Christa de Kleine

Christa de Kleine is a Professor in the School of Education at Notre Dame of Maryland University. She has been a faculty member since 1998 and served as the coordinator of the university’s M.A in TESOL program since its development in the late 1990s. Her teaching encompasses language acquisition and linguistic diversity in both the MA TESOL program and the Ph.D. program for Instructional Leadership for Changing Populations.

• Education: Ph.D., M.Phil, and M.A. in Linguistics from the Graduate Center of the City University of New York (CUNY); M.A. in English Language and Linguistics from the University of Groningen, the Netherlands.

Her research focuses on Creole English speakers in ESL programs, linguistic diversity in education, and the impact of standard language ideology. She has collaborated extensively with Dr. Rachele Lawton on studies of Generation 1.5 students and community college writing instruction. She is principal investigator on a grant-funded project examining English language teaching practices in Panama, informed by its postcolonial context.

Notable scientific awards include the 2020 Maryland TESOL Teacher of the Year, multiple Faculty Research and Development Awards from Notre Dame of Maryland University (2016, 2013), NIH grant funding (2007), and Sociological Initiatives Foundation support (2004). She has presented nationally and internationally on topics related to language acquisition and linguistic diversity.