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  • Peer-reviewed Publications (national and international): articles and chapters

    Prado, J., Spezzini, S., Harrison, M., Fraser Thompson, S., Ponder, J., & Merritt, P. (2020, June). Teacher educator and preservice teacher construct virtual internship through online writing class for post-secondary English learners. In R. E. Ferdig, E. Baumgartner, R. Hartshorne, R. Kaplan-Rakowski, & C. Mouza. (Eds.), Teaching, technology, and teacher education during the COVID-19 pandemic: Stories from the field (pp. 323-327). Association for the Advancement of Computing in Education (AACE). https://www.learntechlib.org/p/216903/

    Acar, S., & Spezzini, S. (2020, March). Pronouncing words in English that exist as loan words in Turkish: Preliminary findings from four Turkish-speaking English learners. As We Speak. TESOL International Association.

    Spezzini, S., & Oxford, R. (2019, August). Oral L2 comprehensibility among English immersion learners when giving school speeches. Nemityra Research Journal, 1(1), 37-64.

    Spezzini, S., Franks, S., & Carter, D. (2018). Accent reduction vs. intelligibility. In M. Christison & C. Broady (Eds.), Teaching Speaking and Pronunciation, Volume 3 (pp. 1597-1602), in J. I. Liontas (Editor-in-Chief), The TESOL Encyclopedia of English Language Teaching. Hoboken, NJ: John Wiley & Sons.

    Franks, S., Spezzini, S., & Prado, J. (2018). The Role of Speaking in Academic Language. In M. Christison & C. Broady (Eds.), Teaching Speaking and Pronunciation, Volume 3 (pp. 1789-1794), in J. I. Liontas (Editor-in-Chief), The TESOL Encyclopedia of English Language Teaching. Hoboken, NJ: John Wiley & Sons.

    Spezzini, S., Barratt, L., & Carter, D. (2018). Pronunciation assessment. In C. Coombes (Ed.), Assessment and evaluation, Volume 8 (pp. 5174-5180), in J. I. Liontas (Editor-in-Chief), The TESOL Encyclopedia of English Language Teaching. Hoboken, NJ: John Wiley & Sons.

    Spezzini, S., Austin, J., & Prado, J. (2015). "Why didn't anyone tell me this before?" In D. Freeman and Y. Freeman (Eds.), Research on preparing inservice teachers to work effectively with emergent bilinguals, (pp. 205-232), Volume 24 in S. Pinnegar (Series Editor), Advances in Research on Teaching. Bingley, UK: Emerald Group Publishing Limited.

    Spezzini, S., La Cross, L., & Austin, J. (2013). A doctoral student's shift from modified AAVE to Standard English: Evidence for taking a Language for Specific Purposes (LSP) approach. In L. Sanchez-Lopez (Ed.), Scholarship and Teaching of Languages for Specific Purposes, (pp. 99-108). ISBN 978-0-9860107-0-5.

    Seay, S., Spezzini, S., & Austin, J. (2013). Enhancing languages for specific purposes through interactive peer-to-peer oral techniques. In L. Sanchez-Lopez (Ed.), Scholarship and Teaching of Languages for Specific Purposes, (pp. 121-128). ISBN 978-0-9860107-0-5.

    Spezzini, S., & Becker, A. (2012). Summer book clubs for ELLs: Teacher collaboration for promoting academic achievement. In A. Honigsfeld & M. Dove (Eds.), Co-Teaching and other collaborative practices: Rationale, research, reflections, and recommendations (pp. 175-184). Information Age Publishing.

    Spezzini, S., & Austin, J. (2011). New teachers for new students: A teacher education program for the linguistically diverse. Childhood Education 87(5), 318-322.

    Spezzini, S. (2010). Effects of visual analogies on learner outcomes: Bridging from the known to the unknown. International Journal on the Scholarship of Teaching and Learning, 4(2), 1-30. https://digitalcommons.georgiasouthern.edu/ij-sotl/vol4/iss2/11/

    Spezzini, S. (2010). Children were punished: Not for what they said but for what their teachers heard. Childhood Education, 86(3), 130-131.

    Spezzini, S., & Austin, J. (2010). Collaborative mentoring among K-12 teachers: Professional development on the effective instruction of English language learners. AccELLerate! National Clearninghouse for English Language Acquisition, 2(2), 11-13. https://ncela.ed.gov/files/uploads/17/Accellerate_2_2.pdf

    Spezzini, S., Austin, J., Abbott, G. & Littleton, R. (2009). Role reversal within the mentoring dyad: Collaborative mentoring on the effective instruction of English language learners. Mentoring & Tutoring: Partnership in Learning, 17(4), 297-315.

    Spezzini, S. (2009). Fostering language in English language learners through grammaring and IPOTs. Focus on Teacher Education, 9(3). 5-6.

    Spezzini, S. (2006). Helping language learners with pronunciation. Focus on Teacher Education, 7(1). 3-4.

    Spezzini, S. (2005). English immersion in Paraguay: Individual and sociocultural dimensions of language learning and use. In A. de Mejia (Ed.), Bilingual Education in South America (pp. 79-98). Clevedon UK: Multilingual Matters.

    Spezzini, S. (2004). English immersion in Paraguay: Individual and sociocultural dimensions of language learning and use. International Journal of Bilingual Education and Bilingualism, 7(5). 412-31. https://www.tandfonline.com/toc/rbeb20/7/5

    Spezzini, S., & Oxford, R. (1998). Perspectives of pre-service foreign language teachers. System, 26(1), 65-76.

    Kathriner, S. (1976). Teaching German through science, math and art. Die Unterrichtspraxis, 9(2). 100-108.

  • Contributions in Monographs

    Project Names: Shelby STARS and Project HEART. (2010). In C. Casteel & K.G. Ballantyne. (Eds.). Professional Development in Action: Improving Teaching for English Learners, (p. 111). Washington, DC: National Clearinghouse for English Language Acquisition. http://www.ncela.ed.gov/files/uploads/3/PD_in_Action.pdf

    Spezzini, S., & Austin, J. (2010). Collaborative mentoring among K-12 teachers: Professional development on the effective instruction of English language learners. In C. Casteel & K.G. Ballantyne. (Eds.). Professional Development in Action: Improving Teaching for English Learners, (pp. 29-31). Washington, DC: National Clearinghouse for English Language Acquisition. Available at http://www.ncela.ed.gov/files/uploads/3/PD_in_Action.pdf

  • Book Reviews

    Spezzini, S., (2004, November). Review of Essential Linguistics: What you need to know to teach reading, ESL, spelling, phonics, and grammar, by D.E. Freeman & Y.S. Freeman, Portsmouth, NH: Heinemann, 2004. Education Reviews. https://edrev.asu.edu/index.php/ER/issue/view/82

  • Manuscripts in Progress

    Sexton, B., Spezzini, S., & Ponder, J. (under review). Partnering hands-on realia and graphic organizers with the 9-1-1 paragraph in science classrooms: Key for English learners to improve their writing.

    Prado, J., LaChenaye, J., Hodges, J., Spezzini, S., & Austin, J. (in progress). Relational mentoring and student motivation in a graduate education program: A five-year case study in the context of program design.

    Franks, S., Spezzini, S., & Prado, J. (in progress). Featuring NNEST fluency through phonological and acoustic analyses.

  • Conference Proceedings

    Spezzini, S., (2021, forthcoming). Redesigning applied phonology for a virtual classroom: Reimagining kinesthetic activities. Paper presented at 1st National Applied Linguistics Congress. Paraguay.

    Spezzini, S., & Austin, J. (2013, March). SOTL implications from a longitudinal study of a site-based teacher certification program. Paper presented at 7th Scholarship of Teaching and Learning Commons. Savannah, GA. https://digitalcommons.georgiasouthern.edu/sotlcommons/SoTL/2013/49/

    Spezzini, S. (2010). Visual analogies in a graduate course: Student perceived learning outcomes. 3rd Scholarship of Teaching and Learning Commons. Statesboro, GA. https://digitalcommons.georgiasouthern.edu/sotlcommons/SoTL/2010/39

    Spezzini, S. (2009). Visual analogies for enhancing the scholarship of teaching and learning. 2nd Scholarship of Teaching and Learning Commons. Statesboro, GA. https://digitalcommons.georgiasouthern.edu/sotlcommons/SoTL/2009/51/

  • Technical Reports as Author

    Submitted to the U.S. Peace Corps

    Proposal for a Peace Corps Coverdell Fellows program at the School of Education and Human Sciences in conjunction with the Sparkman Center for Global Health (submitted 2014 and 2019, approved 2015 and reapproved 2019).

    Proposal for a Peace Corps Master's International program at the School of Education and Human Sciences (submitted 2012, approved Spring 2013).


    Submitted to the U.S. Department of Education Office of English Language Acquisition (OELA)

    Annual Performance Report for ESL grant - Project CREST (2017, 2018, 2019, 2020).

    Application for 12-month No Cost Extension for Southeast ECHO and Etowah EDGE - approved (2017).

    Annual Performance Reports and Complete Data Reports for the ESL grants - Southeast ECHO and Etowah EDGE (2013, 2014, 2015, 2016).

    Final Report for the ESL grants - Project HEART and Shelby STARS (2013).

    Annual Performance Reports for ESL grants - Project HEART and Shelby STARS (2008, 2009, 2010, 2011).

    Final Report for the Project EQUAL grant (2008).

    Annual Performance Reports for Project EQUAL grant (2003, 2004, 2005, 2006).


    Submitted to Alabama Commission on Higher Education (ACHE) and UA Board of Trustees (all approved)

    Proposal (co-author) of Graduate Certificate "Teaching Multilingual Learners" (2018-19).

    Proposal for non-certification MAEd in Educational Studies with five concentrations (2018).

    Proposal for EdS in TESOL with two concentrations: non-certification (online) and certification (2017-18).

    Notification of Intent to Submit Proposal (NISP) for creating an EdS degree program in TESOL (2017).

    Notification of Intent to Submit Proposal (NISP) for non-certification MAEd in Educational Studies (2017).

    Information Item for changing name of the International Track to TESOL in the MAEd/ESL program (2017).

    Post-Implementation Report to ACHE highlighting accomplishments during the five years since the ESL Master's program had been implemented (submitted 2016 and approved 2016).

    Proposal for a New Graduate Degree Program - Master of Arts in Education for Teaching English as a Second Language, with three tracks (submitted 2009-10 and approved March 2011).


    Submitted to the Alabama State Department of Education (ALSDE)

    Application for UAB and AMTESOL to jointly offer a Professional Learning Unit (PLU) for school administrators on effectively serving English Learners (submitted 2015 and 2019; approved and reapproved).

    Proposal for a new major in the Educational Specialist degree: Class AA certification in English as a Second Language (submitted June 2011 and approved 2012).

    Proposal for dual-certification majors (ESL/Spanish and ESL/French) within the traditional and alternative MAEd/ESL program (submitted June 2011 and approved 2012).


    Prepared for use by UAB School of Education and Human Sciences

    Application for National Recognition of the MAEd/ESL program's initial ESL teacher certification, from the Commission for the Accreditation of Educator Preparation (CAE) programs, through the Specialized Professional Association (SPA) process with TESOL; prepared and submitted in March 2018 and September 2019, and awarded in February 2020.

    Information Packet for prospective applicants to the Pedagogical Studies concentration of the Educational Studies in Diverse Populations (EDSP) PhD program (2017).

    edTPA Assessment Plan in ESL, to serve as model for other programs in UAB's SOE (2015).

    Continuous Improvement Educator Preparation (CIEP) report for ESL certification, to serve as model for other teaching programs in UAB's SOE (2015).

    Information Packets for applicants to C&I programs - Alternative Master's, Traditional Master's, and Educational Specialist (initially prepared in Fall 2012 and updated annually).

    Selected sections on the UAB SOE Institutional Report for reaccreditation from the National Council for Accreditation of Teacher Education (NCATE) (2013).

    Operations Manual for ESL Teacher Education program, including grants from USDE/OELA (2010).

    ESL Teacher Education Program: Self-study report for Site Visit Review by NCATE (2005).


    Prepared for use by INTO UAB and by UAB's former English Language Institute (ELI)

    Pathway Programs (Standard and Accelerated) for non-certification master's degree in TESOL, Early Childhood Education, and Special Education (2016).

    Teachers-in-Training section on the ELI's application for initial accreditation from the Commission on English Language Program Accreditation (2013 and 2018).

  • Research in Progress

    Active IRB protocols

    Oral English proficiency of non-native English speakers pursuing graduate degrees in education and factors related to their identity and perceptions of self-efficacy as teachers (started in February 2015).

    Teaching English Pronunciation to English Learners (ongoing with annual renewals, since 2010).

    Evaluation of National Professional Development Grants from the USDE Office of English Language Acquisition (ongoing with annual renewals, since 2012).

    IRB protocol in progress

    Data collected in preparation for the ESL program's 20-year celebration (April 2019) will also be used for a research study on identifying factors associated with the success of the program's outreach.

  • Service Publications (non-refereed)

    Spezzini, S. (2020, August). Letter from the Past Chair. SPLIS Newsletter, TESOL International.

    Spezzini, S. (2020, March). Letter from the Chair. SPLIS Newsletter, TESOL International.

    Spezzini, S. (2019, August). Letter from the Chair. SPLIS Newsletter, TESOL International.

    Spezzini, S. (2019, February). Letter form the Chair-Elect. SPLIS Newsletter, TESOL International.

    Spezzini, S. (2009, Spring). SETESOL conference: A glance. AMTESOL News, 27(1).7.

    Spezzini, S. (2009, February). Southeast regional TESOL draws attendees from 25 states. TESOL Affiliate News.

    Spezzini, S. (2005, Fall). Thinking ahead to graduate student research days, UAB Graduate School Newsletter.

    Spezzini, S. (2002). The rainbow as a metaphor for language learning. Paraguay TESOL Newsletter. 14-16.

    Spezzini, S. (1995, September). Stamp my card, please. TESOL Affiliate News, 4(2). 8.

    Spezzini, S. (1993, December). Graduate courses in education from the University of Alabama. Guarani News. Asunción, Paraguay.

    Spezzini, S. (1991, April). No passports needed. International Schools Services NewsLinks, 10(5).

  • Review of Scholarly Work

    Editorial Board

    V. Canese (Ed.), Nemityra; A multilingual research journal on Language, Society, and Education. ISSN: 2707-1642. National University of Asunción, Paraguay. (2019-present)

    L. Sanchez-Lopez (Ed.), Scholarship and Teaching of Languages for Specific Purposes. ISBN 978-0-9860107-0-5. UAB Digital Collections.

    Manuscript submissions

    World Englishes (2014)

    Mentoring & Tutoring: Partnership in Learning (2010)

    Book Chapters

    Freeman, D., & Freeman, Y. (reviewed in 2013). Essential Linguistics; Chapter 4 Phonology.

    De Mejia, A. (reviewed in 2008). Enrichment bilingual education in South America. In N. Hornberger & J. Cummins (Eds.) Encyclopedia of language and education (2nd ed.); Springer Editorial.

    Garcia, O., Torres-Guzman, M., & Beardsmore, H.B. (reviewed in 2004). Multilingual and multicultural children and youths in schools: A 21st century bilingual education perspective. Blackwell.