Department of Teaching and Learning

Faculty

Shondel Nero

Associate Professor of Teaching and Learning

Shondel Nero

Phone: 212-998-5757
Email:

Dr. Shondel Nero is Director of the Program in Multilingual/Multicultural Studies. She is an applied linguist whose work focuses on the education of second language and second dialect speakers. Her research examines the politics, challenges, and strategies of educating students who speak and/or write in nonstandard varieties of English, World Englishes, and Creoles. She has researched the linguistic and educational needs of speakers of Caribbean Creole English in New York City public schools and colleges. Her work has appeared in such journals as TESOL Quarterly, Language and Education, World Englishes, and English Today. A native of Guyana and a Fulbright scholar, she is the author of Englishes in Contact: Anglophone Caribbean Students in an Urban College (2001), and editor of a volume, Dialects, Englishes, Creoles and Education (2006). Dr. Nero also directs a study abroad program in the Dominican Republic as a means of developing teachers' linguistic and intercultural competence. She earned her doctorate in applied linguistics from Columbia University's Teachers College in 1997, and taught in the English Department at Long Island University, Brooklyn, and in the School of Education at St. John's University prior to joining the New York University faculty.


Degrees Held

  • Ed.D. Columbia University, Teachers College 1997
    Applied Linguistics
  • Ed.M. Columbia University, Teachers College 1994
    Applied linguistics
  • M.A. Columbia University, Teachers College 1990
    TESOL
  • B.A. Concordia University, Montreal, Canada 1984
    French and Spanish

Research Interests

  • Teaching English as a Second Language
  • Teaching Standard English as a Second Dialect
  • Sociolinguistics
  • Language and Identity
  • Creole Linguistics
  • Anglophone Caribbean Language and Culture

Courses

Masters level:

  • Second Language Theory and Research
  • Advanced Rsearch Seminar in Multilingual/Multicultural Studies
  • Intercultural Perspectives in Mulitcultural Education

Doctoral level:

  • Doctoral Seminar in Applied Linguistics
  • World Englishes and Dialects in Education
  • Educational Linguistics

Editorial Boards

  • 2009 -              Book Review Editor, Caribbean Journal of Education
  • 2005 - 2008:  TESOL Quarterly Editorial Advisory Board

Books

  • Nero, S. (Ed.).  (2006). Dialects, Englishes, Creoles, and Education.  Mahwah, NJ:  Lawrence Erlbaum Associates. 
  • Nero, S.  (2001). Englishes in contact:  Anglophone Caribbean students in an urban college.  Cresskill, NJ:  Hampton Press.

Articles

  • Nero, S. (in press).  Languages without borders:  TESOL in a transient world. TESL Canada Journal.
  • Nero, S. (in press). Varieties of English in the Caribbean. In C. A. Chapelle (Ed.), The Encyclopedia of Applied Linguistics. To be published by Wiley-Blackwell.
  • Ahmad, D. & Nero, S. (2012).  Productive paradoxes:  Vernacular use in the teaching of composition and literature. Pedagogy 12 (1), 69-95.
  • Nero, S. (2009).  Inhabiting the other's world:  Language and cultural immersion for US-based teachers in the Dominican Republic.  Language, Culture, and Curriculum 22 (3), 175-194.
  • Nero, S. (2006).  Language, identity, and education of Caribbean English speakers.  World Englishes 25 (3/4), 501-511.
  • Nero, S. (2005b). Englishes in contact:  Dialects, power, and the burden of being understood.  TESOL in Context 15 (1), 3-8.
  • Nero, S. (2005a).  Language, identities, and ESL Pedagogy.  Language and Education 19 (3), 194-211.
  • Nero, S. (2002).  Englishes, attitudes, education.  English Today 18 (1), 53-56.
  • Nero, S. (2000).  The changing faces of English:  A Caribbean perspective.  TESOL Quarterly 34 (3), 483-510.
  • Nero, S. (1997b). ESL or ESD?  Teaching English to Caribbean English speakers. TESOL Journal 7 (2), 6-10.
  • Nero, S. (1997a).  English is my native language....or so I believe.  TESOL Quarterly 31 (3), 585-593.

Book chapters

  • Nero, S. (forthcoming).  Classroom encounters with Caribbean Creole English:  Language, identities, and pedagogy.  In A. Mahboob (Ed.).  Englishes in a multilingual context.  New York:  Springer.
  • Nero, S. (2010).  Discourse tensions, Englishes, and the composition classroom.  In B. Horner, M.Z. Lu, & P.   Matsuda (Eds.).  Cross-language relations in composition (pp. 142-157).  Carbondale, IL:  Southern Illinois University Press.
  • Nero, S. (2010).  Language, literacy, and pedagogy of Caribbean Creole English speakers.  In M. Farr, L. Seloni, & J.   Song (Eds.).  Ethnolinguistic diversity and education:  Language, literacy, and culture (pp. 212-240).  New York: Routledge/Taylor and Francis.
  • Nero, S. (2009).  Success or failure?  Language, tracking, and social stratification of Anglophone Caribbean students.   In J. Kleifgen & G. Bond (Eds.).  The languages of Africa and the diaspora:  Educating for language awareness (pp.162-177).  Clevedon, England:  Multilingual Matters.
  • Nero, S. (2006).  An exceptional voice:  Working as a TESOL professional of color.  In A. Curtis & M. Romney (Eds.).  Color, race, and English language teaching:  Shades of meaning (pp. 23-36).  Mahwah, NJ:  Lawrence Erlbaum Associates.
  • Nero, S. (2002).  Coping in school:  Language and academic performance of Indo-Caribbean students in New York City. In A. Camacho-Gingerich (Ed.).  Coping in America:  The case of Caribbean East Indians (pp. 141-148).  New York:  GEICA.

Book reviews

  • Nero, S. (in press).  Review of the book A concise grammar of Guyanese Creole (Creolese), by H. Devonish & D. Thompson.  Journal of Pidgin and Creole Languages.
  • Nero, S. (2009).  Review of the books Asian Englishes:  Beyond the Canon, by B. Kachru, and World Englishes in Asian Contexts, by Y. Kachru & C. Nelson. Journal of Asian Pacific Communication 19 (1), 163-172.
  • Nero, S. (2007).  Review of the book Politeness and face in Caribbean Creoles, by  S. Muhleisen & B. Migge (Eds.).  World Englishes 26 (3), 390-392.

Awards/Grants

  • 2011-2012:  Council for International Exchange of Scholars - Fulbright Award to University of the West Indies, Jamaica.
  • 2007:  Federal Department of Education - Fulbright-Hays Group Project Abroad Grant for $56,000 to the Dominican Republic.  Project Title:  Language Learning and Teaching in Cross-Cultural Perspective:  An Overseas-based Short-term Seminar for Teachers of English Language Learners.
  • 2007:  St. John's University Faculty Recognition Award for establishing Dominican Republic Study Abroad Program
  • 2005:  St. John's University Faculty Recognition Award for Teaching and Research Productivity
  • 2001:  St. John's University Merit Award for Teaching and Research Productivity
  • 2000:  St. John's University Summer Research Grant
  • 1999:  St. John's University Innovative Teaching Grant
  • 1999:  St. John's University Summer Teaching Grant
  • 1998:  New York State Council for the Arts (NYSCA) Grant for Multicultural Poetry Reading Series at Long Island University
  • 1995:  Conference on College Composition and Communication (CCCC) -- Scholars for the Dream Travel Award

Selected Presentations

  • Nero, S. (2011, March). Language and racial/ethnic segregation among Caribbean immigrants in New York City schools
    Paper presented at the American Association for Applied Linguistics Conference, Chicago, IL.
  • Nero, S. (2011, March). Expanding the legitimacy and viability of creole languages in education and beyond
    Respondent on panel at the American Association for Applied Linguistics Conference, Chicago, IL.
  • Nero, S. (2010, August). Racial/ethnic segregation and Caribbean language in New York City schools
    Paper presented at the Society for Caribbean Linguistics Conference, Bridgetown, Barbados.
  • Nero, S. (2010, March). Teaching Caribbean Creole English speakers: Language, literacy, and professional development
    Colloquium panelist at the TESOL Convention, Boston, MA.
  • Nero, S. (2010, March). Language, literacy and pedagogy of Caribbean Creole English speakers
    Colloquium panelist at the American Association for Applied Linguistics Conference, Atlanta, GA.
  • Nero, S. (2009, December). Classroom encounters with speakers of Caribbean Creole English.
    Colloquium panelist at the Modern Language Association Convention in Philadelphia, PA.
  • Nero, S. (2009, March). Teacher training for Caribbean Creole English speakers: Navigating uncharted territory
    Paper presented at the TESOL Convention, Denver, CO.
  • Nero, S. (2008, April). Preparing TESOLers for worlds of English users.
    Colloquium chair and panelist at the TESOL Convention, New York, NY
  • Nero, S. (2006, March). Linguistic identities, attitudes, and writing assessment.
    Colloquium panelist at the Conference on College Composition and Communication, Chicago, IL.
  • Nero, S. (2006, March). Language teaching and assessment challenges under NCLB.
    Paper presented at the TESOL Convention, Tampa, FL.
  • Nero, S. (2006, March). Broadening perspectives in second language writing.
    Colloquium panelist at the TESOL Convention, Tampa, FL.
  • Nero, S. (2005, March). Language, identities, and ESL pedagogy.
    Paper presented at the TESOL Convention, San Antonio, TX.
  • Nero, S. (2004, November). Impact of attitudes towards bidialectalism and bilingualism on assessment.
    Colloquium panelist at the annual convention of the American Speech-Language Hearing Association (ASHA), Philadelphia, PA.
  • Nero, S. (2004, July). "Is English we speaking": Language, identity, and education of Caribbean English speakers.
    Paper given at 10th annual conference of the International Association for World Englishes (IAWE). Syracuse University, Syracuse, NY.
  • Nero, S. (2004, April). Challenges and possibilities teaching World English Speakers.
    Colloquium panelist at TESOL Convention, Long Beach, CA.
  • Nero, S. (2003, March). Reflective collaboration between NES and NNES in an MA-TESOL Program
    Colloquium panelist at TESOL Convention, Baltimore, MD.
  • Nero, S. (2003, March). Working as a TESOL professional of color.
    Colloquium panelist at TESOL Convention, Baltimore, MD.
  • Nero, S. (2002, April). Juggling TESL and TEFL in MA-TESOL Programs.
    Paper presented at TESOL Convention, Salt Lake City, UT.