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Correcting non-native speakers may hinder their learning
Psychology Today

Correcting non-native speakers may hinder their learning

In a co-authored Op-Ed, Benjamin Franklin Scholar Sangitha Aiyer writes that well-intentioned grammatical corrections can induce unintended negative effects on non-native English speakers.

James Ker and students are helping Latin live
Interior of a reading room in the Fisher Fine Arts Library.

James Ker and students are helping Latin live

The professor of classical studies researches new approaches to teaching the language that reflects the 21st century.

Susan Ahlborn

What makes the world’s first bar joke funny? No one knows
WBUR Radio (Boston)

What makes the world’s first bar joke funny? No one knows

Phillip Jones of the Penn Museum explains the history behind a Penn Museum collection of Sumerian tablets, including the world’s first documented bar joke.

Joan DeJean on ‘Mutinous Women’
Joan DeJean and the cover of her book Mutinous Women

In her latest book “Mutinous Women,” Joan DeJean of the School of Arts & Sciences investigates the lives of female prisoners deported in 1719 from Paris to the French Colony of Louisiana. DeJean’s research follows their paths and corrects the historical record, documenting that they were victims, unjustly accused and convicted.

(Image: Candace diCarlo)

Joan DeJean on ‘Mutinous Women’

In her latest book, Joan DeJean of the School of Arts & Sciences investigates the lives of female prisoners deported in 1719 from Paris to the French colony of Louisiana.
Talking about Chinese diasporas
Penn history P.hD. candidate Sarah Yu sits at a table with a blackboard behind her, a laptop on the table showing a video of students

History PhD. Sarah Yu (left) taught a class this spring that looked at Chinese migration while helping students hone public speaking skills.

Talking about Chinese diasporas

History Ph.D. candidate Sarah Yu’s class transformed students into tour guides and podcasters as they honed their public speaking skills while learning about Chinese migration.

Kristen de Groot

At Fuyao Glass factory, students put Chinese language skills into practice
Students posing for a photo inside Fuyao America building

Penn students, senior lecturer Mien-hwa Chiang (fourth from left), and director of the Chinese Language Program Ye Tian (first from left) visited Fuyao America in Moraine, Ohio, in February. Fourth from the right: Lillian Wagner; second from left: Sam Gan, third from left: Ryan Morris. (Image: Penn Chinese Language Program)

At Fuyao Glass factory, students put Chinese language skills into practice

At Fuyao Glass America in Moraine, Ohio, the subject of the Oscar-winning 2019 film “American Factory,” students and faculty were led on a tour and dialogued with the Fuyao America CEO.
People imitate accent features they expect to hear, even without hearing them
An illustration of many different-colored heads with many different-colored talking bubbles.

People imitate accent features they expect to hear, even without hearing them

Research from postdoc Lacey Wade confirmed this idea, what she calls expectation-driven convergence, in a controlled experiment for the first time. The work reveals just how much the subconscious factors into the way people speak.

Michele W. Berger

Latin American and Latinx studies becomes a center
A woman in front of a microphone speaks to groups of seated and standing students

Tulia Falleti addresses the crowd at the Center's fall almuerzo, or lunch. 

Latin American and Latinx studies becomes a center

With over 30 years of Latin American and Latinx Studies at Penn, the academic program was established as a center in July.

Kristina García

Art from Mexico
professor and two students looking at colorful artwork on table

Patricia Vargas (left), a Penn Spanish language lecturer, took her class to the Penn Museum to see the yarn paintings by the Huichol people, an indigenous group in Northwest Mexico, and to discuss interpretations in Spanish. Juniors Abhi Bhandari (center) and George Adu-Agyare (right) talk about a work titled “Antes de la inundación,” or “Before the flood.” 

Art from Mexico

During visits to the Penn Museum this semester, nearly 200 students in intermediate Spanish classes had the chance to learn about yarn paintings by the Huichol people, an indigenous group in Northwest Mexico.