The ACTFL-NFMLTA/MLJ Emma Marie Birkmaier Award for Doctoral Dissertation Research in World Language Education
The Emma Marie Birkmaier Award honors ACTFL’s first president, a person who worked tirelessly in the creation of the association and its new programs, including the ACTFL Annual Bibliography of Books and Articles on Pedagogy in Foreign Languages and the ACTFL Review of Foreign Language Education (now known as the ACTFL Foreign Language Education Series). She was an outstanding teacher educator at the University of Minnesota, Minneapolis-St. Paul, and her career influenced countless students of foreign language education at that institution and practicing teachers across the nation. Through publications, professional service, and the organization of summer institutes for foreign language professionals, her legacy and impact continue unabated.
The Emma Marie Birkmaier Award was established in 1980 to recognize an author of doctoral dissertation research in world language education that contributes significantly to the advancement of the profession.
Learn more about this award, including the application process.
Past Awardees
2023: Ye Shen, The Ohio State University
2022: Tricia Thrasher, Immerse
2021: Stephanie Madison, Clemson University, SC
2020: Emilia Illana-Mahiques, Cornell University, NY
2019: Céline Rose, Brigham Young University, UT
2018: Ines A. Martin, United States Naval Academy
2017: Claire Knowles, University of Memphis, TN
2016: Sarah Young, Georgetown University, DC
2015: Liudmila Klimanova, University of Arizona
The ACTFL-NFMLTA/MLJ Paul Pimsleur Award for Research in World Language Education
The Paul Pimsleur Award for Research in World Language Education was created in 1977 in response to the initiative of an anonymous donor. It was established as a memorial to Paul Pimsleur and recognizes his contributions to the profession as an outstanding teacher, researcher, and expert on test creation and interpretation. His professional influence was felt internationally, and his work lives on through the Pimsleur Aptitude Tests and the materials for independent language learning that he created.
Since 1989, recipients have received a $500 cash award provided by the National Federation of Modern Language Teachers Association (NFMLTA) and The Modern Language Journal. Beginning in 2001, $500 is awarded to the author and to the principal co-author(s) of articles chosen for the Pimsleur Award. The cash award is evidence of the commitment of ACTFL, NFMLTA, and The Modern Language Journal to research in world and second language acquisition and to the application of its results to the classroom.
The recipient(s) of the Pimsleur Award shall be the author(s) of an outstanding contribution to research in world language or second language education. The study shall have been published during the previous calendar year. The quality of the research and its potential impact on world language learning or teaching comprise the principal criteria for selection. The research may be language-specific or language-general. Studies using any quantitative, statistical procedures for data gathering and data analyses, qualitative/descriptive research approaches, or mixed approaches will be considered. Each study will be assessed in the light of the salience of the question(s) asked, the appropriateness and rigor of its research approach, and the significance of its contribution to knowledge within the language education field.
Learn more about this award, including the application process.
Past Awardees
2023: Oana Costache, Dutch Center for Language Education (Netherlands), Eva S. Becker, University of Cologne (Germany), and Thomas Goetz, University of Vienna (Austria)
2022: Holger Hopp, Technische Universität Braunschweig (Germany); Dieter Thoma, University of Mannheim (Germany)
2021: Xiaowan Zhang and Paula Winke, Michigan State University, MI; Shaunna Clark, Texas A&M University, TX
2020: Kevin McManus, Pennsylvania State University, PA; Emma Marsden, University of York, United Kingdom
2019: Kris Buyse, KU Leuven, Belgium; Dirk Speelman, KU Leuven, Belgium; Marisela Bonilla López, Unversidad de Costa Rica
2018: Mary Grantham O’Brien; Paulina Maczuga, University of Calgary, Alberta Canada; Johannes Knaus, Max Planck Digital Library, Munich Germany
2017: Shoko Sasayama, Georgetown University, DC
2016: Tara Fortune and Diane Tedick, CARLA, University of Minnesota
2015: Wendy Baker-Smemoe, Dan P. Dewey, Jennifer Bown, and Rob A. Martinsen, Brigham Young University