LaPEL - Language Placement for Equitable Learning

• Funded by an IRS grant from the Department of Education
• In collaboration with Associate Prof. Alberta Gatti, and Dr. Syelle Graves, from ILETC, CUNY-Graduate Center
• The three-year LaPEL project is a pioneering initiative to improve and strengthen instruction in modern heritage languages by investigating sustainable, proficiency-based placement methods for college-level heritage language learners, a historically underserved population. This project will investigate (1) the use of vocabulary knowledge as a proxy for proficiency level, and (2) the use of AI to assign a proficiency rating to a writing sample. Both investigations aim to lower the high cost of proficiency assessments, to help programs with limited financial resources place learners accurately, and, in this way, improve the rate of language development in the classroom. For this project, ILETC’s Director and Assistant Director, Dr. Alberta Gatti and Dr. Syelle Graves, are joined by Dr. Cristina Lozano Argüelles.

Heritage Interpreting - CILC

• Part of CILC, a national language resource center funded by the Department of Education
• In collaboration with Aída Martínez-Gómez, Associate Prof. at John Jay College
• The field of translation and interpreting is experiencing significant growth, with a projected 20% increase in job opportunities between 2021 and 2031. While college language departments are responding to this trend by introducing translation and interpreting programs, these programs typically overlook both the distinct needs of heritage speakers and their valuable experience as translators and interpreters for their families and communities. The Heritage Interpreting research project aims to develop an interpreting curriculum that capitalizes on the strengths of heritage learners and better serves their needs.

Translation Students in the US

• Funded by a PSC-CUNY Award
• Bilingual experiences encompass a wide spectrum of possible combinations. Current translation competence models are based on homogenous bilingual groups (late elective bilinguals), hindering the applicability of these models to diverse populations. This study investigates the bilingual profiles in a translation and interpretation program at an urban public university in the US.
• Findings highlight the need to adapt current models to diverse populations of students and to conduct research on the role of bilingual experience on translation and interpreting performance.