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Carnegie Mellon University

Bonnie Youngs

Bonnie L. Youngs

Teaching Professor of French & Francophone Studies
Director of the M.A. in Applied Linguistics & Second Language Acquisition program

Education

Ph.D., University of Pennsylvania

Bio

Bonnie Youngs is a teaching professor of French and Francophone studies, specializing in teaching, course development and revision through research in applied linguistics and the use of technology in education. She collaborates closely with LCAL faculty to create an optimal environment for teaching and learning and to provide the best possible experience for students. Currently, her work focuses on adapting coursework, assessments and in-class activities to effectively incorporate AI tools, while also addressing the challenges and complexities that come with using—or choosing not to use—AI in second and additional language instruction.

Over the years, she has played a key role in shaping the undergraduate curriculum in LCAL. She has held several administrative positions, including director of undergraduate studies and group coordinator for the French and Francophone Studies program for more than a decade. She currently serves as the advisor for the Applied Multilingual Studies major and minor.

She has represented LCAL extensively across campus, most recently serving on the University Education Council, the Dietrich College Council, the Dietrich College committee for the new general education curriculum and the Dietrich College AI support committee. In addition to her other responsibilities, she is the director and advisor for LCAL's Applied Linguistics & Second Language Acquisition master's programs, in which she also teaches.

  • Teaching language and culture
  • Culture/Intercultural competence
  • Teacher development
  • Improving learning outcomes with technology
  • Applied Linguistics
  • Elementary French, all courses
  • Intermediate French, all courses
  • Advanced French, courses at the third and fourth levels
  • 82-793 Teaching Methodologies for the Foreign Language Classroom
  • 66-139 Reducing Conflict Around Identity and Positionality
  • Barbara Lazarus Mentoring Award, 2019
  • Dietrich College Elliot Dunlap Smith Award for Distinguished Teaching and Educational Service, 2012
  • LCAL Representative, Generative AI Liaison
  • Member, General Education Steering Committee
  • LCAL Representative, University Education Council
  • Member, Committee for Barbara Lazarus Mentoring Award
  • Member, Graduate Teaching Award Committee

Book Chapters

Youngs, Bonnie. “SLA Theories and Practices in CALL.” Engaging Language Learners through CALL: From Theory and Research to Informed Practice, edited by Nike Arnold and Lara Ducate, Equinox Publishing, 2019, pp. 7–50.

Youngs, Bonnie, Sarah Moss-Horwitz, and Elizabeth Snyder. “Educational Data Mining for Elementary French Online: A Descriptive Study.” Researching Language Learner Interactions Online: From Social Media to MOOCs, edited by Edward Dixon and Michael Thomas, CALICO Book Series vol. 13, 2015, pp. 347–68.

Bayle, Aurélie, and Bonnie Youngs. “Patterns of Interaction Between Moderators and Learners During Synchronous Oral Discussions Online.” Learner-Computer Interaction in Language Education: A Festschrift in Honor of Robert Fischer, edited by Philip Hubbard, Mathias Schulze and Bryan Smith, CALICO, 2013, pp. 66–91.

Journal Articles

Youngs, Bonnie. “Item-level Learning Analytics: Ensuring Quality in an Online French Course.” Language Learning & Technology, special issue, Feb. 2021.

Youngs, Bonnie, Akhil Prakash, and Rebecca Nugent. “Statistically-driven Visualizations of Student Interactions with a French Online Course Video.” Computer Assisted Language Learning, special issue, 2017, doi:10.1080/09588221.2017.1367311.

Department Member Since 1993