Nari Kim (김나리)

Ph.D. Candidate, Second Language Studies

Michigan State University

I am a Ph.D. candidate in the Second Language Studies program at Michigan State University, advised by Dr. Peter I. De Costa. My research examines how multilingual children critically read and compose texts and how teachers work toward more equitable literacy education. I am particularly interested in how children critically engage with digital texts and technologies while drawing on their linguistic and cultural resources. I collaborate with teachers and schools to bridge research and classroom practice.

Interests
Language & Literacy Education
TESOL & Multilingual Education
Critical Digital Literacies
Teacher Education
Trajectory
Michigan State University
Ph.D. Candidate, Second Language Studies
Daegu National University of Education
Major: English (Minors: Japanese, Chinese)
Susan M. Gass Outstanding Research Award
Michigan State University, 2026
U.S. Department of State, 2023–2025
The Ohio State University, 2021–2022
The Ohio State University, 2022
Recent News

Research

As a former elementary teacher, researcher, and teacher educator, I work at the intersection of TESOL and language and literacy education in multilingual contexts. I examine how multilingual children interpret and create texts, including those shaped by AI, and how teachers’ experiences shape their work with multilingual learners. My dissertation brings these strands together with multilingual elementary students and their classroom teacher.

Q1 Children’s Language and Literacy

How do children draw on their lived experiences and emotions to understand and critically interpret texts?

I examine how children connect texts to their linguistic, cultural, and community experiences, treating their multilingual repertoires as resources for meaning-making. I also look at how texts represent children’s languages and identities, and how emotion shapes reading engagement, comprehension, and vocabulary learning.

Related publications ▾
Q2 Critical Digital Literacies

How do digital technologies shape the ways learners and teachers interpret and create texts?

I investigate how new technologies, including AI, change the production and interpretation of texts, and how digital and AI-generated representations can reproduce bias and exclusion. I also explore multimodal composing and counter-storytelling as practices of learner agency, working toward critical and ethical approaches to literacy learning in digital environments.

Related publications ▾
Q3 Teacher Development, Emotion & Identity

How do teachers learn to support multilingual learners within their institutional contexts?

I examine how teachers’ emotions and professional identities shape their instruction, particularly when their pedagogical commitments meet institutional and classroom constraints. I also study professional learning that helps teachers build on children’s multilingual resources.

Related publications ▾
Across Q1–Q3 Connecting Research and Practice

Questions that come from classrooms and go back to them.

I conduct classroom-based research with teachers and students as participants and collaborators, building sustained partnerships with elementary classrooms and teacher communities.

Related publications ▾

Publications

I support the Postprint Pledge, a movement toward making scholarship more accessible. If you or your institution do not have access to any of the publications below, the postprint links will open an accepted version of each publication that is freely available.

2026
Single
First / Corresponding
Co-authored
2025
Single
First / Corresponding
Ped
Co-authored
Journals
Language Teaching System Applied Linguistics Language and Education Foreign Language Annals Journal of Computer Assisted Learning Teachers and Teaching: Theory and Practice World Englishes Pedagogies: An International Journal Journal of English for Research Publication Purposes Journal of Modern Research in English Language Studies
Book Publishers
Routledge Elsevier John Benjamins

Peer-Reviewed Journal Articles

Single author First / corresponding author Guest editor

Digital Literacies & Multiliteracies

Teacher Development, Emotion & Identity

Research–Practice Divide

Methodology

Book Chapters

Presentations

Teaching

Teaching Philosophy

My teaching centers on helping students develop their identities as capable readers, writers, and language users and fostering a curiosity and passion for reading and language that continues beyond the classroom. I design lessons that make room for risk-taking, treat mistakes as part of learning, and ground language and literacy learning in authentic, contextualized work. I draw on an asset-based pedagogy that recognizes students’ linguistic and cultural backgrounds as resources rather than deficits, inviting their home languages, families, and ideas into the classroom.

I work with both current and future elementary teachers. As a teacher licensed in Michigan, Alabama, and South Korea, I try to carry these commitments into my own classroom.

Language Teacher Education

Instructor of record for undergraduate courses at MSU serving preservice elementary teachers, connecting research and state standards with classroom practice for multilingual learners.

Mentoring

Mentor doctoral students and early-career scholars on qualitative research methods, dissertation writing, and scholarly publication through coursework, guest lectures, and invited panels.

K-12 Practitioner Roots

Draw on a decade of experience teaching English language and literacy in elementary multilingual and EFL classrooms in my work in teacher education and research.

Current Teaching
MSU logo
Michigan State University
Department of Linguistics, Languages & Cultures
At MSU, I am the instructor of record for undergraduate courses serving preservice elementary teachers. I independently designed and taught each course, connecting theory to classroom practice with multilingual learners.
LLT 307 Methods of Second and Foreign Language Teaching Instructor of Record · Summer 2026

National and international approaches, methods, materials design, learner characteristics, and needs assessment in ESL and foreign language settings. Survey, evaluation, and application of major effective methods and materials. Prepared preservice elementary teachers to teach vocabulary, reading comprehension, and writing through standards-aligned lesson design.

LLT 361 Second and Foreign Language Learning Instructor of Record · Summer 2025

Basic principles of learning a second or foreign language. Issues in first language acquisition. Theories of second language learning. Aptitude, motivation, attitude, learning grammar, age, learning in a classroom, myths, and facts about second language learning. Guided preservice teachers in leveraging multilingual children’s first-language literacy to support vocabulary, reading, and writing development.

Student Feedback · LLT 307, Summer 2026

“Nari is an extremely empathetic instructor who clearly cares about the quality of teachers in this next generation. She cares about her students and about the kind of teachers they want to be. She is also personable, and I felt that she cared about my learning and success.”

“Her content is really helping me do what it is supposed to do: get me thinking about ELLs’ needs and how to create content that will help them be successful. Her content is relevant, and I can tell she constructed it with our work in mind, making me want to be more attentive.”

“I would say she is super on top of her side of things. Whether it’s making assignments accessible or having strong communication, she’s on it. Her lectures really pull everything together and narrow the content down, so it isn’t overwhelming and I know what is expected of me.”

“Nari did a great job of making the course feel engaging and supportive. The activities and assignments helped me really focus on the different needs that students have so that, overall, my lessons and activities are inclusive and can be done by all my future students.”

Student Feedback · LLT 361, Summer 2025

“I could tell that she really cared about teaching the material and knew a lot of information about it. She was very good at explaining concepts and being there for students.”

“Nari was super flexible and communicative. She also gave long, thorough feedback on each assignment that I really enjoyed reading and found very helpful.”

“She put so much effort into engaging with us. All the feedback she gave me was very helpful and thorough.”

“I have developed a much deeper knowledge of the theoretical basis of language learning and skills on making an inclusive lesson plan.”

Invited Talks & Guest Lectures
Oct 2025
Coding Qualitative Data with MAXQDA
Invited Guest Lecture · LLT 874: Qualitative Research in Second Language Studies, Michigan State University, East Lansing, MI
Oct 2025
Advice for QRPs and Theses
Invited Panelist · Student Organization of Second Language Acquisition and Pedagogy (SOSLAP), Michigan State University, East Lansing, MI
Oct 2025
Creating K–12 Research Spaces Through Relationship Building and Intentional Timing
Invited Panel Presentation · In C. Cinaglia (Organizer), Doing Research in K–12 School Contexts. Second Language Studies Anniversary Homecoming, Michigan State University, East Lansing, MI
Nov 2024
Ethical Considerations and Reporting Practices in Narrative Inquiry Research
Invited Guest Lecture · LLT 874: Qualitative Research in Second Language Studies, Michigan State University, East Lansing, MI
Oct 2024
Surviving Graduate School
Invited Panelist · Student Organization of Second Language Acquisition and Pedagogy (SOSLAP), Michigan State University, East Lansing, MI
K-12 Teaching Experience
Elementary Teacher and Bilingual Program Leader
Before entering graduate school, I spent ten years teaching English and serving as a classroom teacher responsible for multiple subjects in Daegu public elementary schools. I co-led my school’s successful application for designation as a district research school focused on bilingual education. After the designation, I coordinated its bilingual programs, including classes, mentoring, and family engagement activities. Through a separate appointment with the Daegu Metropolitan Office of Education, I conducted practitioner research and developed instructional materials.
Baldwin Arts and Academics Magnet School
Volunteer Teacher
Montgomery, AL, USA · Oct 2025 – Nov 2025

Assisted the classroom teacher with instruction and classroom activities in a middle school Korean as a foreign language elective.

Parsons Elementary School
Dual Language Immersion Volunteer Teacher
Suwanee, GA, USA · Sep 2025

Supported teachers during mathematics, science, and Korean language arts lessons in a second-grade Korean–English dual language immersion classroom.

Educational Academy for Boys & Girls
ESL Volunteer Teacher
Columbus, OH, USA · Jan 2022 – May 2022

Supported early literacy development (phonics, vocabulary, and guided reading) and helped develop teaching materials for K–5 students, most of whom spoke Spanish as their first language. Assisted ESL and content-area teachers with push-in and pull-out instruction twice weekly.

Daegu Sehyeon Elementary School
Elementary English Teacher
Daegu, Republic of Korea · Mar 2021 – Aug 2021

Taught English language and literacy to students in grades 3–4 before entering graduate school.

Daegu Jukgok Elementary School
Elementary English Teacher
Daegu, Republic of Korea · Mar 2020 – Feb 2021
·Taught English language and literacy to students in grades 4–5.
·Elementary English Teacher Mentor (competitively appointed): coached in-service teachers through classroom observation, instructional analysis, and evidence-based feedback.
·Teaching practicum supervision: supervised preservice teachers during their elementary teaching practica, providing lesson-planning feedback, classroom observations and follow-up conferences, instructional modeling, and guidance on classroom management.
Teaching Awards · Daegu Metropolitan Office of Education
🏅
Second Prize, Daegu Contest for Technology-Enhanced Teaching Materials
DMOE · 2020
Daegu Education Training Institute
Dispatched Teacher Researcher · Daegu Metropolitan Office of Education (Competitively selected)
Daegu, Republic of Korea · Sep 2019 – Feb 2020

Competitively selected by the Daegu Metropolitan Office of Education for a fully funded six-month TESOL specialization (Department of Global Education), conducting practitioner research and developing learner-centered materials for online and in-person instruction.

🏛
Government Funding
$13,000  · Daegu Metropolitan Office of Education · 2019
Daegu Jukgok Elementary School
Elementary English Teacher
Daegu, Republic of Korea · Mar 2016 – Aug 2019
·Taught English language and literacy to students in grades 3–6.
·Led schoolwide English programming, including curriculum planning, teacher coordination, district partnerships, and English-language events.
Technology-Enhanced Literacy Instruction
·Designed and implemented a maker education program that integrated language and literacy learning — using 3D pens to create story props for storytelling in English.
·Designed robot-assisted language learning lessons by integrating Ozobots and block-based coding (Entry) to support collaborative, embodied storytelling and interactive English communication. (see photos below)
·Integrated augmented reality into English lessons to create interactive classroom experiences that deepened student engagement with language content.
·Head of Operations, Experiential Learning Center for Character Education, Daegu Metropolitan Office of Education (Mar 2017 – Aug 2019): directed a district-wide educational program serving more than 2,000 elementary and middle school students annually across 21 public schools, leading program planning, instructor recruitment, budgeting, payroll, scheduling, school–district communication, and official reporting.
·Daegu–Australia Telecollaboration Research Group (Mar 2016 – Aug 2021): participated in global telecollaboration research with Southmoor School, Australia. MOU signed between Daegu Metropolitan Office of Education and Victoria Southwestern Office of Education, involving 23 classes across 19 Daegu schools.
Teaching Awards · Daegu Metropolitan Office of Education
🏅
Third Prize, Excellence in Teaching Award (English)
DMOE · 2016
Daegu Inji Elementary School Bilingual Program Development & Implementation
Elementary English & Homeroom Teacher
Daegu, Republic of Korea · Mar 2012 – Feb 2016
Bilingual ClassesMultilingual Family NightsBilingual College MentorsUNESCO Teacher ExchangeBilingual Speech ContestMultilingual Student ChoirMultilingual Student Musical
·Taught English language and literacy to students in grades 5–6, designing culturally and linguistically responsive instruction for multilingual learners.

Bilingual Program Development Mar 2015 – Feb 2016

·Co-led the school’s successful application for designation as a Daegu Metropolitan Office of Education research school focused on bilingual education.
·Served as lead coordinator for the development and implementation of the school’s bilingual programs, including bilingual classes, home-language maintenance, and family engagement activities, as well as a choir and musical theater program for multilingual students.
·Planned and coordinated a bilingual mentoring program with college students and guided elementary students in drafting, revising, and presenting bilingual speeches.
·Organized evening family engagement nights that brought multilingual families into the school community.
·The school received an award for its distinctive school programs, and I received a citation from the Office of Education for my contributions.
Multilingual and multicultural program activities at Daegu Inji Elementary

UNESCO Teacher Exchange 2015

Hosted two Vietnamese teachers through UNESCO’s 2015 Learning for Empathy Teacher Exchange and co-developed bilingual and cross-cultural curricula, co-teaching lessons for elementary students.

S2AEM Teaching Across Borders conference, Seoul Traditional tea ceremony with Vietnamese teachers at Daegu Inji Elementary
Teaching Awards · Daegu Metropolitan Office of Education
🏅
Excellence in Supporting Struggling Learners (English Education)
DMOE · 2014
🏅
Outstanding School Award (Multilingual Education)
DMOE · 2015
🏅
Excellence in Educational Activities Award (Multilingual Education)
DMOE · 2015
Technology-integrated English classroom activities at Daegu Jukgok Elementary Students engaged in coding and robotics activities at Daegu Jukgok Elementary
Teaching Certificates & Licenses
Professional Teaching Certificate – Elementary K–5 (All Subjects), K–8 (ZG Endorsement)
Michigan Department of Education
Issued Sep 2025 · Expires Jun 2030
Professional Educator Certificate – Elementary (K–6)
Alabama State Department of Education
Issued Nov 2025 · Expires Jun 2031
Elementary School Teacher License
Ministry of Education, Korea
Issued Feb 2012 · No expiration

Service

Service Philosophy

I believe service is an essential part of sustaining a collaborative and supportive field. My service work includes reviewing scholarship, mentoring graduate students, organizing academic events, and offering invited teaching and workshops. Through these efforts, I aim to make scholarship and professional learning more accessible.

Peer & Conference Review

Manuscript review for journals in applied linguistics and language education, with abstract review for the TESOL Convention and AERA since 2023.

Invited Talks & Workshops

Panels at Michigan State University on K-12 research partnership, qualitative research practices, and graduate-school life.

Leadership & Community

Symposium organizing volunteer, KERIS content reviewer, and a member of the SLS graduate community.

Professional Service

Scholarly Review

Manuscript, Abstract & Content Review

Since 2023 I have served as an ad hoc reviewer across applied linguistics, education, and multicultural venues.

  • Journals · Manuscript Review (Ad-Hoc since 2025)
    • Language & Education
    • Language Policy
    • System
    • Foreign Language Annals
    • TASK
    • Educational Review
    • Educational Studies
    • Educational Research and Evaluation
    • Multicultural Perspectives
  • Conferences · Abstract Review (Ad-Hoc since 2023)
    • TESOL International Convention & Expo (Advocacy, Social Justice & Community Building strand)
    • AERA, Bilingual Education Research SIG
    • AERA, Second Language Research SIG
  • Programs · Content Review (Ad-Hoc since 2024)
    • Korea Education and Research Information Service (KERIS), online teacher-training programs

Knowledge-Sharing

Invited Talks & Workshops

I use invited panels and student sessions to translate research methods and graduate-school experience into practical guidance for peers and newer students at Michigan State University.

  • 2025 · SLS Anniversary Homecoming: Panel on creating K-12 research spaces through relationship building and intentional timing, in Doing research in K-12 school contexts (Organizer: C. Cinaglia).
  • 2025 · SOSLAP Graduate Student Organization: Invited panelist, “Advice for QRPs and Thesis.”
  • 2024 · SOSLAP Graduate Student Organization: Invited panelist, “Surviving Graduate School.”
Title slide for Nari Kim's SOSLAP panel, Advice for QRPs and Thesis Title slide for Nari Kim's SLS anniversary panel, Creating a Mutually Beneficial Community: K-12 Research Partnership

Institutional Service

Closing slide thanking colleagues and student volunteers, including Nari Kim
Nari Kim with the symposium team and the invited keynote speaker Dr. Ofelia Garcia delivering the symposium keynote on translanguaging as the audience watches

Association & Program Work

I contribute through the program structures that make scholarly exchange possible, helping organize events and host visiting scholars who connect the wider field.

  • Symposium organizing volunteer: supported logistics and on-site coordination for the 2025 Graduate Student Symposium on Engaged Multilingual Pedagogy and Intersectionality.
  • Invited speakers hosted: Ofelia García (CUNY Graduate Center) and Jon Wargo (University of Michigan).
  • Field visibility: represented the Second Language Studies graduate community across program and conference-facing events.

Community Engagement

Nari Kim volunteering at the COSI Language Pod — children exploring an interactive exhibit, her COSI Labs in Life volunteer badge, and the language research lab

The Language Pod

I contribute to making language science accessible to the public. I took part in public-facing language science at the Language Pod, the COSI (Center of Science and Industry) lab devoted to the study and communication of language.

  • Public science communication: explained language research to visitors and led interactive demonstrations about the science of language.
  • Research outreach: supported participant recruitment for ongoing language research studies.

Fellowships & Grants

Doctoral Level
Fulbright Graduate Student Award
U.S. Department of State
$80,000
2023–2025
Duolingo Dissertation Research Grant
Duolingo
$5,000
2026
Dissertation Completion Fellowship
College of Arts & Letters & Graduate School, MSU
$10,000
2026
Susan M. Gass Outstanding Research Award
Second Language Studies, MSU
$1,000
2026
College of Arts and Letters Merit Scholarship
Michigan State University
$3,000
2023
Global Studies Graduate Student Recruitment Fellowship
Michigan State University
$2,000
2023
MSU Internal Scholarships & Travel Grants
Graduate School Summer Fellowship
College of Arts & Letters
$4,500
2024
Dissertation Research Enhancement Fellowship (awarded twice)
Arts & Letters / SLS
$1,700
2026
Graduate School Fellowship
The Graduate School
$600
2026
Graduate Fellowship Award (awarded three times)
SLS Program
$1,053
2024–25
Conference Travel Grants (awarded four times)
Arts & Letters / SLS / Applied Linguistics
$2,360
2024–26
Master’s Level
University Fellowship
The Ohio State University
$95,533
2021–2022
Student of the Year Award
Department of Teaching & Learning, OSU
2022
Elementary Teacher Level
Elementary English Teacher Intensive Research Training
Daegu Metropolitan Office of Education
$13,000
2019
Daegu Contest for Technology-Enhanced Teaching Materials (2nd Prize)
Daegu Metropolitan Office of Education
2020
Excellence in Teaching Award (English, 3rd Prize)
Daegu Metropolitan Office of Education
2016
Outstanding School Award (Multilingual Education)
Daegu Metropolitan Office of Education
2015
Excellence in Educational Activities Award (Multilingual Education)
Daegu Metropolitan Office of Education
2015
Excellence in Supporting Struggling Learners (English Education)
Daegu Metropolitan Office of Education
2014
Excellence in Teaching Award (English, 1st Prize)
Daegu National University of Education Elementary School
2011
Undergraduate Level
Japanese Government (MEXT) Scholarship
Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology, Japan
$9,000
2009
Semester Honors (Merit Scholarship)
Daegu National University of Education
Awarded every enrolled semester based on academic merit · 2007, 2008, 2010, 2011
$2,667
2007–2011
Youth Delegation Overseas Experience (Australia)
Ministry of Gender Equality and Family, Republic of Korea
$1,856
2010
🏆 Excellent Achievement Award (Youth Delegation)
Ministry of Gender Equality and Family, Republic of Korea
Intergovernmental Youth Representative Exchange Program (China)
Ministry of Health, Welfare and Family Affairs, Republic of Korea
$1,000
2008
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Curriculum Vitae

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