Education

2002 Laurentian University, B.A.
2004 University of Notre Dame, M.A.
2011 University of Toronto, Ph.D.

Courses Taught

French and Italian

Career Specialties

Vanessa Rukholm's specialties are adult Second Language Acquisition (SLA), specifically lexical acquisition and retention, as well as second language pedagogy, intercultural competence, and the teaching of foreign language and culture. She teaches French and Italian at all levels and also publishes in the field of Scholarship of Teaching and Learning (soTL)

Professional and Community Activities

Rukholm has published several peer-reviewed articles in SLA and second language pedagogy and has won several grants in support of her research. Her work has focused on the facilitation of lexical acquisition using song in the foreign language classroom as well as on the examination of the impact of modality of presentation (audio, visual, audiovisual) on lexical acquisition and retention. She has also recently collected data looking at the extent to which a curriculum focused on intercultural learning can positively impact learners' intercultural competence. She regularly presents her work at national and international conferences and has lec students in study abroad experiences to Italty.

Honors and Awards

Tournees Film Festival FACE Grant recipient (2019)
University of Tampa International Service Award (2019)
University of Tampa College of Arts and Letters Excellence in Teaching Award (2016)