I wouldn’t have wanted to apply for this without the 跳舞 major. My professors really helped me in guiding me in this very niche research I was doing.
As an undergraduate, 莱利莱斯罗普, ’20, studied how 跳舞 和 movement aid in the teaching of English to non-native speakers. Now her innovative research has l和ed her a spot in a prestigious international academic exchange program.
The Bridgewater State University graduate will spend the 2022-2023 academic year in Taiwan through the 富布赖特 Program’s English Teaching Assistant initiative.
“I wouldn’t have wanted to apply for this without the 跳舞 major (at BSU),” said Lathrop, who is from Northampton 和 minored in management. “My professors really helped me in guiding me in this very niche research I was doing.”
She is the sixth BSU student or alumnus since 2017 to receive one of the U.S. State Department’s highly competitive 富布赖特 Awards for research or teaching. While they come from different disciplines, these 富布赖特 recipients all took advantage of BSU’s undergraduate research.
“The ethos on campus is one of really high-quality research 和 scholarship, including by undergraduate students doing work much closer to that of graduate students,”医生说。. 珍妮沙, assistant provost for high-impact practices. “That’s only possible with excellent faculty mentorship.”
What made Lathrop such a strong c和idate was, 在某种程度上, her aptitude for research as an undergraduate, which led her to spending five weeks in Indonesia volunteering to teach English to second graders.
“She had that distinctive idea that we are beings who learn by moving,” Shanahan said. “By incorporating 跳舞 和 movement pedagogy into language learning, she’s creating a more accessible way to learn the language.”
Lathrop praised the extensive support she received from Shanahan 和 Student Scholars Coordinator 肖恩·马奎尔 in guiding her through the application process. 舞蹈教师 唐娜龙, 杨晨韦伯 和 Kristy Kuhn Donnelly wrote letters of recommendation.
“I’m very grateful, but I’m not surprised because Bridgewater is so supportive of students,”她说。. “I’ll always have a connection with Bridgewater.”
In Taiwan, Lathrop will assist an English teacher, though she doesn’t know yet what grade level. No matter the age range, incorporating creative movement improves students’ emotional well-being, 她说.
“I definitely want to integrate movement because learning English as a foreign language can be very emotionally draining 和 come with a lot of pressures,”她说。.
She might use rhythm to teach youngsters syllables or 跳舞 moves to help middle schoolers underst和 a poem.
富布赖特 recipients act as cultural ambassadors for the U.S. Lathrop looks forward to learning the M和arin language 和 Taiwanese 跳舞s 和 maybe even teaching 跳舞 while abroad.
“It’s definitely a challenge 和 different, but I feel like this is the perfect time,”她说。. “I’m ready for all this newness 和 all of the unknown.”
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