Teaching Experience

I feel very fortunate to have a job that combines my love of teaching with my love for Russia and Russian culture. I hope to impart my love for Russian culture to my students. As a teacher, I see myself as a coach, whose primary job is to develop my students’ abilities. But I also want to help learners develop compassion, to see other points of view, and to recognize how their own views of the world have been influenced by their own culture.

Research

I am interested in many aspects of second language acquisition, ranging from the development and assessment of proficiency (oral, written, reading, and listening) to the effects of social and psychological factors on language learning, to language learning outside of the classroom.

Selected Publications

Brown, N.A., & Bown, J. (2015). Teaching advanced language skills through debate. Washington, DC: Georgetown University Press.

Brown, N.A., Batyshina, T.M., Talalakina, E.V., Bown, J., & Kurilenko, V.B. (2014). Mastering Russian through global debate. Washington, DC: Georgetown University Press.

Bown, J., Dewey, D.P., & Baker-Smemoe, M. (2020). Foreign language housing: Integration and Immersion. International Association for Language Learning Technology Press.

Isabelli, T., Bown, J., & Plews, J. (2018). State-of-the-art review article. Language learning in study abroad. Language Teaching.

Smemoe, W.B., Bown, J., Dewey, D.P., Martinsen, R.A. (2014). Does measuring fluency equal measuring overall proficiency? Foreign Language Annals 47(4): 707-728. DOI: 10.1111/flan.12110

Smemoe, W.B., Dewey, D.P., Bown, J., Martinsen, R.A. (2014). Variables affecting L2 gains during study abroad. Foreign Language Annals 47(3): 464-486. DOI: 10.1111/flan.12098

Dewey, D.P., Bown, J., Baker, W., & Martinsen, R., Gold, C., & Eggett, D. (2014). Language use in six study abroad programs: Exploratory analysis of possible predictors. Language Learning 64(1): 36-71. DOI: 10.1111/lang.12031

Service

I have had opportunities to serve on the Faculty Advisory Council, on the General Education Design Committee, in the Humanities Center, and as the Graduate Coordinator of the Second Language Teaching program here at BYU, as well as to serve the broader scholarly community.

Working with colleagues is one of my greatest joys at BYU. It’s motivating to work with people who are dedicated to the university, to their students, and to their faith.

Citizenship assignments

Editor in Chief, Russian Language Journal

Member, Editorial Board,Study Abroad Research in Second Language Acquisition and International Education

Fellow, BYU Humanities Center

Graduate Coordinator, Second Language Teaching

Member, Steering Committee, General Education Design Committee

Chair, American Council of Teachers of Russian National Post-Secondary Russian Essay Contest

Member, Faculty Advisory Committee, BYU