
Jeff R. WatsonUnited States Military Academy West Point | USMA West Point · Department of Foreign Languages
Jeff R. Watson
PhD in Russian and Second Language Acquisition
About
11
Publications
2,345
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Citations
Introduction
Dr. Watson is Chair of Linguistics and Language Acquisition in the Center for Languages, Cultures, and Regional Studies at West Point. He specializes in applied linguistic and second language acquisition research.
Additional affiliations
June 2004 - August 2007
NASA, Johnson Space Center
Position
- Russian Language Instructor
Description
- Taught Russian language and culture to NASA scientists and astronauts in support of expeditions to the International Space Station.
Education
August 2000 - December 2007
August 1998 - December 1999
August 1996 - August 1998
Publications
Publications (11)
Although defining the interrelationship between language and culture during a study abroad (SA) experience is extraordinarily difficult (Kasper & Omori, 2007), most researchers agree that it is this elusive link that makes SA so rewarding. The highly contextualized learning environment and access to native speech and authentic sociocultural behavio...
As a critical part of the internationalization movement in college curricula, study abroad initiatives are becoming more and more popular and the need to assess their outcomes more and more evident. While numerous studies have investigated the language gain associated with study abroad, researchers are also beginning to look at potential gains in t...
Reflection and assessment are two key issues facing intercultural competence educators and administrators alike. A digital story provides a qualitative data point to triangulate against the quantitative measures like the Intercultural Development Inventory. This triangulation is done in an effort to provide a more robust assessment of cross-cultura...
The variables affecting language proficiency gains during study abroad (SA) are virtually “infinite” (Wang, 2010, p. 57). To investigate this myriad of variables, several studies have focused on study abroad program variables such as amount of language study prior to SA and length of immersion (Brecht et al., 1995; Davidson, 2010), while others hav...
One of the critiques voiced when Arabic programs consider moving from a fuSHa-based curriculum to one that includes teaching spoken forms of the language in the classroom is that students in the new program will suffer degradation in their abilities to read and write formal Arabic. Given limited classroom time and student resources available to out...
This study explores the collaborative, scaffolded learning that takes place via computer-mediated communication between language learners at-home (AH) and those studying abroad (SA) among students of Spanish at the United States Military Academy. Consistent with studies examining social media’s effectiveness as a collaborative second language/cultu...
Teaching culture in beginning L2 classrooms is often difficult given the time constraints of an intensive curriculum and the limited abilities of students. This paper explores using target language music videos with bilingual subtitles to raise awareness of contemporary Russian culture in beginning-level Russian. In addition to discussing how cultu...
Language and culture are inextricably linked in study abroad (SA) but what is their interrelationship? This study investigates the relationship between the “product” of SA (language proficiency, intercultural competence) as well as the “process” (during-immersion socialization aspects). Findings & analysis from a longitudinal SA program are present...
Due to the "irregular" challenges of the War on Terrorism and involvement in peacekeeping, nation building, and humanitarian aid around the world, each branch of the U.S. military has created special centers to promote the study and advancement of intercultural effectiveness. Each center has developed key concepts and ideas for teaching intercultur...
В США, социолингвистов и других ученых, связанных с преподаванием языков, стали интересовать мысли Выготского о роли языка в обществе и в развитии человека. В связи с этим появилось новое направление в области освоения второго языка (ОВЯ), которое посвящено изучению, интерпретации, расширению и применению культурно-исторической теории Выготского в...
Questions
Question (1)
I am comparing scores on a language proficiency exam (ordinal scale) in Modern Standard Arabic (MSA) before and after a major curricular change. The curricular change involves integrating the study of the Levantine dialect of Arabic into a previously MSA-only curriculum. I am using Wilcoxon and Mann-Whitney to compare scores before and after the change. My research question is whether or not the curricular change affected student performance on the language proficiency exam. I will also compare the proficiency gains from Beginning to Intermediate Arabic courses on the same exam before and after the change. Any suggestions on what other analyses I might run to investigate this further?
Projects
Project (1)