Kimberley Briesch Sumner

Master Lecturer
Pronouns She / Her / Hers Email kbriesum@usc.edu Office PSD 106Q Office Phone (213) 740-0065

Biography

Kimberley Briesch Sumner is a Senior Lecturer of Teaching English to Speakers of Other Languages at USC and has always had an affinity for learning languages and visiting cultures around the world. Originally from Oklahoma, she obtained Bachelor’s degrees in both French and psychology from the University of Oklahoma but moved to Los Angeles to pursue her graduate studies in the department of Applied Linguistics and Teaching English as a Second Language (TESL) at UCLA. Since obtaining her Master’s degree from UCLA her focus has been on teaching and service in the field. She held a 3-year term as President of CATESOL (California Teachers of English to Speakers of Other Languages, an organization which helps ESL teaching professionals network and develop teaching skills) from 2013-2016 and served on the CATESOL Board of Directors for 9 years.

Professor Briesch Sumner’s teaching and research interests are currently centered around helping international students manage the various types of academic writing they are assigned in their major classes, helping them gain confidence in academic and social speaking situations, and in working with students who wish to pursue gainful employment in the form of internships or U.S. jobs upon graduation.
Before beginning her job as full-time lecturer at USC, she taught at Pasadena City College and UCLA Extension, with specialties in TOEFL preparation, English in the workplace, and corporate language training.  She has also traveled to various places in the world including Iceland, France, Germany, Italy, Singapore, Malaysia, Thailand, and China.

Education

  • M.A. Applied Linguistics and TESL, University of California, Los Angeles, 12/2004
  • B.A. French, University of Oklahoma, 5/1999
  • B.A. Psychology, University of Oklahoma, 5/1999
  • Professional Offices

    • LA Regional Conference Board Liaison, CATESOL, 07/2006 –

    Professional Memberships

    • TESOL, 2004 –
    • CATESOL, 2000 –
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