An Interview with APPLE Lecture Speaker Professor James Paul Gee

Abstract

On February 6, 2014, the TESOL/AL Web Journal (represented by Nadja Tadic, Di Yu, and Yuna Seong) had the opportunity to sit down with Professor James Paul Gee, guest speaker for the 2015 Applied Linguistics & Language Education (APPLE) Lecture Series, hosted annually by the TESOL/Applied Linguistics Programs at Teachers College, Columbia University. Professor Gee spoke about his thoughts on his work and advice for current and future researchers in the TESOL and Applied Linguistics fields. Professor Gee is the Mary Lou Fulton Presidential Professor of Literacy Studies and Regents’ Professor at Arizona State University. He is also a member of the National Academy of Education. His book Sociolinguistics and Literacies (1990, Fifth Edition 2015) was one of the founding documents in the formation of the “New Literacy Studies,” an interdisciplinary field integrating language, learning, and literacy. His book An Introduction to Discourse Analysis (1999, Fourth Edition 2014) brings together his work on a methodology for studying communication in its cultural settings. More recently, his books deal with video games, language, and learning. His books What Video Games Have to Teach Us About Learning and Literacy (2003, Second Edition 2007) and Situated Language and Learning (2004) discuss how good video games can enhance learning. Professor Gee has published widely in journals in linguistics, psychology, the social sciences, and education. We thank Professor Gee for his time in a very thought-provoking interview. We also thank Fred Tsutagawa for videotaping and Dr. Kirby Grabowski for coordinating the APPLE Lecture Series Interview.

Keywords

• Applied linguistics
• Language and education
• Research
• Language study
• Study of language
• Teaching language