Oksana Vorobel
Professor
Academic Literacy and Linguistics
EMAIL: ovorobel@bmcc.cuny.edu
Office: N-481
Office Hours:
Phone: +1 (212) 346-8559
Oksana Vorobel is a Professor at Borough of Manhattan Community College, City University of New York. She received her Ph.D. in Second Language Acquisition and Instructional Technology, University of South Florida (USF). Her research interests include second language literacy, use of technology in language learning and teaching, and distance language education. She has taught a number of various courses in the USA and Ukraine, including Literacy Development in ELLs (ESOL endorsement course for pre-service teachers), Language Acquisition, Introduction to Linguistics, and ESL/EFL. She serves as a Book Review Editor for the CALICO Journal and is a CALICO Executive Board member.
Expertise
Computer-Assisted Language Learning (CALL), technology in language learning and teaching, second language writing and literacy, distance language education
Degrees
- Ph.D., University of South Florida
- M.A., B.A., Vasyl Stefanyk Precarpathian National University, Ukraine
Courses Taught
- 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.
- 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.
- 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.
- ESL 96 is an intensive integrated skills course that emphasizes academic writing and critical reading for ESL students. It focuses on basic components of effective writing and reading, including essay organization, paragraph development, sentence structure, word choice, and content. Students demonstrate comprehension of texts of varying lengths and genres by reading and responding to a variety of texts and using argumentation, narrative, and description as modes of developing ideas in writing. Students demonstrate critical reading skills related to analysis, synthesis, and evaluation. This course is designed to help students master and apply a full range of college-level reading and writing skills in English.
- The first part of this course introduces students to theories of first language acquisition (e.g., developmental sequence, innateness hypothesis). In the second part of the course, students will become familiar with the theories of second language acquisition and factors such as motivation, age, learning styles that affect language learning. Students will develop an awareness of processes involved in language acquisition, both first and second. Prerequisites: Any 100-level LIN course or Department Approval
- This course will introduce students to linguistics, the scientific study of language. Students will apply methods of scientific inquiry (including the scientific method) to linguistic systems (phonological, morphological, syntactic, semantic, and pragmatic) and language phenomena and events. Specifically, students will engage in observation of linguistic phenomena, collection of data, generation and testing of hypotheses, analysis of and interpretations of data, application and evaluation of theory, in order to form conclusions about linguistic phenomena.
- This course combines Introduction to Linguistics (LIN 101) and Intensive Writing (ESL 95). This course will introduce students to linguistics, the scientific study of language. Students will apply methods of scientific inquiry (including the scientific method) to linguistic systems (phonological, morphological, syntactic, semantic, and pragmatic) and language phenomena and events. Specifically, students will engage in observation of linguistic phenomena, collection of data, generation and testing of hypotheses, analysis of and interpretations of data, application and evaluation of theory, in order to form conclusions about linguistic phenomena. Students will receive an earned grade in LIN 101.6 that is equivalent to a grade earned in LIN 101.
This is an accelerated course that combines credit-bearing and developmental content. Passing LIN 101.6 meets the writing proficiency milestone requirement; students who pass LIN 101.6 are exempt from further ESL courses. LIN 101.6 may not be taken by students who have passed LIN 101 or ESL 95 or are exempt from ESL courses.
Please note: Tuition for this corequisite course is charged by the equated credit (hours) not per credit. - 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.
- 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.
Research and Projects
Current projects include the following:
- Systematic review of studies on distance (online and hybrid) language teaching in various educational contexts
- Evaluation of online language courses
- Language learners’ engagement in community college L2 writing classes
Publications
- Vorobel, O., & Suvorov, R. (Under contract, 2026). Evaluating online language courses: A conceptual framework. Cambridge University Press & Assessment.
- Kim, D., Ho, R.-P., & Vorobel, O. (2023). Enriching middle school students’ learning through digital storytelling: A multimodal analytical framework. ECNU Review of Education.
- Vorobel, O. (2022). A systematic review of research on distance language teaching (2011–2020): Focus on methodology. System, 105, 1-14.
- Smith, B.., Vorobel, O., & Oskoz, A. (2022). What Covid has taught us: A survey. CALICO Journal, 39(2), i–vi.
- Vorobel, O., Voorhees, T., & Gokcora, D. (2021). Language learners’ digital literacies: Focus on students’ information literacy and reading practices online. Journal of Computer Assisted Learning, 37(4), 1127-1140.
- Voorhees, T., & Vorobel, O. (2021). Integrating qualitative research into the community college linguistics course: An autoethnographic inquiry. International Journal of Educational Research Open, 2(2), 100053.
- Vorobel, O., Kim, D., & Park, H.-R. (2020). An adolescent English learner’s expression of self and identity through multiliteracy practices. Journal of Educational Research, 113(5), 327-334.
- Vorobel, O., & Smith, B. (2020). Publishing on CALL products: Guidelines for authors and developers. CALICO Journal, 37(3), i-ix.
- Park, H.-R., Kim, D., & Vorobel, O. (2020). International students’ reading digital texts on tablets: Experiences and strategies. Journal of Computing in Higher Education, 32, 476–504.
- Smith, P., Kim, D., Vorobel, O, & King, J. (2019). Verbal reports in the reading processes of language learners: A methodological review. Review of Education, 8(1), 37-114.
- Smith, P., Kim, D., Vorobel, O, & King, J. (2019). Context and implications document for: Verbal reports in the reading processes of language learners: A methodological review. Review of Education, 8(1), 115-119.
- Vorobel, O., Voorhees, T., & Gokcora, D. (2018). ESL students’ perceptions of using a social bookmarking tool for the development of reading in L2. JALT CALL Journal, 14(3), 191-210.
- Kim, D., Vorobel, O., & King, B. (2018). College students’ use of Second Life in learning Spanish as a Foreign Language. Journal of Second Language Teaching & Research, 6, 109-142.
- Vorobel, O. (2017). Ecological perspective and foreign language teaching and learning. Professional Education: Methodology, Theory and Technologies, 5(1), 14-21.
- Vorobel, O. (2017). Invited review of A. A. Pina & J. B. Huett (Eds.), “Beyond the online course: Leadership perspectives on e-learning.” Teachers College Record.
- Kim, D., & Vorobel, O. (2017). Discourse communities: From origins to social media. In S. Wortham, D. Kim, and S. May (Eds.), Encyclopedia of Language and Education. Discourse and Education (pp. 267-281). Springer. doi:10.1007/978-3-319-02322-9_33-1
- Vorobel, O., & Kim, D. (2017). Adolescent ELLs’ collaborative writing practices in face-to-face and online contexts: From perceptions to action, System, 65, 78-89. http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.system.2017.01.008
- Vorobel, O., & Vasquez, C. (2014). A teacher’s perspectives on peer review in ESL classes. Writing & Pedagogy, 6(2), 307-335
- Vorobel, O., & Kim, D. (2014). Focusing on content: Discourse in L2 peer review groups. TESOL Journal, 5(4), 698-720. http://dx.doi.org/10.1002/tesj.126,
- Vorobel, O., & Kim, D. (2012). Language teaching at a distance: An overview of research. CALICO Journal, 29(3), 548-562. http://dx.doi.org/10.11139/cj.29.3.548-562
- Vorobel, O., & Kim, D. (2011). Upper-intermediate-level ESL students’ summarizing in English. TESOL Journal, 2(3), 330-354. http://dx.doi.org/10.5054/tj.2011.259958
Honors, Awards and Affiliations
- Scholar-in-Residence Program, Faculty Resource Network, New York University, Fall 2020-Spring 2021
- American Educational Research Association (AERA) Division C New Faculty Mentoring Program, Washington, D.C., 2016
- CUNY Faculty Fellowship Publication Program 2015-2016
- William Stewart Travel Award, CUNY, NY, 2015
