This section of my website is a blog (ish) experience. Here, you will see two categories of posts: in the news and in the know. In the news: I'll post periodically about new projects, initiatives, and achievements that I'm excited about. In the know: There comes a point, I think, especially for those of us …
I was asked to help WIDA
In Spring 2026, I consulted with WIDA's education team to develop content for a professional learning course for teachers centered on supporting disabled multilinguals. During my time assisting WIDA, I led a lunch-and-learn to guide the team's development of learning resources, provided expert interviews as learning content in new modules, reviewed professional learning modules WIDA …
Running for School Board
Try as I might to compartmentalize parts of my life, when your whole personhood is dedicated to service and advocacy, things tend to blend together. Today I’m sharing somewhat more personal news here than I normally would. I’m running for a full-term, 6-year seat on the Lansing School District Board of Education on a platform …
DISALLI: a self-assessment tool
I have published an open access self-assessment tool for language educators! “The goal of this self-assessment tool is to guide instructors of additional languages in higher education who want to make more inclusive pedagogical choices for disabled students. This document includes a brief introduction to disability and additional language learning and teaching (the "why"), a …
Keynote: 8th Second Language Learning & Disabilities conference
In many ways, the Second Language Learning & Disabilities conference raised me to be the scholar I am today. I’m so pleased to be welcomed into this space again, this time as their keynote speaker. Please join us for Disability Inclusion: Finding Community at the Eye of the Storm in Language Education.
Disability Inclusion as Innovation in 2020s World Language Education
I was invited to Colgate University’s Conference on Innovative Approaches to Language Education to talk about Disability Inclusion in Dystopian Times Disability Inclusion as Innovation in 2020s World Language Education. Spoiler alert: Disability inclusion needs to play a part in the larger conversation about world language enrollments in U.S. higher education. Stay tuned!
SSLA special issue: Disability and L2 learning
I'm thrilled to announce that Disability and Second Language Learning, the 2025* special issue of Studies in Second Language Acquisition, is complete and remaining articles will be released soon! *We delayed several of the articles to align publishing with the journal’s decision to go fully Open Access beginning January 2026 - congrats, SSLA! My deepest …
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Accessibility Coordinator and Advocate for MSU College of Arts and Letters
Exciting news: In 2026, In addition to continuing my work as Assistant Director of the Center for Language Teaching Advancement, I am also taking on the role of Accessibility Coordinator and Advocate for the College of Arts and Letters at Michigan State University. In this leadership position, I will take an active role in helping …
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My opening pitch for the 2026 IALLT webinar series
The International Association of Language Learning Technology chose disability and language teaching as their theme for their 2026 webinar series. Their webinar team asked for my help, not only to invite speakers from my network of scholars and teachers who work at the intersection of disability and language education, but also to open the series …
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2025 NCSSFL & ACTFL
In November 2025, I visited New Orleans, Louisiana for back-to-back conferencing opportunities. I’m an Associate Member of the National Council for State Supervisors of Language (NCSSFL; “Nuh-CESS-full”), so I attended their annual meeting in my early days of the week of conferencing. It’s always enlightening to hear about the challenges (advocacy) and wins (seals of …
MSU Disability Summit 2025
It was such a treat to meet Haben Girma at MSU's 2025 Disability Summit on 10/3/25. I told her (via a bluetooth keyboard synced to her Brailler) that my grandfather, who was blind, would have been tickled by her sharp humor. Image description: Masked Caitlin holds up a freshly signed copy of Haben Girma's book …
Caitlin Cornell 