York College of the City University of New York

Faculty Member, English Department

Other Affiliations: Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute, Language, Literature, and Communication

Thesis Title: “What Feels Good in the Mouth and Sounds Right to the Ear”: An Examination of the Practice of Reading Aloud during Revision.

About

Nearly a decade after joining the Information Technology industry, I decided to resume my goal of pursuing a graduate degree in English Composition.  Seeking a program where I could combine my interests in technology and writing, I went to Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute to obtain an MS/PhD in Communication and Rhetoric.

My overall research interest is to re-purpose existing technology, or examine the benefits of existing technology as it is applied to the art of writing.  In the pursuit of strengthening students’ communication skills, I like to investigate techniques and technologies that may improve the written and oral communication skill of both native English speakers and English as a Second Language (ESL) speakers.  Any technology that can go from improving the quality of text generated to the quality of speech uttered by both groups of students is of keen interest.

For my dissertation research, I focused on the application of a text-to-speech program as a technology that can have an impact on revision.  Text-to-speech programs have primarily been marketed to the community of the visually-impaired, but there is potential in its re-purposing for a wider body of users.  Juxtaposing the technology against the current practice that some writers have of reading aloud their writing during various stages of revision, my dissertation shed some light on both writers’ established reading aloud practice and the possible impact that text-to-speech technology can have when it is interjected into said practice.

My teaching and career interests extend well beyond my dissertation research.  Writing Program Administration, Writing Center Theory, Second Language Writing issues, and various forms of professional communication are some of the other areas that make up those interests.  Spending most of my adult life in NYC, I actually enjoy the cacophony of multiple languages and accents spoken at once.  This in part, along with my own immigrant background, is at the heart of my interest in communication across various cultures and in fostering a more global understanding of the world in which we currently live.  This has impacted the writing courses and workshops I have taught in America and Asia, and other venues I hope to reach in the future.

I am happy to have been selected as one of the newest faculty hires of Fall 2010, in the English Department at York College in New York City.  There I will teach various writing courses, extend my research on technology in writing, and serve a wonderful population of diverse students, faculty, and administration.