Hyoun-A Joo
Assistant Professor of German
- School of Modern Languages
Overview
Hyoun-A Joo received her Ph.D. in German Applied Linguistics and Language Science from the Pennsylvania State University in 2018. Before joining the Georgia Tech faculty as assistant professor of German in the School of Modern Languages in 2020, she worked as postdoctoral GLACT fellow at Georgia Tech from 2018-2019 and as assistant professor of German and Linguistics at Furman University in Greenville, SC, from 2019-2020.
Her overarching research interests lie in bilingualism and language contact at their intersections with society and identity. Her research investigates structural properties of second language (L2) acquisition as well as pragmatic L2 use by adult immigrants and heritage speaker communities. In her dissertation Clausal architecture in naturally acquired German: Korean immigrants in Germany, she worked with Korean immigrants who came to Germany in the 1960s and 1970s for work purposes and acquired their L2 “on the fly” by living and working. She investigated their acquisition of the German asymmetric finite verb placement. More recently, she became interested in intercultural pragmatics and intercultural communicative competence (ICC) and started a project about how to become “better communicators” involving German-English bilinguals in the Southeast and how they express politeness when requesting and refusing in English versus German. She sees growth in ICC connected to creating and maintaining peaceful relationships and continuously seeks ways to integrate effective teaching methods such as case studies and simulations in her classes.
- Ph.D. in German Applied Linguistics and Language Science, Pennsylvania State University (2018)
- Magistra Artium in Contemporary German Literature, Freie Universität Berlin (2007)
Interests
- Applied, Cognitive and Socio-Cultural Linguistics
- German
- Global Cities and Urban Society
- Linguistics
- Studies Abroad
Focuses:
- Europe
- United States - Southeast
- Communication
- Cross-Cultural Understanding
- Dialectical Linguistics
- Grammar
- Heritage Language Learning
- Intercultural Issues
- Language Acquisition
- Languages in Contact
- Migration
- Syntax
Courses
- GRMN-1001: Elementary German I
- GRMN-2001: Intermediate German I
- GRMN-3024: Conversation&Composition
- GRMN-3026: German Stylistics
- GRMN-3030: Crossing Borders Lit/Cul
- GRMN-3071: Intro-Business German I
- GRMN-3695: Structure,Commun&Corr
- GRMN-4126: Advanced Stylistics
- GRMN-4500: Intercultural Seminar
- GRMN-4801: Special Topics
- GRMN-6500: Intercultural Seminar
- GRMN-6503: Professional Portfoilio
- GRMN-6510: Language Practicum
- LING-3100: Apps of Linguistics
Publications
Recent Publications
Journal Articles
- South Korean immigrant workers in Germany: L2 German verb placement and sociolinguistic factors
In: International Journal of Bilingualism [Peer Reviewed]
Date: 2022
- “Tesla in Grünheide”: Growing intercultural competence through role-play simulation
In: Die Unterrichtspraxis/Teaching German 55 (2) [Peer Reviewed]
Date: 2022
Other Publications
- Business language case study: Tesla Gigafactory in Grünheide
In: GW-CIBER Case Clearinghouse
Date: 2021
- Tesla in Grünheide – Ein Bürgerforum
In: Case Studies in the Foreign Language Classroom
Date: 2021
- Tesla in Grünheide – Eine Debatte
In: Case Studies in the Foreign Language Classroom
Date: 2021
All Publications
Journal Articles
- South Korean immigrant workers in Germany: L2 German verb placement and sociolinguistic factors
In: International Journal of Bilingualism [Peer Reviewed]
Date: 2022
- “Tesla in Grünheide”: Growing intercultural competence through role-play simulation
In: Die Unterrichtspraxis/Teaching German 55 (2) [Peer Reviewed]
Date: 2022
- Breaking up verb clusters: Two-verb constructions in Moundridge Schweitzer German
In: Journal of Language Contact [Peer Reviewed]
Date: 2018
- Nonconvergence and divergence in bilingual phonological and phonetic systems: Low back vowels in Moundridge Schweitzer German
In: Journal of Language Contact [Peer Reviewed]
Date: 2018
- New structural patterns in moribund grammar: Case marking in heritage German
In: Frontiers in Psychology [Peer Reviewed]
Date: 2015
Other Publications
- Business language case study: Tesla Gigafactory in Grünheide
In: GW-CIBER Case Clearinghouse
Date: 2021
- Tesla in Grünheide – Ein Bürgerforum
In: Case Studies in the Foreign Language Classroom
Date: 2021
- Tesla in Grünheide – Eine Debatte
In: Case Studies in the Foreign Language Classroom
Date: 2021