Mark Black

Biography

Mark Black earned his Ph.D. in French Linguistics from Indiana University, with his dissertation focusing on the interaction of sociolinguistics and second language acquisition. He also earned a Licence degree in Linguistics from the Université de Rouen in Normandy, France. He taught English in France for several years at various levels (collège, lycée, university) and has taught French in immersion programs in Brittany for American high school students. He also completed a B.A. and M.A. in French from the University of Wyoming.

Mark began teaching at WSU in 2020, in the School of Languages, Cultures, and Race. In SLCR, Mark has taught French courses (grammar, conversation, translation, and culture) and introductory linguistics courses in addition to serving as faculty advisor of the French Club. He is an affiliate faculty member in SLCR.

Mark began teaching in the Digital Technology and Culture department in 2023. He teaches DTC 375 (Language, Texts, and Technology) as well as introductory DTC courses. He also works with DTC faculty in the Game Studies track.

Mark has presented his research at major conferences in second language acquisition (such as SLRF) and in sociolinguistics (such as NWAV). He has also presented conference papers on French literature and translation. His current focus includes text analysis of digital-born corpora and the use of digital tools to investigate trends in first and second language use in online spaces.