Sharon Childs

Sharon Childs serves as Teaching Professor of Applied Linguistics at The Pennsylvania State University, holding key administrative roles including Chair of the M.A. TESL Program and Program Director for the TESOL Minor. Her work spans teaching, research, and leadership within the Department of Applied Linguistics.

Her research focuses on Language Teacher Cognition and Education, particularly L2 teacher learning from a Vygotskian sociocultural perspective. She investigates how novice teachers develop expertise and the role of context in shaping teaching practices, with additional interests in online language instruction and teacher professional development.

Professor Childs teaches undergraduate and graduate courses such as Teaching American English Pronunciation (APLNG410), Theory: Second Language Acquisition (APLNG491), and Practice Teaching in ESL (APLNG500). She has extensive experience in the International Teaching Assistants program and previously directed the Online Graduate Certificate in TESOL.

She leads significant collaborative projects including an international virtual exchange through Penn State’s EDGE initiative, funded by the American Councils for International Education, connecting Penn State STEM faculty with institutions across Central Asia. Her scholarly contributions feature the co-authored book Praxis-oriented Pedagogy for Novice L2 Teachers (2022) and multiple publications on teacher reasoning and development.

Mentoring undergraduate and master's students is central to her service, alongside program development for TESOL education. Her international partnerships foster cross-cultural educational exchanges that advance language teaching methodologies globally while addressing decolonial approaches in immersion contexts.