Susan E. Ranney
Ph.D., University of Minnesota
Second languages and cultures education
374B Peik Hall
612-626-0319
ranne001@umn.edu
Office hours: by appointment
Preferred method of contact: e-mail
My teaching and research interests include questions regarding what second language learners require in order to become competent speakers of the target language and how teachers can promote language learning through contextualized and engaging classroom practices. From the perspective of sociolinguistics, I am interested in discovering what cultural conventions learners must understand to use speech appropriately in various social settings and how their sociolinguistic performance affects their interaction with other speakers of the language.
I am also interested in promoting contextualized grammar instruction so that teachers link the understanding of grammar with students’ use of language in oral and written discourse. In my pedagogical grammar course, I draw on examples of grammatical structures in texts ranging from picture books for elementary age children to standardized reading tests to content area texts for secondary students.
I currently work collaboratively with a colleague on action research in pre-service teacher education, with a focus on how to deliver language instruction in a content-based approach to language instruction. I strive to be a reflective teacher in my work with pre-service and in-service second language teachers, as well as to encourage them to use reflection in their practice.
Selected publication
Ranney, Susan. (1992). Learning a new script: An exploration of sociolinguistic competence. Applied Linguistics, 13, 25-50.
January 2003
