Linguistics Program Faculty
Core Faculty
María José Cabrera
Languages and Cultures
Professor Cabrera came to WCU in 2007. Her area of concentration is on the linguistics of Spanish. She focuses on Spanish-English bilingualism, second-language acquisition and pedagogy, and sociolinguistics. At West Chester, she has taught and developed courses in Spanish linguistics, Spanish phonetics, Spanish for heritage speakers, second-language proficiency development, and Spanish as a second language. Professor Cabrera is also the coordinator of lower-level Spanish. You can contact Professor Cabrera at MCabrera@wcupa.edu.
Eirini Panagiotidou
English
Professor Panagiotidou came to WCU in 2013. She specializes in cognitive approaches to intertexuality and literature, and her fields of interest encompass cognitive poetics, ekphrasis, iconicity, literary linguistics, pragmatics, and sociolinguistics. She has recently published her work in Language and Literature and the Journal of Literary Semantics and has presented at a variety of academic venues. At West Chester, her teaching concentrates on introductory linguistics, sociolinguistics, grammar, cognitive poetics and stylistics as well as English composition courses. You can contact Professor Panagiotidou at MPanagioti@wcupa.edu.
Joshua Raclaw
English
Dr. Joshua Raclaw is an Associate Professor in the Department of English and affiliated faculty in the Program in Linguistics. Their research is situated broadly in sociocultural linguistics, incorporating the theories and methods of linguistic anthropology, conversation analysis, and discourse analysis. Most recently, this work focuses on issues of queer and trans language use in English and Yiddish linguistic communities. Their teaching primarily examines different topics in English linguistics, especially those intersecting with the study of language, society, and culture.
Israel Sanz-Sánchez
Languages and Cultures
Israel Sanz-Sánchez is Professor of Spanish and Linguistics at West Chester University. He teaches undergraduate and graduate courses for the Spanish and the Linguistics Programs. As a historical sociolinguist, his research focuses on the history of dialect and language contact in the Americas, and the history of Spanish in the US. His research has appeared in several edited volumes and in journals such as Diachronica, Hispania, Spanish in Context and Transactions of the Philological Society. He has published Spanish as a Contact Language: An Ecological History (Edinburgh University Press, 2025). He is also a co-editor of the Journal of Historical Sociolinguistics.
Affiliated Faculty
Mahmoud Amer
Languages and Cultures
Dr. Mahmoud Amer is Professor of Arabic and TESOL and former Chair of the Department of Languages and Cultures at West Chester University. An Adobe Certified Expert and CompTIA CTT+ trainer, he leverages technology in the field of language learning and teaching. His scholarship has appeared in peer-reviewed journals, including CALICO, FLTMAG, and SLRP. He has authored award-winning software programs and has led workshops on engaging, communicative pedagogy at national and international venues. His current research explores how game-based learning supports L2 learning. His most recent project is https://gamehut.org, an innovative game-based platform that enables teachers to promote speaking in the L2 classroom.
Cristóbal Cardemil-Krause
Languages and Cultures
Jelena Colovic-Markovic
Languages and Cultures
Jelena Colovic-Markovic, a professor in the graduate TESOL program, teaches courses in TESOL and applied linguistics. She specializes in second language (L2) vocabulary acquisition, L2 teacher education, and applied corpus linguistics. She serves as an external reviewer for several journals in the field of L2 teaching and Doctoral Dissertation Grant proposals for The International Research Foundation for English Language Education (TIRF). She has published and presented at the state, national, and international levels and is currently conducting research on ESL teachers' practices of vocabulary instruction, ESL teacher identity construction in autobiography statements, and value of service-learning in TESOL teacher education.
David Cooper
Computer Science
Stephen DiDomenico
Communication and Media
Stephen M. DiDomenico (he/they) is an interdisciplinary scholar of language and social interaction and holds a Ph.D. from Rutgers University. Broadly, his research examines the situated communication practices people use in a variety of ordinary and professional settings. Their ongoing streams of research include mental health help seeking and support services, technology use and embodiment in face-to-face conversation, and genres of oral narrative in LGBTQ communities. Dr. DiDomenico's teaching interests span a wide range of areas (across Linguistics and Communication Studies). The courses he typically teaches that are open to Linguistics Majors/Minors include LIN 333 (Conversation Analysis), COM 375 (Discourse & Everyday Talk), and COM 307 (Nonverbal Communication).
Elizabeth Grillo
Communication Sciences and Disorders
Tim Huang
Communication Sciences and Disorders
Timothy Huang earned his doctoral degree in Speech-Language-Hearing Sciences at the University of Minnesota and joined West Chester University in 2020. He is a licensed Speech-Language Pathologist who has worked at a wide array of school settings. His research focuses on child language, social communication, and autism. His long-term research goal is to help this population thrive in social settings. Dr. Huang is a journalist by training, a foodie by curiosity, a science enthusiast by fascination, and a theater nerd by inclination. Some of his favorite musicals include Les Miz, Wicked, Dear Evan Hansen, and Hamilton.
Sojung Kim
Communication Sciences and Disorders
Sojung Kim is a professor and chairperson in the Department of Communication Sciences and Disorders. She earned her Ph.D. in Speech, Language, and Hearing Science from Arizona State University. Before entering academia, she worked as a bilingual speech-language pathologist for the New York City Department of Health and Mental Hygiene, and later as a statistician and clinical supervisor at Arizona State University. Her research and clinical expertise include Augmentative and Alternative Communication, quantitative analysis, early intervention, and the Scholarship of Teaching and Learning. Her work has been disseminated through peer-reviewed publications and presentations at local, state, and national conferences.
Joseph Moser
Languages and Cultures
Meg Niiler
Languages and Cultures
Meg Niiler has an MA in Spanish Literature and a PhD in Applied Linguistics. She has a diverse academic background, including focuses in psychology and anthropology. Meg has a passion for teaching, reading, and life. Her research interests include; second language acquisition, intercultural communication, teacher cognition & beliefs, linguistic landscapes. Some courses she has taught in linguistics or related to linguistics: LAN 100 Language and the Human Experience, HON 322 Developing Leadership with ELLs in the Classroom & Community, MDC 250 Intercultural Communication.
Innhwa Park
Languages and Cultures
Innhwa Park (PhD, Applied Linguistics, UCLA) is Professor of TESOL in the Department of Languages and Cultures at West Chester University. She regularly teaches a wide range of undergraduate and graduate courses such as Teaching English Language Learners PK-12, Conversation Analysis, and Teaching Reading/Writing to Second Language Learners. She uses Conversation Analysis to examine language and social interaction, together with its applications in the fields of applied linguistics and education. Her research interests include educational discourse, meeting interaction, and online communication. She has recently published her research in Discourse Studies, Journal of Pragmatics, and Linguistics and Education.
Roxane Petit-Rasselle
Languages and Cultures
Dr. Petit-Rasselle is an Associate Professor and the Coordinator of the French Program at West Chester University where she teaches French language, literature, and civilization courses. She specializes in 19th-century French literature with a focus on Alexandre Dumas père.
Esther Smidt
Languages and Cultures
Professor Smidt came to WCU in 2011, and is one of the faculty members in the graduate TESOL Program. She specializes in second language acquisition and pedagogy, computer-assisted language learning (CALL), distance education, and immigrant identity. She has published in a variety of academic journals. At West Chester, her teaching is in the areas of TESOL, bilingualism, curriculum development and pedagogy. You can contact Professor Smidt at CSmidt@wcupa.edu.
Patricia Swasey Washington
Communication Studies and Disorders
Professor Patricia Swasey Washington came to WCU in 2009. She has extensive experience as a speech-language pathologist, providing services to monolingual and bilingual individuals in a variety of settings (including school and healthcare). Prior to joining the faculty of the Communication Sciences and Disorders Department of West Chester University, Professor Swasey Washington served as interim director of clinical education and clinical services as well as speech-language supervisor for the Temple University Speech-Language-Hearing Center. Her research focuses on the development of language in Spanish-speaking English Language Learners. You can contact Professor Swasey Washington at PSwaseyWashington@wcupa.edu.
Dominik Wolff
Languages and Cultures
Dr. Dominik Wolff is an Associate Professor of TESOL and the acting Director of the TESOL Graduate programs in the Department of Language and Cultures at WCU. With a background in both Theoretical and Applied Linguistics, his research focuses on the role of learner agency in second language acquisition and how to improve language teacher preparation. Since his arrival at WCU in 2015, he has taught a variety of classes at both the undergraduate and graduate levels, including but not limited to, Introduction to Linguistics, Structure of Modern English, Second Language Acquisition, and Second Language Research Methods.
Larry Udell
Philosophy
Larry Udell is a philosopher with broad interests but his areas of specialization are political philosophy / political economy and philosophy of science with special emphasis of the philosophies of John Rawls (political) and Karl Popper (philosophy of science). His World Philosophies course focuses on the history of Western philosophy from the ancient Greeks until today.
Retired and Emeritae/i Faculty
Dennis Godfrey (late)
English
Dr. Dennis Godfrey came to WCU in 1987. For many years, he directed WCU’s Linguistics Program, and taught courses in the linguistics of English and language acquisition, among other topics. A profile of Dr. Godfrey was published on The Quad (Oct. 3, 2006)
Garrett G. Molholt
English
Professor Molholt came to WCU in 1987. As a phonologist, he specializes in speech processing and the applications of computer-assisted language learning (CALL) techniques to the development of fluency in non-native speakers of English. He has published a variety of single- and co-authored studies on this area. He is also the author of the monograph Accent Reduction Via Acoustic Analysis: ESL Applications of the Visi-Pitch II 3300 (Lincoln Park: Kay Elemetrics Corporation, 1998). He also has an extensive background in several languages of India, including Sanskrit, Urdu, Hindi, Tamil and Bengali. At West Chester, his teaching covered a variety of areas of linguistics, including general linguistics, the structure of the English language, sociolinguistics and phonetics. You can contact Professor Molholt at GMolholt@wcupa.edu.
Frederick R. Patton
Languages and Cultures
Professor Patton came to WCU in 1981. As a member of the Russian faculty at WCU, he taught a variety of courses in Russian language and culture, as well as courses in the Linguistics minor, including "Intro to Linguistics" and "Language Communities in the United States and Canada." You can contact Professor Patton at FPatton@wcupa.edu.
Andrea Varricchio
Languages and Cultures
Professor Varricchio came to WCU in 1986 with a concentration in Spanish linguistics and the application of linguistic theory to discourse analysis. She specializes in a variety of teaching methodologies in second-language acquisition and student-oriented teaching, including service-learning, internships, and study abroad programs. Professor Varricchio has published and presented papers on the applications of service learning and technology with the implementation of the ACTFL standards (i.e., the ‘5 C’s’) in the second-language classroom. At WCU, Professor Varricchio taught and developed courses in Business Spanish, Spanish for the Professionals, and a broad range of undergraduate and graduate courses in Spanish language and culture. You can contact Professor Varricchio at AVarricchio@wcupa.eduAVarricchio@wcupa.edu.