Natalie Lewter

Natalie Lewter
Director of TESOL & ESL
931-363-9895 or 931-625-0706
nlewter@martinmethodist.edu

Education
University of Memphis
Ph.D. in Applied Linguistics (in progress)

University of Alabama in Huntsville
M.A. in English with TESOL Certification (2006)
B.A. in Spanish with Secondary Education minor (2003)

Research Interests
Folk linguistics, sociolinguistics, discourse analysis, linguistic anthropology, and neurolinguistics. Some of my recent work deals with the perception of Southern American English in academic contexts, and my dissertation work will (hopefully) combine the areas of linguistic anthropology, discourse analysis, and sociolinguistics in an effort to examine how profanity contributes to the construction of identity and social inclusion/exclusion.

Courses Taught
Linguistics, Second Language Acquisition, TESOL Practicum, ESL Methodology, World Literature II, Freshman Composition I, ESL Reading and Vocabulary, ESL Listening and Speaking, ESL Math Lab/Bridge and ESL Writing.

Professional Affiliations
TESOL International
TNTESOL

Academic Bio
I began my academic career as a non-traditional student at the University of Alabama in Huntsville in 1995. I worked several jobs (primarily bartending, welding, and factory work) in order to finance my part-time pursuit of a degree in civil engineering. Fortunately for users of roads and bridges everywhere, the long and circuitous route I took as an undergrad led me away from engineering and into language studies. In 1999, I grew tired of punching a clock and wanted an adventure, so I decided to learn Spanish. I enrolled in an immersion language course in Cuernavaca, Morelos, Mexico. That experience changed the direction of my life. From that point on, I knew I needed to work with languages. I quickly changed my major to Spanish, wrapped up my degree, did a lot of interpreting and translating, and tried teaching it at the high school level. Realizing that a university setting was a far better fit for me, I enrolled in an English MA program that offered TESOL certification. While I completed my coursework, I was offered the opportunity to teach developmental writing at the university. I have been teaching ever since.

Personal Bio
My interests vary widely, but include spending as much time as possible near the ocean, traveling, reading, and trying new things. I live in a very rural part of Tennessee with my twelve-year-old son, forty chickens, and four dogs. I’m a huge fan of the Whedonverse, good music, and anything that might lead to a new adventure. I’m also an avid homeschooler and look forward to spending my retirement learning to sail and living (at least part-time) on a boat so that I can pursue my interests in travel, language, and people.