Three students receive Graduate Student Research Grants

Recently, three graduate students in the Department of English received Graduate Student Research Grants. Seemi Choudry, Sebnem Kurt, and Erika Latham will use the funds to pursue their research on topics ranging from life in Venezuela to virtual reality to developing a test for English language learners.

Following is a closer look at the how the students will use the funding to further develop their research.

Seemi Choudry

Seemi Choudry (MFA, creative writing and the environment) is gathering personal histories of retired Venezuelan engineers to deconstruct the myths around life in Venezuela and what led up to the economic collapse that began in 2010. Choudry uses translated interviews, historical context, and multimedia storytelling to challenge narrow media narratives about Venezuelans, highlighting the resilience of those who remain, holding on to hope for a better future.

This is a personal project for Choudry. “It’s my native country. What led my father to migrate to this country to start his family?” she said.

The grant enables Choudry to talk with the engineers and other professionals, and translating their stories to a broader audience. Ultimately, Choudry will turn the research into a multimedia project and will include some of the findings in her full-length book.

Sebnem Kurt

Sebnem Kurt’s (Ph.D., applied linguistics and technology) study focuses on testing new technologies, specifically virtual reality (VR), and investigating its feasibility for language assessment.

“Funding like this is crucial for exploring innovative approaches and understanding their impact on our field,” Kurt said. “I appreciate the support that makes this kind of research possible.”

The award has allowed her to recruit test takers and raters.

“Securing funding as a Ph.D. student is a great feeling. It validates my research ideas and motivates me to pursue future opportunities,” Kurt said.

Erika Latham

Erika Latham’s (Ph.D., applied linguistics and technology) project is titled, “Development of an Academic Listening Test for ENGL 0990S: Nonnative Speaking.”

“The English department’s Graduate Studies Student Research Grant has been incredibly helpful for recruiting participants for my dissertation research,” Latham said. “The funding from this grant and the applied linguistics small grant made it possible to get feedback from a large number of participants and ground the test firmly in the real-world listening situations and skills that students need to master for their academic studies.”