
Dr. Amanda Lanier
Core Faculty 2013 to Present
PhD in Applied Linguistics & ESL
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Dr. Amanda Lanier is an applied linguist who focuses on intersections of culture and technology in language learning and teacher cognition, particularly in regard to critical and heritage languages. She has been designing and teaching courses in the MAFLT program since 2013 and served as Program Director from 2018 to 2025. (continued below)
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Bio (continued)
Dr. Lanier’s doctoral dissertation, completed at Georgia State University, focused on identity, culture, literacy, and investment in young learners of Arabic, and she remains committed to promoting less-commonly-taught languages (LCTLs) and heritage language learning in the U.S. as well as advocacy and research engagement among teachers of additional languages.
Over the last decade, she has designed and taught courses on Methods of FLT, Culture (and Interculturality) in FL Courses, Foreign/Second Language Acquisition, Sociolinguistics and Spoken Language, Literacy and Biliteracy, Language Concepts (Pedagogical Grammar), and, most recently, Program Development and Administration. She has extensive experience in online learning and teaching and ensures that instructional technology is integrated effectively into the content and delivery of all FLT courses.
Further resources including her professional portfolio, links to presentations and publications, and recommendations on language teaching, teacher development, and online learning can be found on her personal website. She also posts about language teaching and online learning via the MAFLT blog and her own blog.
Latest Posts | Amanda Lanier

Celebrating Spring 2025 Grads
Congrats to MAFLT Graduates in Spring 2025! On May 2. 2025, our campus came alive with celebration as graduates from our online master’s program traveled from across the country to participate in MSU’s Spring 2025 Commencement Ceremony. commencement.msu.edu After years of remote classes, late-night discussions across time zones, and Teams

ViVID Peer Mentoring – ACTFL 2024
The MAFLT Faculty presented insights and strategies from the ViVID Project in a session titled “Peer Mentoring Through Video-Based Observations: Frameworks and Strategies”

MIWLA 2024 – What do you want on your plate?
Current student Haley Rooney and MAFLT director Dr. Amanda Lanier present at Michigan’s state conference on smarter lesson planning and planning for program success.

MAFLT Spring 2024 Virtual Open House
Friday, April 5th, 2024 | Virtual event in Gathertown featuring alumni James Goetschius, Petra Jones, and Anna Moore | Watch the video and join us live next year!

Language Educator VIVID Project Article
The Fall 2023 issue of The Language Educator features an article by the core faculty of the MAFLT Program in which we describe our approach to teacher development in the ViVID Project.

FLEx Virtual Conference
Foreign Language Excellence Exchange – virtual conference hosted by MAFLT faculty with graduate students presenting sessions for fellow language teachers.