Asantha has a doctoral degree in Teaching English as a Second Language (TESL) from Jawaharlal Nehru University (JNU), New Delhi, India. She was a Fulbright Advanced Research Scholar at Penn State University. She is also a HKSEE alumna at Harvard University. She has a bachelor of arts degree from the University of Peradeniya, Sri Lanka, bachelor of education degree from the National Institute of Education, Sri Lanka and a master of arts degree (in Linguistics) from Kelaniya University, Sri Lanka. She has about fifteen years of experience in teaching ESL mainly in Sri Lanka and in India as well. She is also experienced in curriculum design for undergraduate ESL and TESL programs.

She is an award-winning translator and a creative writer. She has three novel translations (from English into Sinhala, her mother tongue) and a collection of poetry to her credit. Currently, she is compiling her memoirs, Living in Sri Lanka with a White Husband.

Selected Publications

Books:

Attanayake, A.U. (2019). Post-colonial Curriculum Practices in South Asia: Building Confidence to Speak English. Routledge Publishers, UK. https://www.routledge.com/Post-colonial-Curriculum-Practices-in-South-Asia-Building-Confidence-to/Attanayake/p/book/9780815355526

Attanayake, A, U. (2017). Undergraduate ELT in Sri Lanka: Policy, Practice and Perspectives for South Asia. Cambridge Scholars Publishing, UK. https://books.google.com/books/about/Undergraduate_ELT_in_Sri_Lanka.html?id=m7CADwAAQBAJ

Journal articles and book chapters:

Attanayake, A, U. (2024). (Forthcoming) “Ground-level Realities in Learning in the Medium of English: The Sri Lankan Experience”. Equity, Social Justice and EMI in South Asia. Springer, UK.

Attanayake, A, U. (2022). “Confidence to Speak English: A Necessary Ingredient for Students in Post-colonial South Asia”.     The English Classroom, A Peer- Reviewed Bi-annual Journal Vol 24(2), Regional Institute of English, South India Jnanabharati Campus, Bengaluru, India.  1-16.

Attanayake, A, U. (2021). “Language Attitude Anxiety and Lack of Confidence to Speak English”. ELT Research; The Newsletter of the IATEFL Research Special Interest Group. Issue 36 (February 2021). IATEFL. UK. 64-74.

Attanayake, A, U. (2020). “Construction, Consumption, and Representation of White Supremacy in Sri Lankan Advertisements: Living White While Being Non-White.” Media Culture in Trans/national Asia: Convergences and Divergences, edited by Hyesu Park, Rutgers University Press USA.

Attanayake, A, U. & Barborich, A, L. (2019). “Ethics, East and West: The importance of English language and cross-cultural philosophical dialogue.” Panini: NSU Studies in Language and Literature, Vol. 8, North South University, Dhaka, Bangladesh: 111-148.

Attanayake, A, U. (2017). “English Cultural Imperialism and Confused Nations.” Indian Cultural Heritage: Past, Present & Future. Utkal University, India. 9 – 17.

Attanayake, A, U. (2016). “Confidence Building is Central to the English Language Teaching in Sri Lanka.” In Mishra, P. Mishra, B. & Patil, K. (eds.) Vital Issues in English Language Teaching: Papers in Honour of Professor Z. N. Patil. Yking Books, India. 78 – 89.

Attanayake, A, U. (2012). “Towards English for Academic Purposes.” In Walisundara, D & Jayasinghe, C. (eds.) in Two Hundred Years of English Language Use in Sri Lanka: Trajectories of Language. Literature and Pedagogy. Sri Lanka, SLELTA. 85 – 92.

Chelsea is an adjunct lecturer for both the IECP and the ESL/EAP program in Applied Linguistics. She graduated from Penn State in 2017 with a master’s degree in TESL, where she focused on language policy in Morocco. Her experience includes seven years of working in student-support roles at Penn State in the Office of Global Programs and Smeal College of Business, as well as three years teaching English in Meknes, Morocco. She is very passionate about languages, and knows French and Moroccan Arabic. She has only recently begun teaching again and is thrilled to be back in the classroom, where she hopes to grow both professionally and personally.

Publications:

Makoni, S. & Abdelhay, A. (2020). Contributed chapter entitled “Berber Language Policy in Morocco” in Language Ideologies, ethnicities, and semiotic spaces of power. Cambridge Scholars Publishing, Newcastle upon-Twine.

Jill spent most of her career in a high school classroom. After teaching many international students she received her master’s degree in ESL from Wilkes University and was able to run the ESL program at the school. She is very excited to join IECP and use her years of experience in a new way!

Diana attended Penn State Altoona as an undergraduate student where she received bachelor’s degrees in criminal justice and English. Then, Diana attended the Indiana University of Pennsylvania (IUP) and completed a master’s degree in English composition and literature. Currently, she is working on her dissertation about twentieth and twenty-first-century African American literature as she works to complete her doctorate. In her free time, Diana loves playing and coaching soccer.

Ahmad has a master’s degree in Teaching English as a Foreign Language (TEFL). He is a doctoral candidate in Curriculum and Instruction (Language, Culture, and Society) at Penn State College of Education. Ahmad has been teaching English to EFL learners since 2013. His Ph.D. research focuses on the use of L1 in Foreign language teaching and learning, especially in teacher education. His research interests also include language teacher education, sociocultural theory, language assessment, and teacher professional development.

Nikki Mattson has been a faculty member at the Intensive English Communications Program (IECP) at The Pennsylvania State University (PSU) since 2009. She currently serves as the Coordinator of Strategic Initiatives for the IECP in addition to being a Teaching Professor in the Department of Applied Linguistics. She holds her M.A. in Linguistics and a Certificate of Graduate Study in TESOL from the University of South Carolina. She also holds a DELF (diplôme d’études en langue française) from Université Marc Bloch, Strasbourg, France. Nikki is dedicated to supporting campus internationalization efforts as well as global engagement in the classroom, on campus, and beyond. Nikki is a co-founder and advisor for the PSU Living-Learning Community, the Global Engagement Community. She also serves as a Global Learning Coordinator (GLC) for PSU’s Experiential Digital Global Engagement (EDGE) Program. Her research interests include intensive English program oral placement test validation, evaluating computer-assisted language learning (CALL) usage in second language (L2) classrooms, and internationalization in higher education.

Selected recent scholarship:

Mattson, N. & Gianico, J. (2024). Behold-Remold: Navigating and Innovating Liminal Spaces as an IEP Practitioner-Administrator-Scholar (PAS). In J. Litzenberg (Ed.), Innovation in University-Based Intensive English Programs: From Start to Future (pp. 116-131). Bristol, Blue Ridge Summit: Multilingual Matters. https://doi.org/10.21832/9781800414457-009

Mattson, N., McGeary, B., Riehman-Murphy, C., Litzenberg, J., Benton-Monahan, C., Liu, T….Luo, Y. (2023, May). Sustainable Development in an Intensive English Program (IEP): A Programmatic and Curricular Transformation Supported by OER. Panel Presentation at Affordable Learning Pennsylvania (APLA) Summit, State College, PA. 

Cruz, L., MacQuarrie, T.L., and Mattson, N. (2022, October). The EDGE Umbrella: Fostering Convergent Research on Global Exchanges. Presentation at AAC&U Global Learning Conference: Transforming Global Learning Practice: Time for Action. Virtual. 

MacQuarrie, T.L., Mattson, N. and Likholetov, V. (2021, December). EDGE collaborations: Moscow State University and Penn State University. Presentation for Moscow State University faculty meeting. Virtual, Invited. 

MacQuarrie, T.L., & Mattson, N. (2021, November). Virtual exchange: Bridging student cultures and promoting peer-based learning. Presentation for the U.S.-Russia University Virtual Partner Program, American Councils on Education. Virtual, Invited. 

MacQuarrie, T. L., Mattson, N., and Doran, M., (August 23, 25, 30, and September 3, 2021). Virtual exchanges: Bridging student cultures and promoting peer connection. Workshop series for American Council on International Education. Virtual, Invited. 

Mattson, M., and Mattson, N. (2021, June). Working toward campus internationalization through inter-departmental collaboration. Poster presentation at NAFSA 2021 Annual Conference and Exposition. Virtual.

Cherkassov, D., Mattson, N., and Childs, S. (2020, September). The mentoring process: Enriching professional growth for English language teachers and teacher educators. Presentation at the 9th ICBCB: Global Trends and Values in Education, Virtual Conference, Kaskelen, Kazakhstan.

John Romero-Mora is a Ph.D. student in applied linguistics at Penn State. He obtained his bachelor of arts degree in modern languages at Universidad Javeriana in Colombia, and his first master of arts degree in teaching English in autonomous learning environments at Universidad de la Sabana. He also holds an master of arts degree in TESOL from West Virginia University with a certificate in linguistics. He has many years of experience as a language instructor which made him fond of different topics related to language and language learning including corpus linguistics, identity, and language assessment. However, his main research interest is autonomous language learning, discourse analysis and the use of technology for the development of better educational practices in the language classroom. His current research investigates the relationship between decision-making and language learning.

Vincent has a bachelor’s degree in Mandarin from Penn State University Park and a master’s degree in Applied Linguistics from Dalian University of Technology, where he conducted research in the field of comparative linguistics. He has taught ESL in Beijing, Dalian, and Harrisburg, and has nine years of experience teaching students at the high school, university, and adult level. Vincent relies on his international education to inform his teaching methods and he enjoys learning from students of diverse backgrounds.

Elanur Sönmez is a second-year Ph.D. student in Applied Linguistics at Penn State. She earned her master of arts degree in foreign language education from Boğaziçi University, Turkey, in 2021, where she also completed her bachelor of arts degree in 2018. Elanur has several years of experience teaching general, vocational, and academic English to university students in multicultural and multilingual classrooms. Her research interests include the intersection of multilingualism, migration, and identity, with a particular focus on how identity and agency are constructed in multilingual interactions. She is also interested in the identity construction of minoritized groups and how this is expressed through their speech.