Overview
Thierry did his undergraduate studies in Avignon (France) in English literature and FLE (FSL, French as a second language). At SUNY Cortland, he graduated in foreign language teaching in French with a BA and a master's degree in Science of Education. He has taught at various institutions: SUNY Cortland, Hobart and William Smith, Wells College, and, currently, Cornell University. He completed a DML (doctorate in modern languages) in second language acquisition/teaching methodology at Middlebury College.
When he is done grading assignments, he is enjoying outdoor activities, writing, reading, gardening, farming, mechanical repairs, carpentry and social events of all kinds…
My two areas of interest are teaching methodology (didactique) and second language acquisition. I research how to empower students to enhance and facilitate language learning via cognitive, meta-cognitive and social/affective activities while keeping a strong emphasis on empathy and motivation. My current thesis topic is based on Van Patten’s teaching principles (Input processing) to force learners to pay attention to forms (mostly verb endings at the past tense) using strategies to turn input into meaningful intake.