Jill Hallett

Jill Hallett is a Lecturer in the Department of Linguistics at the University of Illinois at Chicago (UIC), affiliated with the School of Literatures, Cultural Studies, and Linguistics. Her work focuses on sociolinguistics, multilingual education, and language policy, with a particular emphasis on marginalized communities. She holds a PhD in Sociolinguistics from the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign and has extensive teaching experience in secondary education.

Education:

• PhD, Sociolinguistics: University of Illinois, Urbana (2012)
• MA, TESL: Northeastern Illinois University (2006)
• Bachelor’s in English: University of Illinois at Chicago (2000)

Research Interests: Dr. Hallett’s research examines linguistic landscapes in multicultural schools, refugee language maintenance, and institutional gatekeeping in education. Notable projects include co-creating literacy materials for diasporic Mayan communities and analyzing news media framing of crises.

Awards:

• 2023 Award for Small Colloquia (Linguistics for Social Justice Series)
• 2023 OpEd Project Workshop Funding (AAAL)

Service: Chair of Philip Rogers Fine Arts Parent Advisory Council (2022–23), advocate for Chicago migrant communities, and active member of professional organizations like AAAL and AERA.

Labs/Teams: Collaborates on Q’anjob’al language documentation projects and UIC’s Linguistics for Social Justice initiatives.