Robert W. Train

Assistant Professor of Spanish & Director of the Language and Culture Learning Center

Department of Modern Languages and Literatures
Sonoma State University
Rohnert Park, California 94928
(707) 664-2014
robert.train@sonoma.edu

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EDUCATION

2000 (May). Doctor of Philosophy, University of California, Berkeley

Romance Philology, with Qualifying Examination Fields in Romance Linguistics, Applied Linguistics and Foreign-Language Pedagogy, Sociolinguistics, History of Spanish Language, History of French Language, History of Italian Language, Literatures of Spanish, French, and Italian (origins to 1500), Medieval Occitan Literature.

1998 (June). Single Subject Teaching Credential, California State University, Hayward

Spanish and French

1989 (May). Bachelor of Arts, University of California, Berkeley

French literature

1979-1980. Education Abroad Program, Université de Bordeaux III, Bordeaux, France

Directorship of Language & Culture Learning Center

2002-. Director, Language and Culture Learning Center (formerly, Language Lab),

Sonoma State University.

Supervise the Department of Modern Languages and Literatures’ language lab/multimedia center; develop, evaluate and implement audiovisual, computer-based, and multimedia materials for language learning; assist colleagues in developing and using these materials to enhance second-language teaching; coordinate and train work-study students; consult and network with technology providers at SSU and elsewhere.

TEACHING

2002-. Assistant Professor of Spanish, Sonoma State University

Spanish 101 (Beginning Spanish, 1st semester); Spanish 102 (Beginning Spanish, 2nd sem), Spanish 201 (Intermediate Spanish 1st semester).

1994-2002. Teacher Spanish and French, San Leandro High School, San Leandro, CA

French 1, French 2, French 3, Spanish 1, Spanish 2, Spanish 4, Spanish Advanced Placement Language and Literature.

2001. Instructor, University of California, Berkeley Summer Study in Paris

5-week intensive language, culture and history program in Paris, France.

1994-1997. Instructor, University of California, Berkeley, Summer Sessions

10-week Intensive French Workshop – 3 summer sessions.

1990-1994. Graduate Student Instructor, University of California, Berkeley

French 1, French 2, French 3, French 4 – 9 semesters total.

Scholarship, Research, Creative Achievement and Professional Development

Ph.D. Dissertation

2000. “Getting past the ideology of ‘the language’: the standardization of French and Spanish, and its implications for foreign-language pedagogy.” University of California, Berkeley. Committee: Claire J. Kramsch (chair), Suzanne Fleischman, Richard Kern, Joseph J. Duggan, Jerry R. Craddock.

Articles

2003. “Review Article: Sociolinguistics and language as cultural practice." Journal of Sociolinguistics 7/3: 432-442. Blackwell Publishers.

2003. “The (Non)Native Standard Language in Foreign Language Education: A Critical Perspective.” In The Sociolinguistics of Foreign Language Classrooms: Contributions of the Native, the Near-native and the Non-native Speaker, edited by Carl Blyth. Issues in Language Program Direction 2002 volume of the American Association of University Supervisors and Coordinators of Foreign Language Programs. Boston, MA: Heinle. 3-39.

2002. “Foreign Language standards, standard language and the culture of standardization: some implications for foreign language and heritage language education.”

Book and Manuscript Reviews

(Forthcoming) Invited review of Beyond Boundaries: Language & Identity in Contemporary Europe, edited by Paul Gubbins and Mike Holt, Multilingual Matters, 2002. The Modern Language Journal.

2003 (July) Invited review of Chomsky on Democracy & Education, by Noam Chomsky, New York and London: Routledge/Falmer. 2003. Teachers College Record. Columbia University.

2003 (February). Review of Alternative Histories of English, edited by Richard Watts and Peter Trudgill. London and New York: Routledge. 2002. Journal of Sociolinguistics. Blackwell Publishers.

2002-2003. Reviewer for Language Learning & Technology

Scholarly Presentations

2003. (December). “The Native Speaker, the Native Standard Language, and Other Unbelievable Tales.” Modern Language Association convention, San Diego.

2003. (December). “Technologies and ideologies of foreign language education.” Modern Language Association convention, San Diego.

2003 (June). “Pedagogical principles of language learning technologies: From communicative, to appropriate, to critical”, the International Association for Language Learning Technology (IALLT) Conference held at University of Michigan, Ann Arbor.

2003 (January). Proposal accepted, but I was unable to present due to lack of travel funding, “Beyond Standards: Variability as the Heart of Education”, for Hawaii International Conference on Arts and Humanities.

2002 (March). “Foreign Language standards, standard language and the culture of standardization: some implications for foreign language and heritage language education.” Paper presented at the First UC Language Consortium Conference on Language Learning and Teaching at University of California, Irvine.

2002 (February). “Spanish with an Attitude: Variation, standardization and hyperstandardization in foreign language education.” Public lecture given at the University of Wisconsin-Madison.

Workshops Directed

2002 (January). “Exploring language awareness and language teaching awareness.” Workshop presented at University of California, Davis.

2001 (December). “Basic Internet Skills.” In-service workshop at San Leandro High School.

2001 (December). “Web navigation basics.” In-service workshop at San Leandro High School.

2001 (December). “Using the Web to Gather Teaching Materials.” In-service workshop at San Leandro High School.

Professional Development

2003. (June). Attended University of California Consortium for Language Learning and Teaching (UCCLLT) summer workshop, “Discourse and Culture in Language Study”, at University of California, Berkeley. (4 days).

2003. (June). Attended International Association for Language Learning Technology (IALLT) Conference at University of Michigan, Ann Arbor. (4 days).

2003. (April). Attended Digital Stream Conference, at California State University, Monterey Bay. (2 days).

2003 (February). I attended a faculty training session on OS-X given by Sonoma State University Information Technology (IT).

2003 (February). Attended lecture by Aneta Pavlenko (Temple), “Bilingualism, Emotions and Cognition,” at the Berkeley Language Center, University of California, Berkeley.

2003 (February). Attended lecture by Fred Genesee (McGill), “Portrait of the Bilingual Child,” at the Berkeley Language Center, University of California, Berkeley.

2003. (January). I attended a presentation and demonstration of OpenRCT, a collaborative multimedia tool for language teaching and linguistic research, at the Berkeley Language Center, University of California, Berkeley.

2002. I attended all faculty training sessions given by Sonoma State University Information Technology (IT) for Fall 2002: Introduction to Dreamweaver (3 hrs.); Intermediate Dreamweaver (3 hrs.); Web CT Series (7 hrs.); iMovie—Basics (2 hrs.); iMovie—Advanced (2 hrs.); iDVD—Basics (2 hrs.); Making Accessible Web Pages with Dreamweaver MX (3 hrs.), Powerpoint (1 hr.).

2002 (November). Attended Grant Mentoring Workshop presented by SSU Office of Research and Sponsored Programs.

2002 (November). Attended lecture by Ellen Crocker and Kurt Fendt (MIT), “Participatory Narratives: Community, Identity, and the Teaching of Culture,” at the Berkeley Language Center, University of California, Berkeley.

2002 (October). Attended lecture by Gilberte Furstenberg (MIT), “Redefining the Teaching of Culture: the Pedagogy of Electronic Media,” at Berkeley Language Center, University of California, Berkeley.

2002 (October) Attended a workshop, “Foreign Languages: Teaching with Technology” at the University of California, Davis. (2 days).

2002 (September). Attended lecture by Guadalupe Valdés (Stanford), “Teaching the Commonly Taught Languages as Heritage Languages: Questions and Continuing Dilemmas,” at Berkeley Language Center, University of California, Berkeley.

2002 (June). Attended Day One of the UC Language Consortium Heritage Language Institute held at University of California, Los Angeles.

Grants And Fellowships

1996-1997. Chancellor’s Humanities Fellowship, University of California, Berkeley

1996-1997. Chancellor’s Dissertation-Year Fellowship, University of California, Berkeley (declined)

1995-1996. Graduate Division Fellowship, University of California, Berkeley

1994. Classroom Technologies Grant, University of California, Berkeley (from the Office of Educational Development using video materials in French classes, prepared with Professor Richard Kern).

1989-1990. Therese F. Colin Graduate Fellowship, University of California, Berkeley

Professional Memberships

Modern Language Association of America (MLA)

American Council on the Teaching of Foreign Languages (ACTFL)

Foreign Language Association of Northern California (FLANC)

International Association for Language Learning Technology (IALLT)

Southwest Association for Language Learning Technology (SWALLT)

SERVICE TO THE UNIVERSITY

2003. Member, Academic Senate.

2003 (Spring). Club de Español. Faculty adviser to SSU student club.

2002-present. BCLAD Advisory Committee. In addition to articulating goals for the Bilingual CLAD program at SSU, this committee strives to promote excellence in bilingualism and to provide support to bilingual educators at SSU and the larger community.

2002-present. SSU Department of Modern Languages & Literatures Sub-committee on international center.

2002 (November). Guest presenter for the Learning Moments course (Psychology 324) taught by Michael Pinkston. I gave a 30-minute talk entitled “Situated Learning and Distributed Cognition: A Very Personal Perspective”, with a 15-minute discussion.

2002 (November). I participated in the Bridge the Gap Dinner held at SSU for students, faculty and alumni.

SERVICE TO THE COMMUNITY

2003. Member of the English Learner Advisory Committee (ELAC) at Evergreen Elementary School, Cotati-Rohnert Park Unified School District.

2002 (November). I attended the 3rd Annual Symposium of the North Bay CyberCity Consortium held at Sonoma State University.

2002 (August). I attended the Education and Business Partnership Breakfast in Santa Rosa.

2002, 2001, 2000, 1999 (July). “Les vignes et les vins en France.” Guest lecture given at the University of California, Berkeley for French Summer Workshop.

2002-2000. Latinos Unidos student organization at San Leandro High School, Advising Member.