Miriam Akoto, Ph.D.
Dr. Miriam Akoto earned her doctorate in English with a specialization in Applied Linguistics at Texas A&M University-Commerce (TAMUC) in 2021. Prior to that, she had received her masters’ degree in French from the University of Arizona in 2016 and her bachelor’s degree in French (minor in English) from Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology (KNUST) in Ghana in 2013. Her research is centered on second/foreign language writing and computer-assisted language learning. She is particularly interested in computer-mediated interaction, peer-assessment/feedback, collaborative writing, and multimodal composition within the French FL context. She has published work individually and collaboratively in peer-reviewed academic journals such as Computer Assisted Language Learning (CALL), International Journal of Computer-Assisted Language Learning and Teaching (IJCALLT), and Languages. Miriam has also presented papers in international and national conferences, including AAAL, CALL, and CALICO. She is currently collaboratively working on two book chapters.
Here at SHSU, she has taught across the curriculum, ranging from introductory to advanced language and culture studies courses and has developed new courses in French and Francophone film and culture. She also regularly teaches courses for the Honors College.
In Spring 2023 for instance, the courses she will be teaching are:
- FREN 2311 Intermediate French I
- FREN 2312 Intermediate French II
- FREN 4370 French and Francophone Cultures through Film
In her courses, you can expect to be challenged to communicate effectively with confidence. To attain this goal, she uses different activities that involve listening and using visual clues to obtain meaning, creative writing as well as brainstorming and organizing ideas, textual analysis: reading texts and scanning for the main points, role playing activities that require speaking with a partner or partners using gestures and facial expressions, choral repetition, and mechanical drills to ensure comprehension and retention of grammatical structures and vocabulary. In addition, Dr. Akoto’s goals for her students go far beyond learning the French language and some facts about its associated cultures. She encourages her students to become familiar with the cultural belief systems and practices of different communities of French speakers from all over the world.
Selected Publications
Akoto, M., & Gibbons, J. (forthcoming, 2023). Use of digital technologies for collaborative writing. In M. Li & M. Zhang (Eds.), L2 collaborative writing in diverse learning contexts. Philadelphia, PA: John Benjamins.
Akoto, M., & Li, M. (2022). Exploring the processes and products of collaborative multimodal writing in a French as a foreign language class. In J. Colpaert & G. Stockwell (Eds.), SmartCALL: Personalization, Contextualization, and Socialization (pp. 207–232). London: Castledown Publishers. https://doi.org/10.29140/9781914291012-10
Li, M., & Akoto, M. (2021). Review of recent research on L2 digital multimodal composing. International Journal of Computer-Assisted Language Learning and Teaching (IJCALLT), 11(3), 1-20. https://doi.org/10.4018/IJCALLT.2021070101
Zhang, M., Akoto, M., & Li, M. (2021). Digital Multimodal Composing in Post-secondary L2 Settings: A Review of the Empirical Landscape. Computer Assisted Language Learning, 1-29. https://doi.org/10.1080/09588221.2021.1942068
Akoto, M. (2021). Collaborative multimodal writing via Google Docs: Perceptions of French FL learners. Languages, 6(3), 140. https://doi.org/10.3390/languages6030140
Courses regularly taught at SHSU
FREN 4370: French and Francophone Cultures through Film
FREN 1411 and 1412: Elementary French I and II
FREN 2311 and 2312: Intermediate French 1 and II