معرفی
Dr. Susan Gail Ballinger is an Associate Professor in the Department of Integrated Studies in Education at McGill University's Faculty of Education. Her affiliations include the Plurilingual Lab and the Centre for Research on Brain, Language, and Music. She specializes in bilingual and immersion education, focusing on cross-linguistic pedagogy and the impact of sociolinguistic contexts on collaborative language learning.
Education
Ballinger holds a Ph.D. in Educational Studies (Language Acquisition) from McGill University, where her thesis was titled Learning across languages: Bilingual literacy and peer language learning strategies in French Immersion. She also earned an M.A. in Second Language Education and a B.A. in English Literature and Spanish Literature from Washington University in St. Louis. Additional academic credentials include a B.Ed. in TESL and Kindergarten/Elementary Pedagogy, and a Graduate Certificate in French Immersion Pedagogie.
Research Interests
Her work examines language learning in content-based instructional settings such as Canadian French immersion and European CLIL programs. Key areas include:
- Cross-linguistic pedagogy and its role in promoting language transfer
- Classroom interaction dynamics and peer collaboration strategies
- School language policy and its societal/cultural implications
- Teacher scaffolding techniques for collaborative learning
Publications
Her recent publications analyze bilingual classroom environments and language policy intersections. Notable contributions include exploring newcomer family experiences in immersion programs (2021), co-editing a special issue on cross-linguistic pedagogy (2020), and investigating corrective feedback in content-based instruction (2020).
Advising & Grants
Ballinger supervises doctoral students in the Ph.D. in Language Acquisition and Education and Society programs. She is currently accepting Masters and Ph.D. students for the 2023-24 academic year. While no specific grants are listed, her research themes suggest active engagement in policy-related educational funding areas.
Labs & Teams
She contributes to the Plurilingual Lab within DISE and collaborates with the Centre for Research on Brain, Language, and Music, connecting language learning to interdisciplinary cognitive research.
