and evaluation of pronunciation accuracy. MADS facilities continue to see robust and varied use, from conversational activities in German using the DiLL language lab software, to recorded video conversations in Zoom, to manifold computer-based assessments. Many language programs have recently found the MADS computer lab useful for conducting benchmarking using the Avant STAMP 4S test. For testing in Arabic and Hebrew, MADS provided specialized computer keyboard overlays to assist students in typing written responses. CourseShare also continues to be an exciting area of MADS support. Professor Ryan Platte has once again chosen MADS as the venue for his Biblical Greek course, shared with students participating remotely from partner BTAA institutions. The room technology includes instructor-facing and student facing cameras, and a supplemental DTEN Zoom Rooms device. When combined with Professor Platte's innovative digital on-screen teaching techniques that make use of the classroom version of Microsoft OneNote has proven to be an effective way of ensuring inclusive participation. The Midwest Association for Language Learning & Technology (MWALLT) 2026 Conference, held virtually in February 2026, was a highly successful regional event dedicated to exploring the integration of technology in language education. MADS played a key role as one of the conference organizers on behalf of Northwestern, helping to bring together a strong program that featured presentations by members of the Northwestern University community (Fernando Castro and Marta Agüero, Spanish and Portuguese.) |
Professional DevelopmentProgramming and Curricular SupportWorkshopsIn winter quarter, the LRC, in collaboration with the Searle Center for Advancing Learning and Teaching, organized two presentations, as part of its Research in Language Instruction Series:
Teaching and Learning Innovation: Hewlett Fund RecipientsWe are delighted to introduce this special section of our newsletter, where we celebrate the winter and spring 2026 Hewlett Fund for Curriculum Innovation recipients and their transformative language learning projects on our campus:
For past and present Hewlett Fund recipients (2023-Present), please visit this webpage.
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Event SupportAfter fall 2025, LRC has continued to support enriching events organized by faculty from various language departments. These activities offered our students a unique opportunity to engage with language and culture beyond the classroom: International Women's Day Poster Exhibition (Outreach Committee, Council on Language Instruction), Illinois Portuguese Language Connection (Portuguese Language Program), ALC Karaoke Night, “Keeping Cozy with LCTLs”, an open house of less commonly taught languages (LCTL Committee, Council on Language Instruction), and "Bunkasai"/ Cultural Festival (Japanese Language Program). If interested in organizing an event in your language program, please visit the Event Sponsorship webpage.
Profs. Ana Williams, Jacob Brown and Mirella Santos with Portuguese language students, including the ones from the renewed Portuguese 101-1 course on an LRC-sponsored trip to the University of Chicago. |
Celebrating faculty excellenceThis section highlights the significant impact of our teaching-track faculty on campus and beyond, featuring their awards and publications from this academic year. Congratulations to all! Awards
Scholarly PublicationsBoyk D. Introduction: Provinciality in Colonial India. In: Provincial Metropolis: Intellectuals and the Hinterland in Colonial India. Cambridge University Press; 2025:1-33. Oliver Rajan, J. (2025). Spanish heritage learners speak out: A Flipgrid-based journey to fluency. Spanish as a Heritage Language, 5(1), 168–184. Quevedo-Webb, C., Hoyos Álvarez, C., & M. J. Barros García (2025). Nuevas vías para fomentar la competencia comunicativa intercultural crítica: la realidad virtual en el aula de español. Porta Linguarum Special Issue XV, pp. 183–197. |
Council on Language InstructionThe CLI launched the academic year in September 2025 with a workshop on gamified language learning led by Prof. Gang Liu (Carnegie Mellon University) and subsequent faculty breakfast meetings highlighting innovative teaching and research faculty projects. Key events in winter quarter included the well-attended International Women’s Day poster exhibit and “Keeping Cozy with LCTLs”, an open house to learn about less commonly taught languages. Additionally, spring quarter brought us the Festival of Languages and Cultures featuring interactive student-focused events, the Chicago Language Symposium (Surviving in a Time of Change: Embracing Challenges as Opportunities), and info sessions on grant writing and publishing literacy. The year also marked the creation of the first Special Interest Group (HIVE) in collaboration with the LRC. The year will conclude with a celebration recognizing faculty achievements, as well as the 2026 CLI Excellence in Language Teaching Award recipient, Rana Raddawi. For more detailed information on the CLI’s 2025-2026 academic activity, please visit CLI Chair’s Report webpage. |
A Fond farewell
With deep gratitude, we bid farewell to our founding Co-Directors, Elena Lanza and Noriko Taira Yasohama, whose vision, dedication, and leadership brought the Language Resource Center to life. Their tireless work has fostered a vibrant, collaborative community and laid a strong foundation for continued growth and innovation. We sincerely thank them for their remarkable contributions and wish them all the best in their next endeavors. |
Lrc summer operating hoursPlease note that the LRC will be closed in the summer months and will resume its activity on September 1, 2026. Find all the information: https://lrc.northwestern.edu/ Follow us on IG: @NU_Language_Resource_Center We wish you a very restful summer break! |
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Moreover, as this academic year concludes the inaugural term of the Co-Directors, we reflect with gratitude on what has been accomplished, while also looking ahead to the LRC’s next chapter under the leadership of its new Director, Ryan C. Platte, Professor of Instruction of Classics and Director of Ancient Greek Program. Noriko Taira Tasohama will serve as Assistant Director, supporting the new Director during the fall and winter quarters of the upcoming academic year. We are delighted to welcome Ryan and look forward to the continued evolution of our shared mission.
