Samantha Creel, M.A.

Language Researcher & Educator

University of Florida

As a language teacher and Arabic study abroad alumna who has worked in international education in the U.S. and the Middle East, I know that the most transformative learning happens when we collaborate with those from backgrounds different from our own. Language skills are critical in helping us do that.

I'm working to improve language education as a doctoral researcher in the acquisition of both English and Arabic as a second/foreign language. I am interested in how large-scale databases of the Arabic language, known as corpora, can support hands-on, authentic learning in the classroom. My goal is to find meaningful language patterns in large natural language data sets and apply findings to address challenges in language acquisition, helping modern Arabic and English learners to become truly competent users of the language.

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Research

Projects, Publications, & Conferences

Current Research

Doctoral Dissertation

My doctoral dissertation project seeks to provide a usage-based account of verb-particle constructions in Modern Standard Arabic through analysis of a multimillion-word, multi-genre Arabic corpus. I also examine these structures in a bilingual L1 Arabic L2 English learner corpus to investigate their use and acquisition in both languages, and draw comparisons that can influence both L2 English and L2 Arabic instruction. These findings may be supplemented with experimental data on VPC use by L1 English L2 Arabic learners collected in the U.S. and/or abroad in the coming year.

Journal Articles

Vásquez, C., & Creel, S. (2017). Conviviality through creativity: Appealing to the reblog in Tumblr Chat posts. Discourse, Context & Media, 20 (4), 59-69.

Conferences

Posters:

Creel, S. (2019). Women in the Yazidi genocide: A critical discourse analysis of Al Jazeera news coverage. Poster presented at the University of Florida Graduate Research Day, April 2nd, Gainesville, FL.

Papers:

Huensch, A., Tracy-Ventura, N., Chlapowski, T., Creel, S., Giovanni, J. (2017).Frequency and distribution of self-corrections in a spoken longitudinal learner corpus. Paper presented at the 4th Learner Corpus Research Conference. Bolzano, Italy.

Creel, S. (2017). Linguistic Creativity: An analysis of discursive strategies in Tumblr Chat Posts. Paper presented at the Second Annual Purdue Languages and Cultures Conference, March 3-5th, West Lafayette, Indiana.

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Experience in Education

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TSL3360 Instructor, University of Florida

Instructor for linguistics course Introduction to Teaching English as a Second Language. Lesson and materials design, management of grading and feedback, and coordination of extracurricular enrichment activities for approx. 30 undergraduate students.

LIN4721 Instructor, University of Florida

Instructor for linguistics course Second Language Acquisition. Implemented asynchronous learning modules through Canvas platform, including comprehensive virtual lectures, interactive assignments, and feedback.

ESL Instructor, University of Florida English Language Institute

Implemented lessons and materials to accomplish institute-wide course goals for English intermediate-level listening/speaking, grammar, and advanced academic reading and essay writing for approx. 15 international students per semester from Mexico, Colombia, Venezuela, S. Korea, Taiwan, Japan, Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, and Brazil.

English Teaching Assistant to Bahrain, Fulbright U.S. Student Program

One of three students nationally chosen to teach English in Bahrain. Assisted approx. 100 students from Bahrain, Kuwait, Saudi Arabia, and Oman in English department at Arabian Gulf University in listening/speaking, reading/writing, grammar, and IELTS exam preparation. Designed and led IELTS task-specific workshops and handwriting workshop.