Speaking of Language

We chat with Cornell PhD student Jadon Geathers about the development of his AI speaking partner platform for language learners, ChitterChatter. #仁 https://jadongeathers.github.io/  The Future of Learning Lab: https://learning.cis.cornell.edu/ chitterchatter.app/  Instagram: @jadonarmon  Cornell Chronicle article: https://news.cornell.edu/stories/2025/07/ai-tool-helps-students-build-confidence-speaking-foreign-languages    Welcome to a new episode of Speaking of Language. I’m Angelika Kraemer, the Director of the Language Resource Center at Cornell University and I’m Sam Lupowitz, the LRC’s Media Manager. We have Jadon Geathers in the studio with us today. Jadon is a PhD student in Information Science here, working on creating educational technologies that streamline learning and teaching processes while fostering inclusive, engaging, and equitable learning environments. We will hear all about an exciting AI speaking partner that he is currently developing called ChitterChatter. 

Dr. Polly Lauer, a Klarman Postdoctoral Fellow in the Department of Romance Studies here at Cornell, shares how radio and other mass media have contributed to the revitalization of Indigenous language and community in Guatemala. polly.lauer@cornell.edu  https://romancestudies.cornell.edu/polly-lauer  #maltyoxinik

We are joined by the versatile and accomplished Daisy Rockwell, a Vermont-based painter and award-winning translator of Hindi and Urdu literature. In 2022, she was awarded the Booker Prize for Translation, and she recently gave a talk as part of Cornell’s 15th annual Tagore lecture series in Modern Indian Literature called Mixed Metaphors: Adventures in Translationland. She speaks with Sam about linguistic diversity, creativity, and the joy of mixed metaphor. https://www.daisyrockwell.com/  Five original Daisy Rockwell poems published by the Paris Review: https://www.theparisreview.org/blog/2024/07/10/five-mixed-metaphors-for-translation/ Watch Daisy's recent lecture at Cornell: https://vod.video.cornell.edu/media/15th+Annual+Tagore+Lecture--Mixed+Metaphors%3A+Adventures+in+Translationland%2C+by+Daisy+Rockwell/1_armr1wko Instagram: @shreedaisy #dhwani #ध्वनि  

Dr. Mijeong Mimi Kim follows up on her recent talk at Cornell, sharing the benefits of integrating undergraduate teaching assistants into the language curriculum.    mmkim@wustl.edu Watch Mimi's talk at Cornell: https://youtu.be/fE9df4GciCU #curiosity

Cornell's Japanese language program has a partnership with Kansai University. We meet two of their students, and discuss the importance of international experiences and exchange. #practicemakesperfect #千里の道も一歩から

The Southwest Asia and North Africa Program (SWANA) is Cornell’s new hub for research, learning, and engagement with the cultures and people of the vast geographical region stretching from Morocco in the west to Iran in the east. Women of MENA is a Cornell student organization: a digital publication at the intersection of culture and gender studies. Their platform offers a space for open dialogue, designed to unpack the gender dynamics of the region and share women’s stories. Their mission is rooted in inclusivity for people who identify as women, genderqueer, and/or nonbinary.  https://swana.einaudi.cornell.edu/  https://cornellwomenofmena.com/ Instagram: @cornellwomenofmena #دلنشین #نور

Fernando Rubio, director of the Yale Center for Language Study, talks all about Open Educational Resources for language teaching and learning. Dr. Rubio’s talk at Cornell: https://youtu.be/U6Imb0FxB0o?si=IFtIxMxaBZUzvveP #txirimiri  #calabobos #orbayu

Jack Brown, PhD student in Cornell's Department of Romance Studies, is the Alumni Ambassador for the Critical Language Scholarship Program. Jack discusses the CLS and reasserts the importance of language study in creating a safer, more connected world. https://einaudi.cornell.edu/learn/academics/critical-language-scholarship-program  https://clscholarship.org/  https://events.cornell.edu/event/information-session-critical-language-scholarship (Info session on 9/30) #tagarela

Grammar guru Ellen Jovin and filmmaker Brandt Johnson join us to discuss Rebel with a Clause, a new film following a traveling grammar advice stand across all 50 US states. https://www.rebelwithaclause.com/ Tickets to screenings: https://www.cinemapolis.org/movie/rebel-with-a-clause/ #joiedevivre #Eichhörnchen #écureuil

Sam speaks with Hannah Scott Deuchar, a scholar of modern Middle Eastern literature, media, and translation; critical and legal theory; and histories of culture and technology in the Global South. This past spring semester, she gave a talk as part of Cornell's "Language and Power in the Middle East and Beyond" series titled "Translational Justice: The Arabic Novel and the British Archive." She expands on this talk and discusses the impact of translation on politics and power. https://www.qmul.ac.uk/sllf/comparative-literature-and-culture/people/academic/profiles/scott-deuchar.html وَسْوَسَة#