American Language Program

Maria McCormack is a Lecturer in Language who has been teaching in the American Language Program for fifteen years. She holds a B.A. magna cum laude in German and European area studies from the American University in Washington, D.C.; an M.A. in international education development from Teachers College, Columbia University, and an M.Ed. in applied linguistics from Teachers College as well. McCormack teaches ESL courses ranging from intermediate to advanced, and specializes in academic writing, as well as courses for International Teaching Fellows -- international doctoral students who are preparing to teach undergraduates at Columbia. She has designed and taught a Public Speaking course at the ALP, in which students learn to give professional and academic presentations in English; she herself presents regularly at ESL and language assessment conferences. McCormack is interested in language proficiency scaling, and her departmental work involves the description of ALP language proficiency levels and the connection between level goals, curriculum, and student achievement.  Also active in designing English language examinations for the ALP, McCormack wants language tests to contribute to student learning. She is currently pursuing her Ed.D. in applied linguistics at Teachers College; her doctoral work focuses on language assessment, particularly in the area of pragmatic competence.