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Evgeny Dengub

Professor (Teaching) of Russian
Evgeny Dengub
Email dengub@usc.edu

Biography

Evgeny Dengub is an accomplished language educator, known for his expertise in Russian language and pedagogy.

Since 2013, Evgeny Dengub has held the position of director at the Startalk Institute for Teachers of Russian at Middlebury College School of Russian. The institute, which is sponsored by NSA grants, focuses on providing valuable training for Russian language instructors. In addition to his role as director of the Institute, Evgeny Dengub has also contributed as an associate director in the Russian School. 

Evgeny’s dedication to language education is evident in his numerous awards and accolades. He has received the Best Contribution to Language Pedagogy Prize from the American Association of Teachers of Slavic and Eastern European Languages (AATSEEL) for his textbooks Etazhi (Georgetown UP, 2021, co-authored with S. Nazarova) and Panorama (Georgetown UP, 2017, co-authored with B. Rifkin and S. Nazarova). Dr. Dengub received the 2019-2020 Kenneth W. Mildenberger Honorable Mention Award from the Modern Languages Association (MLA) for his contribution to The Art of Teaching Russian as a co-editor alongside J. Merrill and I. Dubinina.

Evgeny Dengub was honored with the American Councils of Teachers of Russian (ACTR) Distinguished Service Award for his exceptional contributions. He dedicated six years to serving on the board of directors of this national association.

Evgeny Dengub is an experienced workshop facilitator and presenter, specializing in language teaching and assessment. Most recently he co-presented the workshop “Rehumanizing the Humanities: Ungrading in the Language Classroom and Beyond” at the American Association of Colleges & Universities’ Conference on General Education, Pedagogy, and Assessments in 2023. He has conducted workshops on interactive teaching, assessment, curriculum design, and material design. Evgeny has also delivered invited talks and presentations on topics such as proficiency teaching, technology in the language curriculum, and diversity and inclusion. His expertise extends to proficiency-based testing, writing instruction, and research on heritage students’ written speech.

Evgeny Dengub’s research projects encompass a wide range of topics, including the effect of ungrading practices on students’ learning and motivation, the survey of students’ perspectives on online language learning and teaching at universities across the U.S., and the exploration of authenticity in the language classroom.

Education

  • Ph.D. Second Language Acquisition and Russian, Bryn Mawr College, 5/2012
  • M.A. Second Language Acquisition and Russian, Bryn Mawr College, 5/2007
  • M.A. English as a Foreign Language, Khabarovsk State Pedagogical University, Russia, 2002

  • Research, Teaching, Practice, and Clinical Appointments

    • Senior Lecturer in Russian; Director of the Russian Language program, University of Massachusetts Amherst,
    • Lecturer in Russian; Co-director of the Three College Russian Initiative, Smith College, 2017-2020
    • Lecturer in Russian, Amherst College, 2010-2017
    • Adjunct Instructor, Temple University, Department of French, German, Italian and Slavic, 2006-2010

    Visiting and Temporary Appointments

    • Russian Language Reviewer, University of Massachusetts Amherst, 09/01/2019

    Other Employment

    • Associate Director for Language Programs, Middlebury College Kathryn Wasserman Davis School of Russian, 11/01/2021
    • Program Director, Lead Instructor, Second Language Acquisition and Pedagogy for Russian Teachers STARTALK Summer Institute, Middlebury College, 2013-2019
    • Testing Program Coordinator, Oral and Writing Proficiency Testing Trainer, Kathryn Wasserman Davis Summer School of Russian, Middlebury College, 2012-2021

  • Conference Presentations

    • Rehumanizing the Humanities: Ungrading in the Language Classroom and Beyond , Conference on General Education, Pedagogy, and AssessmenTalk/Oral Presentation, American Association of Colleges and Universities, online, 2022-2023
    • Ungrading in the Russian Language Classroom , WebinarTalk/Oral Presentation, American Council of Teachers of Russian (ACTR), Invited, online, 2022-2023
    • Increasing students’ oral production: Effective elicitation techniques and appropriate activities across proficiency levels , Flagship Teacher Training Workshops Talk/Oral Presentation, Indiana University , Invited, online, 2021-2022
    • Post-pandemic classroom: Technology in the language curriculum , Flagship Teacher Training Workshops Roundtable/Panel, Indiana University, Invited, online, 2021-2022

  • Book

    • Dengub, E., Nazarova, S. (2021). Etazhi: Second Year Russian Language and Culture. Washington, D.C.: Georgetown UP. Book on Amazon.com
    • Dengub, Evgeny, Irina Dubinina, and Jason Merrill (Ed.). (2020). The Art of Teaching Russian. Washington, D.C.: Georgetown UP.
    • Rifkin, B., Dengub, E., Nazarova, S. (2017). Panorama: Intermediate Russian Language and Culture. Washington, D.C.: Georgetown UP.
    • Dengub, E., Alexieva, P., Lucey, C. (2015). About That, Which Did Not Happen. Annotated Russian Reader (B1-B2). iLearnRussian Publishers.
    • Rojavin, M., Dengub, E., Forrester, S. E. Russian for Advanced Students. Russian for Advanced Students (ed.). Dunwoody Press, 2013, 2013.

    Journal Article

    • Merrill, J., Dengub, E., Pastushenkov, D. (2021). Learner performance in online and face-to-face Russian immersion programs: A comparison. Russian Language Journal. Vol. 71 (2), pp. 199-232.
    • Dengub, E., Rojavin, M. (2010). The Conjunctions A, HO and I: A Comparison of Usage by Heritage and Traditional Students of Russian. Slavic and Eastern European Studies Journal. Vol. 53 (4), pp. 147-164.
    • Foreign Language Pedagogy Podcast, https://teachrussian.libsyn.com;
      Creator, Producer, 2019
    • Best contribution to language pedagogy prize to the textbook Etazhi from American Association of Teachers of Slavic and Eastern European Languages (AATSEEL), 2022 , 2022-2023
    • The Modern Language Association of America (MLA) Honorable mention in the competition for the 36th Kenneth Mildenberger Prize for an outstanding work in the fields of language, culture, literary, or literacy with strong application to the teaching of languages other than English, 2021-2022
    • American Council of Teachers of Russian (ACTR) Distinguished Service Award for Outstanding Service to the Russian Profession, Spring 2022
    • Recipient of National or International Prize in Discipline, Best contribution to language pedagogy prize to the textbook Panorama from American Association of Teachers of Slavic and Eastern European Languages (AATSEEL), 2020, 2020-2021
    • Access to Language Education for www.teachrussian.org from Computer-Assisted Language Instruction Consortium (CALICO), 2013-2014

  • Administrative Appointments

    • Director of Undergraduate Studies, 2022-2023
    • Director of the Center for Languages and Cultures, 2021-2022

    Committees

    • Dornsife Committee on Appointments and
      Promotions for the RTPC (DCAP-RTPC), 2022-2024

    Other Service to the University

    • Faculty Advisor for Organization for Students of Slavic and East European Studies,
    • Faculty advisor to Trojan Bloom: USC Multilingual Journal, 2022-2023

  • Conferences Organized

    • Co-organizer, International Gender-Inclusive Language Instruction Conference, online, Spring 2023
    • Co-organizer, Symposium on Professional Development of Graduate Student Teaching Assistants (Fellows), Harvard University, Cambridge, MA, Spring 2023

    Editorships and Editorial Boards

    • Editorial Board Member, Russian Language Journal”, 2015 – 2022

    Professional Memberships

    • California Language Teachers’ Association, 2022 –
    • International Association for Language Learning Technology, 2021 –
    • ACTFL (American Council on the Teaching of Foreign Languages), 2011 –
    • American Council of Teachers of Russian (ACTR), 2010 –
    • American Association of Teachers of Slavic and Eastern European Languages (AATSEEL), 2007 –

    Reviewer for Publications

    • The Acquisition of Russian as a Second Language: A Research Overview, This book provides a synthesis of empirical research on the acquisition of Russian as a second or foreign language. According to the Ethnologue, Russian has over 258 million speakers worldwide, including both native and non-native speakers, and is the eighth most widely spoken language in the world. Research on the second language acquisition (SLA) of Russian has grown considerably over
      the past two decades. This volume aims to provide an up-to-date overview of the major findings and research directions in this area, with the goal of informing both researchers in SLA and teachers of Russian as a second or foreign language of the latest developments and research findings., Fall 2021

    Professional Offices

    • Member of the Board of directors, American Council of Teachers of Russian (ACTR)”, 2014-2022