Lesley Smith

Lesley Smith is the Director of Basic Courses and Instructor of French at the University of South Carolina’s Department of Languages, Literatures & Cultures within the College of Arts and Sciences. She holds a PhD in Linguistics (2023) and MA in Applied Linguistics (2014) with expertise in second language acquisition, affective factors in language learning, and technology-driven pedagogy. Her research focuses on anxiety, motivation, and psycholinguistic approaches to teaching French.

Education: PhD in Linguistics (UofSC, 2023), MA in TESOL (Distinction, University of Leicester, 2014), BA in English (Magna Cum Laude, UofSC, 2012). She has taught French, linguistics, and English at various institutions since 2011, including part-time roles in K-12 education and corporate training.

Key Research: Examines how anxiety and motivation impact language acquisition, particularly in French L2 contexts. Recent work explores glottophobia (pronunciation anxiety) and feedback mechanisms in L2 learning. She has presented at conferences like AFLS (2024) and TESOL (2020), with publications in System and book chapters for Cambridge University Press and Multilingual Matters.

Awards: Received grants from Duolingo, UofSC SPARC, and the University of Leicester. Active in service roles, including Safe Zone facilitator and organizer of the Second Language Acquisition Reading Group.