Mary Sepp

Associate Professor
Academic Literacy and Linguistics

EMAIL: msepp@bmcc.cuny.edu

Office: N-499J

Office Hours: Wed. 11-1 and Mon/Thurs by appt.

Phone: +1 (212) 220-1423

Expertise

Phonetics/Phonology, Linguistics, Corpus Linguistics, Second Language Writing

Degrees

B.A. Fordham University, French, Russian,1980
M.A. Hunter College, Russian Area Studies,1986
Ph.D. The CUNY Graduate School, Linguistics,2006

Courses Taught

6 HRS.NULL LAB HRS. ESL 94 ESL 94 (English as a Second Language): This advanced level course emphasizes writing and reading skills; however, oral skills are not neglected. In writing, students focus on introducing, developing, supporting, and organizing their ideas in expository essays as well as in narrative and descriptive writing.
6 HRS.NULL LAB HRS. ESL 95 ESL 95 (Intensive Writing): This intensive writing course for ESL students focuses on basic components of effective writing, including paragraph development and structure, sentence structure, word choice, and content. Students read and respond to a variety of texts and use argumentation, narrative, and description as modes of developing ideas in writing.
3 CRS.3 HRS. LIN 100 LIN 100 (Language and Culture (Same as ANT 115)): This course will introduce the student to the study of Language and Culture. The course will introduce related topics, such as bilingual/bidialectal families and bilingual education, language and gender, literacy in a changing, technological society, child language acquisition, and different dialects and registers of English. The readings will draw on works in linguistics, literature and related fields. Students will work on critical reading and produce writing based on the readings in connections with their own experiences and backgrounds.
3 CRS.3 HRS.NULL LAB HRS. LIN 110 LIN 110 (The Structure of English): This course is designed to provide students with an understanding of the grammatical structures of standard American English, allowing them to read, write, and interpret written texts critically and efficiently Through analysis and discovery, students will learn to evaluate the grammaticality of the written work they produce in their academic coursework. In addition, students will explore a variety of writing genres and styles, and learn to manipulate language more effectively, enriching both their production and understanding of written texts.
3 HRS.NULL LAB HRS. ESL 49 ESL 49 (English as a Second Language): This course is designed to support the improvement of writing skills of ESL 54 students. It is obligatory for one semester for all incoming ESL students whose placement shows a need for instruction at this level.
Corequisite: ESL 54
9 HRS.NULL LAB HRS. ESL 54 ESL 54 (English as a Second Language): This course is designed to improve the reading, writing, listening, and speaking skills of beginning and low-intermediate level students. It is obligatory for one semester for all incoming ESL students whose placement shows a need for instruction at this level.
Corequisite: ESL 49
6 HRS.NULL LAB HRS. ESL 62 ESL 62 (English as a Second Language): This is a high-intermediate level course that combines listening, speaking, reading, and writing skills. Narrative and descriptive writing are emphasized and expository writing is introduced.
3 CRS.3 HRS. LIN 130 LIN 130 (Phonetics and Phonology): This course is designed to provide students with an understanding of the sound system of English, with a focus on Standard American English and non-standard dialects of American English. The course will introduce students to the physical production of sounds as well as the mental perception of sounds and how they pattern in English, allowing students to notice and identify the distinct sounds of English, and to develop an awareness of the rich variation within the language. The course will also introduce students to phonetic transcription, highlighting the contrast between sound and spelling, particularly in English.

Research and Projects

Pronunciation variation of foreign toponyms and other proper nouns in American English

Publications

Sepp, M. (2012) Book Review of “Just a Phrase I’m Going Through” by David Crystal , Idiom, Summer 2012
Morvay, G. & Sepp, M.(2013) “Measuring Productive Vocabulary in English Language Learners”, Journal of Linguistics and Language Teaching, vol.4, issue 1.
Sepp. M. & Morvay, G. (2012) “Vocabulary and ESL Writing”, Inquirer 19:19-22, BMCC, Fall 2012
Sepp, M. & Morvay, G. (2012) “Productive Vocabulary, Morphosyntactic Knowledge, Reading Ability, and ESL Writing Success”, Iranian Journal of TEFLL, volume 2 number 2
Sepp, M. (2010) “Getting Assessment Right”, Inquirer 17:10-12, BMCC, Fall 2010
Sepp, M. (2006) Phonological Constraints and Free Variation in Compounding: A Corpus Study of English and Estonian Noun Compounds, UMI Dissertation Publishing / ProQuest, 2006
Sepp, M. (2010) Review of Surviving Linguistics: a guide for graduate students, by Monica Macaulay, eLanguage, June 2010
Sepp, M. & Sepp, E.J. (2014) English Express New York: A Cultural Reading & Writing Text for English Language Learners. , Kendall Hunt
Sepp, M. & Bandi-Rao, S. (2015) “Creating an Effective Model for Digital Storytelling in the ESL Writing Class”, NYS TESOL Journal, vol.2, issue 1
Bandi-Rao, S. and Sepp, M. (2014) “Designing a Digital Story Assignment for Basic Writers Using the TPCK Framework”, Journal of Basic Writing, 33(1):103-122.

Honors, Awards and Affiliations

2008-09 CUNY Faculty Development Grant
2011 BMCC Faculty Development Grant
2013 – Digital Storytelling Grant