Name: Pristina Koon
Project(s): LRC history timeline, LCTL enrollment
Bio: Pristina (BA’24) was a joint linguistics and Southeast Asian studies major in LSA. She began working at the LRC after her freshman year and considers it one of the highlights of her time at Michigan. She is currently pursuing her PhD in linguistics at the University of Pennsylvania.
My projects included working on an timeline of the history of the Language Resource Center and helping to study and promote LCTL (less commonly taught languages) enrollment. Both projects allowed me to focus on my larger interests in increasing language diversity in foreign language curriculum offerings. The timeline showcases the integral role LCTLs have played in the University of Michigan’s institutional history, and the enrollment project highlights the current offerings. Combined, they can help to increase accessibility to LCTL opportunities and, in a time when foreign language funding is threatened, illustrate the very tangible impacts language learning experiences can have on students’ lives.
For the LCTL enrollment project, my primary duties were to assist in compiling language-specific info tables for our new website page listing all current language opportunities. These tables included information like levels offered, course samplings, and study abroad opportunities. I also studied how different language programs interact with one another and how foreign language courses fit into the overarching LSA requirements. For instance, which languages let the first two years of instruction count towards a major or minor? Which majors and minors allow students to use credits from more than one language program? Most important to accessibility, though, we compiled a list of scholarship opportunities that would not only aid in covering the cost of taking language courses but would also significantly offset the costs of study abroad.
I am excited to see what the next CDA does to continue these projects, and I look forward to continuing to work on language diversity in educational institutions!