Selim Ben Said
PhD Candidate in Applied Linguistics
Department of Applied Linguistics
312 Sparks Building
The Pennsylvania State University
University Park, PA 16802
Telephone: (814) 441-7617
E-mail: sbb170@psu.edu
Website: http://www.personal.psu.edu/sbb170/
سليم بن سعيد
白士禮
Education
Ph. D. in Applied Linguistics at the Pennsylvania State University
August 2006 – May 2010.
Dissertation: Urban Street Signs in the Linguistic Landscape of Tunisia: Tensions in Policy, Representation, and Attitudes
Supervisor: Suresh Canagarajah
M.A. in Applied Linguistics at the Southern Illinois University, Carbondale
August 2004 – August 2006.
Thesis: Attitudes Towards Accented Speech: A Comparative Study of Native and Non-Native Speakers of American English
Supervisor: Krassimira Charkova
B.S. in Theoretical Linguistics at the University of Letters of Manouba, Tunisia
2002 – 2003.
B.A. in English Language and Literature at the University of Tunis, Tunisia
1997 – 2001.
Teaching & Professional Experience
Teaching Assistant in Arabic Language and Culture at the Pennsylvania State University (Elementary Level 2 – Arabic 002 and Arabic 052)
Summer 2010
Teaching Assistant in Intensive English at the Pennsylvania State University (Intensive English Communication Program - IECP)
Spring 2010
Teaching Assistant in Academic Writing at the Pennsylvania State University (Intensive English Communication Program - IECP)
Fall 2009
Teaching Assistant in Arabic Language and Culture at the Pennsylvania State University (Elementary Level 2 – Arabic 002 and Arabic 052)
Summer 2009
English Instructor at the J.M. Language School of Hengchun, Taiwan
June – July 2009
Graduate Lecturer in English Listening and Speaking for International Graduate Teaching Assistants at the Pennsylvania State University (ESL 117G)
Summer 2008
Teaching Assistant in Arabic Language and Culture at the Pennsylvania State University (Elementary Level 2 – Arabic 002)
Spring 2008
Teaching Assistant in French Language at the Pennsylvania State University (Intermediate Level – French 003)
Spring 2008
Teaching Assistant in English Listening and Speaking for International Graduate Teaching Assistants at the Pennsylvania State University (ESL 117G)
Fall 2007
Teaching Assistant in Arabic Language and Culture at the Pennsylvania State University (Elementary Level 1 – Arabic 001)
Fall 2007
Teaching Assistant in English Academic Writing, Rhetoric and Composition at the Pennsylvania State University (ESL 015)
Fall 2006 – Spring 2007
Teacher in Arabic Language and Culture at the Southern Illinois
University, Carbondale (Elementary and Intermediate Levels – Linguistics 440 &
450) – Summer 2005 – Spring 2006
Interpreter/Translator in Arabic, French and English with the Japanese
International Cooperation Agency (JICA), Tunisia
Study for a Rural Water Supply Project
January – March 2004
English Language Teacher at the Tunisian National Airlines (TUNISAIR),
Tunisia
July – November 2003
French Language Teacher at Nunthorpe School and Eston Park School in
Middlesbrough, the United Kingdom
(Exchange Program supervised by the British Council)
October 2002 – May 2003
Research Interests
Second Language Acquisition, English as a Second Language, Linguistic Landscape, Sociolinguistics, Diglossia, Bilingualism, Language Policy and Planning, Language and Identity, Language and Ideology, Language and Popular Culture, Linguistic Imperialism, L2 Writing.
Research & Professional Development Activities
Research Assistant in the Center for Language Acquisition (CLA), The Pennsylvania State University
2008 – 2009
Participating Teacher in the Center for Advanced Language Proficiency Education Research (CALPER), The Pennsylvania State University – Sponsored Research Project: Teaching Heritage and Domestic Language Learners in LCTL Courses – Language: Arabic.
Teaching with Technology, The Pennsylvania State University: Participated in a multimedia-based language course where I supervised, conducted, and directed a film project – Language: French.
Honors & Fellowships
Rock Ethics Institute Fellow - The Rock Ethics Institute, The Pennsylvania State University
2009 – 2010
Gil Watz Dissertation Fellow - The Center For Language Acquisition, The Pennsylvania State University
2009 – 2010
College of the Liberal Arts Humanities Dissertation Fellow - The Africana Research
Centre, The Pennsylvania State University
2008 – 2009
Scholarships & Assistantships
Teaching Assistantship granted by the Department of Linguistics to pursue a PhD in Applied Linguistics, The Pennsylvania State University
2006 – 2010
Teaching Assistantship granted by the Department of French, The Pennsylvania State University
Spring 2008
Teaching Assistantship granted by the Department of Comparative Literature, The Pennsylvania State University
Fall 2007
Teaching Assistantship granted by the Department of Linguistics, Southern Illinois University at Carbondale
2005 – 2006
Fulbright Scholarship granted by AMIDEAST to pursue an MA in Applied Linguistics, Southern Illinois University at Carbondale
2004 – 2006
Affiliations & Professional Memberships
The Rock Ethics Institute, The Pennsylvania State University
2009 – 2010
The Africana Research Center, The Pennsylvania State University
2008 – 2009
The Arabic Linguistic Society
2006 – 2007
The American Association of Applied Linguistics
2006 – 2007
Society for Pidgin and Creole Linguistics
2005 – Present
Linguistics Curriculum Representative, Southern Illinois University at Carbondale
2005 – 2006
Linguistics Student Association, Southern Illinois University at Carbondale
2005 – 2006
Conference Participation and Presentations
“Urban Discourses and the Construction of a Multilingual Identity on Street Signs” paper to be presented at the Hawaii International Conference on Arts and Humanities, Honolulu, Hawaii, January 9-12, 2011.
“The Different Faces of Urban Multilingualism in the Streets of Tunis: A Comparison between the Medina and the New City” poster presented at the Department of Applied Linguistics Open House, The Pennsylvania State University, University Park, Pennsylvania, April 30, 2010.
“The Different Faces of Urban Multilingualism in the Streets of Tunis: A Comparison between the Medina and the New City” poster presented at the 25th annual graduate exhibition, The Pennsylvania State University, University Park, Pennsylvania, March 28, 2010.
“Urban Discourses and Multilingualism in Tunisia: An Examination of Policy, Representation, and Attitudes” paper presented at PAALC (The Pennsylvania Applied Linguistics Consortium), The Pennsylvania State University, University Park, January 22-23, 2010.
“Fostering Multiliteracies and Multilingualism in Tunisia: The Role of the State in Mediating Language Variation” paper presented at the International Conference on Bilingualism and Bilingual Education, American University of Sharjah, Sharjah, the United Arab Emirates, December 15-17, 2009.
“Urban Street Signs in the Linguistics Landscape of Tunisia: Tensions in Policy, Representation, and Attitudes” paper presented at the Department of Applied Linguistics Roundtable, The Pennsylvania State University, University Park, December 4, 2009.
“Street Signage in Tunisia: Reconciling Multilingualism, Arabization, and Vernacularization” paper presented at the conference on the Geolinguistics of Language/Dialect Continuums, Baruch College, New York, September 25-26, 2009.“At the Intersection of Language and Signs: Multilingualism in the Streets of Tunisia” poster presented at the 24th annual graduate exhibition, The Pennsylvania State University, University Park, Pennsylvania, March 29, 2009.
“Linguistic Choices and the Expression of Identity in Public Space: A Look at Visual Signs in Tunisia” paper presented at the conference: Franco-Arabic Cultures Today: Developments, Dialogues, and Challenges, University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill, North Carolina, April 17-19, 2008.
“A Comparison between Competence and Performance in the English Pronunciation of Taiwanese Learners of English” poster presented with Fu, J.S. and Charkova, D.K. at the annual conference of the AAAL (American Association of Applied Linguistics), Costa-Mesa, California, April 21-24, 2007.
“Attitudes Towards Accented Speech: A Comparative Study of Native and Non-Native Speakers of American English” poster presented at the annual conference of the AAAL (American Association of Applied Linguistics), Costa-Mesa, California, April 21-24, 2007.
“The Perception of Arab-Accented Speech by American Native Speakers and Non-Native Speakers from East and South-East Asia” paper presented at the 21st Annual Conference of the ALS (Arabic Linguistic Symposium), Brigham Young University, Provo, Utah, March 2-3, 2007.
Invited Lectures
“At the Intersection of Languages: the Mediation of Multilingualism and Linguistic Diversity in Tunisian Street Signs” paper presented at West Virginia University, Morgantown, West Virginia, February 12, 2010.
Publications
Books
Ben Said, S. (in preparation). Urban street signs in the linguistic landscape of Tunisia: tensions in policy, representation, and attitudes.
Book Chapters
Ben Said, S., and Canagarajah, A. S. (in preparation). Linguistic Imperialism . In Simpson, J. (Ed.), The Handbook of Applied Linguistics, Oxford, UK: Routledge.
Ben Said, S., and Canagarajah, A. S. (2009). English Language Teaching in the Outer and Expanding Circles. In Maybin, J. and Swann, J. (Eds.), The Routledge Companion to English Language Studies, Oxford, UK: Routledge.
Referreed Articles
Ben Said, S. (in preparation). Instrumentalism in Street Signage: Authenticity, Commodification, and Incongruity in the use of English in Tunisia’s Linguistic Landscape. International Journal of the Sociology of Language.
Ben Said, S. (in preparation). At the Intersection of language and context: authentic materials and the effective use of the linguistic landscape as a pedagogical tool in the second language classroom. ELT Journal.
Ben Said, S. (in preparation). Language policy and practice in Tunisia: an examination of the disparity between the language-of-the-state and languages-in-the-state. Current Issues in Language Planning.
Ben Said, S., & Canagarajah, A.S. (in preparation). English in Tunisia: global representations and local perceptions. World Englishes.
Ben Said, S., & Canagarajah, A.S. (in preparation). Translanguaging in Reading: Multilingual Interpretive Practices. Modern Language Journal.
Ben Said, S., & Doran, M.C. (in preparation). The Commodification of languages in street signage: evidence from the linguistic landscape. Global Advances in Business Communication.
Ben Said, S., & Doran, M.C. (in preparation). Language on the ground: Understanding the linguistic landscape of Tunisia. Global Advances in Business Communication.
Ben Said, S., & Fu, J.S. (in preparation). A Comparison between Taiwanese ESL learners’ perception and production of English pronunciation. Studies in Second Language Acquisition.
Ben Said, S., & Charkova, K. (in preparation). Attitudes towards accented speech: a comparative study of native and non-native speakers of American English. Language Learning.
Ben Said, S. (2008). Representations of Identity and Linguistic Diversity in the Urban Space of Tunisia. In Identities: Journal for Politics, Gender, and Culture, Lambevski, A. (Ed.) Vol. 10.Articles in Conference Proceedings
Ben Said, S. (forthcoming). Street signage in Tunisia: reconciling multilingualism, Arabization, and vernacularization. In Proceedings of the Annual Conference of the American Society of Geolinguistics, Baruch, NY.
Ben Said, S. (2008). The Perception of Arab-Accented Speech by American Native Speakers and Non-Native Speakers from East and South-East Asia. In Proceedings of the 21st Annual Symposium on Arabic Linguistics, Provo, UT.
Reviews
Ben Said, S. (in preparation). Review of Ball, M. J. The Routledge Handbook of Sociolinguistics around the World. Journal of Sociolinguistics.
Ben Said, S. (in preparation). Review of Bassiouney, R. Arabic Sociolinguistics.
Linguist.
Ben Said, S. (2009). Review of Backhaus, P. Linguistic Landscapes: A Comparative Study of Urban Multilingualism in Tokyo. In Language Policy, 8(2) 173-175.
Other Publications
Ben Said, S. (2010). Urban Street Signs in the Linguistic Landscape of Tunisia:
Tensions in Policy, Representation, and Attitudes. Unpublished Ph.D. Dissertation. Pennsylvania State University.
Ben Said, S. (2006). Attitudes towards Accented Speech: A Comparative Study of
Native and Non-Native Speakers of American English. Unpublished M.A. Thesis. Southern Illinois University at Carbondale.
Languages
Modern Standard Arabic, Tunisian Arabic, French, English, Italian, intermediate knowledge of Mandarin Chinese.
Useful Links
Class Teaching Sample
(Elementary Level 2 – Arabic 002) - Spring 2008
Eluanbi in Hengchun, Taiwan - June 2009