UMass Boston

Kim Urbanski, Associate Professor, Applied Linguistics

Kimberly Urbanski

Department:
Applied Linguistics
Title:
Department Chair
MA Graduate Program Director, Associate Professor
Phone:
N/A
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Biography

Kimberly Urbanski's research interests include second language teaching and learning, sociocultural theoretical approaches to second language development, second language literacy pedagogy, systemic functional linguistics, cognitive linguistics, second language teacher education, and teacher and student use of gesture.

Area of Expertise

Sociocultural Theory, L2 Literacy, Gesture, Cognitive Linguistics, Systemic Functional Linguistics

Degrees

PhD, Applied Linguistics, The Pennsylvania State University

MA, French, Concentration in Teaching, University of Massachusetts Amherst

BA, Teaching of French, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign

Professional Publications & Contributions
  • Urbanski, K. (in press) Creating affordances through a division-of-labor pedagogy for literacy development. In. J. P. Lantolf & M. E. Poehner (Eds.), Sociocultural Theory: Creating Conditions for L2 Development. Equinox.
  • Urbanski, K. & Randall, T. (in press). Analysis of the effectiveness of a computerized dynamic assessment of Spanish grammar. Language and Sociocultural Theory
  • Nghia-Nguyen, M. & Urbanski, K. (2026). “Quietness” or Multimodal embodied participation? The case of a multilingual language learner. In L. Morett & S. Inceoglu (Eds.), Gesture in Second Language Acquisition and Pedagogy (pp. 259-284). De Gruyter Mouton. https://doi.org/10.1515/9783111568645-013                    
  • Urbanski, K. B., & Becker, M. L. (2024). Understanding second language learners’ emotional-cognitive development through division of labor collaboration. Language Teaching Research Quarterly, 46, 260-279.  https://doi.org/10.32038/ltrq.2024.46.17
  • Urbanski, K. (2023). Second language literacy pedagogy: A sociocultural theory perspective. Multilingual Matters.
  • Randall, T., Urbanski, K. (2023) Development of a CDA program for grammar instruction and assessment in SLA. Language and Sociocultural Theory
  • Stam, G., Urbanski, K., Lantolf, J. & Smotrova, T. (2023). How concept-based language instruction works in teaching thinking for speaking in an L2. IRAL - International Review of Applied Linguistics.
  • Stam, G. & Urbanski, K. (Eds.) (2023) Gesture and multimodality in second language acquisition: A research guide. Routledge.
  • (Buescher) Urbanski, K. & Stam, G. (2023). Overview of Multimodality and Gesture in Second Language Acquisition. In G. Stam & K. (Buescher) Urbanski (Eds.) Gesture and Multimodality in Second Language Acquisition: A Research Guide. Routledge.
  • Stam, G. & (Buescher) Urbanski, K. (2023). Concluding Remarks. In G. Stam & K. (Buescher) Urbanski (Eds.) Gesture and Multimodality in Second Language Acquisition: A Research Guide. Routledge.
  • Buescher, K., & Strauss, S. (2018) Conceptual frameworks and L2 pedagogy: The case of French prepositions. In A. Tyler, L. Ortega, M. Uno, & H. I. Park (Eds.) Usage-inspired L2 instruction: Researched pedagogy. (pp 95-115). John Benjamins.
  • Stam, G. & Buescher, K. (2018). Gesture research. In A. Phakiti, P. De Costa, L. Plonsky and S. Starfield (Eds.), Palgrave Handbook of Applied Linguistics Research Methodology. (pp. 793- 809). London: Palgrave Macmillan.
  • Buescher, K. (2018). A sociocultural approach to second language literacy pedagogy. In J. Lantolf, M. Poehner, and M. Swain (Eds.), Handbook of Sociocultural Theory and Second Language Development (pp. 378-387). London/New York: Routledge.
  • Buescher, K., & Strauss, S. (2015). A cognitive linguistic analysis of French prepositions à, dans, and en and a sociocultural theoretical approach to teaching them. In K. Masuda, C. Arnett & A. Labarca (Eds.) Cognitive Linguistics and Sociocultural Theory: Applications to Foreign and Second Language Teaching (pp. 155-181). Berlin, Germany: De Gruyter Mouton.
  • Negueruela-Azarola, E., García, P. N., & Buescher, K. (2015). From interaction to intra-action: the internalization of talk, gesture, and concepts in the second language classroom. In N. Markee (Ed.) The Handbook of Classroom Interaction (pp. 233-249). Malden: Wiley-Blackwell.

Additional Information

Classes Taught

  • APLING 611 Teaching in World Language Classrooms
  • APLING 612 Intercultural Perspectives in World Languages
  • APLING 621 Understanding Second Language Development
  • APLING 669 Writing Theories in Second Language Instruction
  • APLING 673 Reading in the Bilingual/English as a Second Language Classroom
  • APLING 696 Independent Study
  • APLING 701 Issues in Second Language Acquisition 
  • APLING 703 Applied Linguistics Research Methods
  • APLING 707 Current Research on Language and Pedagogy 
  • APLING 890 Graduate Colloquium in Applied Linguistics
  • APLING 891 Qualifying Paper Seminar (PhD Benchmark #1) 
  • APLING 892 Dissertation Proposal Writing (PhD Benchmark #2) 

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