Dr. JoAnn (Jodi) Crandall
Credit: www.umbc.edu | ©University of Maryland, Baltimore County
Dr. Jodi Crandall is an academic pioneer in the fields of sociolinguistics and teaching English to speakers of other languages (TESOL). While this may not sound like very exciting credentials to most people, she has played a major role in developing material for English instruction to be used throughout the world, thus bringing English closer to becoming a world language. As a result, non-native English speakers are now frequently seen and accepted among the American public, for example, and native English speakers are more likely to be accepted as visitors and residents in non-English countries. Today, the results of her work impacts non-native English (ESL) speakers domestically and abroad, and she has helped to develop a worldwide appreciation for the connections between languages and the cultures they represent.
On February 21, 2009, I had the opportunity to interview during the reception dinner after one of her many conference lectures. Throughout our conversation, it became apparent that she was no stiff-necked academic: Dr. Crandall was as diverse and as accommodating as the English language itself. Though the whole dinner conversation drifted to innumerably different topics, as dinner talks tend to do, during the interview I had the opportunity to ask her a few focused questions. The answers Dr. Crandall gave me remained true to form: from four questions I received a great deal of information about national policy over the past 30 years, insights into the development of the nation's leading linguistics research facility, observations on cultural stereotyping, information on travel in the Polynesian Islands, and a healthy dose of personal opinion and inspiration.
It's a pleasure having you coming here. You've had such a passion for TESOL, and we were wondering what drew you that as opposed to linguistics or literature?
On February 21, 2009, I had the opportunity to interview during the reception dinner after one of her many conference lectures. Throughout our conversation, it became apparent that she was no stiff-necked academic: Dr. Crandall was as diverse and as accommodating as the English language itself. Though the whole dinner conversation drifted to innumerably different topics, as dinner talks tend to do, during the interview I had the opportunity to ask her a few focused questions. The answers Dr. Crandall gave me remained true to form: from four questions I received a great deal of information about national policy over the past 30 years, insights into the development of the nation's leading linguistics research facility, observations on cultural stereotyping, information on travel in the Polynesian Islands, and a healthy dose of personal opinion and inspiration.
It's a pleasure having you coming here. You've had such a passion for TESOL, and we were wondering what drew you that as opposed to linguistics or literature?
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