Graduate Students in the Department of English 

UMEGO Executive Board, 2024-2025

English Graduate Student Directory

**currently under construction**

Majed Alsulami
PhD - Applied Linguistics
B.A. in Arabic Language Studies, King Abdulaziz University, KSA
M.A. in Arabic Rhetoric, Imam University, KSA & M.A. in TESL, Carson-Newman University, USA

My research interests include L2 identities, Bilingualism, and ASL teaching and learning. I am a lecturer at King Abdulaziz University since (2014), and I have taught Arabic as a second language to international students from different places and backgrounds.

Emily Gillo
PhD - Writing, Rhetoric, & Technical Communication
B.A. in Liberal Studies, University of Mississippi
M.A. in Technical Communication, University of Memphis
Graduate Certificates in Instructional Design & Technology and Writing Studies, University of Memphis

My primary research interest is the intersection of online writing pedagogy and surveillance studies, and how rhetoric and critical digital literacy can be used as methods of resistance against Educational Technology surveillance practices. I am also interested in the ways in which student autonomy, informed consent, and access to educational resources overlap with online learning and surveillance. 

Nabaz Kareem
B.A. in English Language and English Literature, University of Slemani, Kurdistan of IraqM.A. in TESOL, Valparaiso University, USA

My area of interest is SLA focusing on EFL/ESL learning and teaching. My research investigates the effectiveness of pedagogical translanguaging in comparison to monolingual instruction in an EFL context concentrates on developing academic writing skills of EFL learners in Kurdistan of Iraq. In this study, I focus on applying translanguaging as a pedagogy via individual and collaborative writing and investigate its impact in comparison to monolingual instruction.

Amber Worrick
B.A. in International Relations, University of IowaM.A. in Applied Linguistics, Northeastern Illinois University

My research interests include language learning motivation and identity in a multilingual setting; specifically interested in how perception of the self and the learning environment position learners to act on intended effort in English for Business Purpose setting. Apart from research, I have taught and/or designed language and linguistics courses at Universidad de Chile, Universidad SEK, Tennessee State University, and Colorado Mountain College. I am currently an instructional designer for Movora in Veterinary Orthopedics.

Heri Yusup
B.A. in English, Padjadjaran University, IndonesiaM.A. in Applied Linguistics, University of Birmingham, UK.

I am an assistant professor in the English Department at Universitas Islam 45 in Indonesia, where I have worked for nearly twenty years. I am currently the technical editor for the undergraduate research journal at the University of Memphis. My area of research interest is cognitive linguistics and corpus linguistics. In my dissertation, I will examine the conceptual metaphors that Indonesian scholars use when talking about their migration and mobility choices, decisions, and experiences using corpus-assisted discourse analysis, to better understand the perspective of Indonesians on the notion of brain drain.