Kevin Hirschi, Ph.D.
Assistant Professor, Bicultural-Bilingual Studies
Bio
I am an assistant professor in the Bilingual-Bicultural Studies department at The University of Texas at San Antonio and I received my PhD in Applied Linguistics from Northern Arizona University in 2024. My research interests include second language acquisition with a focus on pronunciation, technology for analytic and learning purposes, discourse intonation, and corpus linguistics. I leverage large data sets and computational techniques for statistical and perceptual analyses of speech to better our understanding of language development and fully describe the dimensions needed for language learners to communicate successfully. I have taught language pedagogy courses, English, and French at institutions in three countries and supported university students in become effective language learners, users, and teachers through studying abroad, self-access language learning, experiential learning, and skill development. I have been fortunate to engaged in teaching and teacher training as a Peace Corps Volunteer and US Department of State English Language Fellow in the Kyrgyz Republic and Georgia.
Teaching
- Second Language Pedagogy
- Research Methods
- Second Language Pronunciation
- Sociolinguistics
Research Interests
- Second Language Pronunciation
- Second Language Acquisition
- Research Methods in Applied Linguistics
- Spoken Corpora
Degrees
- Ph.D., Applied Linguistics, Northern Arizona University, 2024
Honors and Awards
- Most Promising Graduate Student Research Scholar 2023 Award
- Year Awarded: 2023
- Organization: Office of the Vice Provost of Research, Northern Arizona University
- Presidential Fellow, Northern Arizona University. ($9000), Awarded annually
- Year Awarded: 2019 - 2023
- Scholar, Gates Millennium Scholars Program. (~$5,000), Awarded annually
- Year Awarded: 2001-2006
Presentations
- Hirschi K. & Kang, O. AI-Based Mobile-Assisted Pronunciation Training on Production and Perception of English Segmental Contrasts.
- Location: 15th Annual Pronunciation in Second Language Learning and Teaching Conference. Ames, Iowa.
- Presentation Date: September 2024
- Hirschi, K. & Kang, O. AI approaches to L2 pronunciation evaluation and intervention. In S. Crossley, Leveraging artificial intelligence in second language acquisition research [Invited Colloquium].
- Location: AAAL Conference. Houston, Texas.
- Presentation Date: March 2024
- Hirschi, K., & Kang, O. Impact of Lexical Stress on L2 Intelligibility in Academic English.
- Location: IATEFL PronSIG Online Conference 2023. Online.
- Presentation Date: October 2023
- Hirschi K. & Kang, O. How Many and What Kind of Raters are Needed for Intelligibility, Comprehensibility, and Accentedness Research: A G Theory Analysis.
- Location: 14th Annual Pronunciation in Second Language Learning and Teaching Conference. West Lafayette, Indiana.
- Presentation Date: September 2023
- Hirschi, K. Mobile-Assisted Pronunciation Training. Technology and Pronunciation CALL/SPLIS intersection panel.
- Location: TESOL 2023. Portland, Oregon.
- Presentation Date: March 2023
- Hirschi, K., Kang, O., Hansen, J., & Looney, S. Exploring the threshold of intelligibility through suprasegmental features: Employing nonlinear regression for optimal modeling of intelligibility.
- Location: AAAL Conference. Portland, Oregon.
- Presentation Date: March 2023
- Hirschi, K. Kang, O., & Looney, S. Intelligibility-based formative assessment on suprasegmentals: Saliency, uptake, and delivery.
- Location: IATEFL PronSIG Online Conference 2022. Online.
- Presentation Date: October 2022
- Hirschi, K., Kang, O., Hansen, J. H., Looney, S. Effects of technology-based pronunciation feedback on ITA’s intelligibility and accentedness.
- Location: 13th Annual Pronunciation in Second Language Learning and Teaching Conference. St. Catherines, Ontario, Canada.
- Presentation Date: June 2022
- Hirschi, K., Kang, O., Hansen, J. H., Looney, S. The effects and attitudes towards mobile-assisted pronunciation and communication training on international teaching assistants’ oral performance.
- Location: AAAL Conference. Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania.
- Presentation Date: March 2022
- Hirschi, K. The Intonation of L2 Collaborative Spoken Tasks: Pitch Concord and Dominant Tone Choices.
- Location: Accents Conference. Online.
- Presentation Date: December 2021
Grants, Patents and Clinical Trials
- Linguistic analysis of a corpus of spoken American English: A CURE project with implications for scholars, teachers, and students worldwide. Office of Undergraduate Research and Creative Activity Faculty CURE Development Grant at Northern Arizona University.
- Total Amount: $7000
- Duration: 5/2023-12/2024
- Role: Co-PI with Lizzy Hanks
- Mobile-Assisted Pronunciation Training for Intelligibility, Comprehensibility, and Pragmatically Appropriate Prosody: Comparisons of Self-Access and Instructed Learning Contexts. The International Research Foundation for English Language Education (TIRF) 2023 Doctoral Dissertation Grant (DDG).
- Total Amount: $2500
- Duration: 10/2023-10/2024
- Role: PI
- Mobile-Assisted Pronunciation Training for Communicative Success: Effects and Moderating Factors of Motivation and Technology Acceptance. Duolingo Dissertation Research Grant.
- Total Amount: $5000
- Duration: 7/2022-5/2023
- Role: PI
- Mobile-Assisted Pronunciation Training for Intelligibility, Comprehensibility, and Pragmatically Appropriate Prosody. Language Learning Dissertation Grant.
- Total Amount: $2000
- Duration: 2/2022-5/2023
- Role: PI
Publications
- Hirschi, K. & Kang, O. (in press). Machine Learning (ML) tools for Second Language (L2) Speech Evaluation and Technology-Assisted Pronunciation Training Research. In K. Sadeghi (Ed). Routledge Handbook of Technological Advances and Considerations in Second Language/Applied Linguistics Research. Routledge.
- Hirschi, K. & Kang, O. (2024). Data-Driven Pronunciation Learning for Intelligibility in the Academic Spoken Context. Special issue on Assessing the effectiveness of corpus-based approaches to English language teaching, TESOL Quarterly. Advance online publication. https://doi.org/10.1002/tesq.3302
- Hirschi, K. & Kang, O. (2023). How many raters can be enough: G Theory Applied to Assessment and Measurement of L2 Speech Perception. Language Teaching Research Quarterly 37, 213–230. https://doi.org/10.32038/ltrq.2023.37.12
- Hirschi, K., Kang, O., Hansen, J., & Looney, S. D. (2023). Fluency benchmarks and impacts of practice with instantaneous assessment on International Teaching Assistants’ speech rate and pause units. In R. I. Thomson, T. M. Derwing, J. M. Levis, & K. Hiebert (Eds.), Proceedings of the 13th Pronunciation in Second Language Learning and Teaching Conference, held June 2022 at Brock University, St. Catharines, ON. https://doi.org/10.31274/psllt.15711
- Hirschi, K., Kang, O., Hansen, J., Cucchiarini, C., & Strik, H. (2022). Mobile-assisted pronunciation training with adult ESOL learners: background, acceptance, effort, and accuracy. In J. Levis & A. Guskaroska (eds.). Proceedings of the 12th Pronunciation in Second Language Learning and Teaching Conference, held June 2021 virtually at Brock University, St. Catharines, ON. https://doi.org/10.31274/psllt.13272
- Taguchi, N., Hirschi, K., & Kang, O. (2022). Longitudinal L2 Development in the Prosodic Marking of Pragmatic Meaning: Prosodic Changes in L2 Speech Acts and Individual Factors. Studies in Second Language Acquisition, 44(3), 843-858. https://doi.org/10.1017/S0272263121000486
- Hirschi, K., Kang, O., Cucchiarini, C., Hansen, J., Evanini, K., & Strik, H. (2020). Mobile-Assisted Prosody Training for Limited English Proficiency: Learner Background and Speech Learning Pattern. Proc. Interspeech 2020. 4452–4456. https://doi.org/10.21437/Interspeech.2020-2901
