Tonya Eick

Tonya Eick is an Instructor in the Department of English at Arizona State University (ASU), affiliated with the Writing Programs and part of the College of Liberal Arts and Sciences. She is currently pursuing a PhD in Linguistics-Applied Linguistics (LAL) and holds a Master’s in TESOL from ASU (2014). Her roles include teaching First Year Composition, TESOL, sociolinguistics, and graduate writing courses. She has served as Assistant Director and Associate Director of Second Language Writing, and supervised the Second Language Writing Tutor Internship Program.

Education:

• Bachelor of Arts in Asian Studies (CU-Boulder)
• Bachelor of Arts in Business Administration (U of P)
• Post-baccalaureate work in East Asian Languages and Civilizations (CU-Boulder)
• Master of Arts in TESOL (ASU, 2014)
• Current PhD Candidate in English (Linguistics-Applied Linguistics, ASU)

Research Interests: Tonya focuses on language pedagogy, particularly for second language writers, and integrates sociolinguistic perspectives into her teaching. Her work emphasizes questioning techniques to enhance student discourse and writing processes. She explores applied linguistics, World Englishes, and the interplay of language change with cultural contexts.

Professional Contributions: She has collaborated on teacher training frameworks in Japan (via the JET Programme) and contributed to the 2016 Symposium on Second Language Writing. Her pedagogical innovations include the 'Question Cycle' method, documented in a narrated PowerPoint for student use.

Awards:

• Phi Kappa Phi Honor Society Inductee
• Fall 2017 Teaching Excellence Award

Additional Roles: Previously worked as an Assistant Language Teacher (ALT) in Japan, and in financial processing roles in Phoenix/Denver. Extracurricular interests include comic book culture, vocal performance (opera training), and cultural artifact collecting.