# Nicole Mills ![Nicole Mills](/sites/g/files/omnuum2506/files/styles/hwp_1_1__960x960_scale/public/nicolemills/files/nicole_mills_102_web6.jpg?itok=2L4K3_2b) **Academic Degrees:** Ph.D. in French and Educational Studies, Emory University; M.A. in French literature, Emory University **Roles:** Joint Director of Language Programs (interim), Coordinator of the French language program, Co-founder & Advisor of the Certificate in Teaching Language & Culture, Language Advisor for the Office of International Education, Adjunct Lecturer on Education in the Harvard Graduate School of Education **Research Interests:** Psychology of language learning and teaching, virtual environments in language learning, curriculum development, & language program evaluation **Courses:** LING 200: *Second Language Acquisition; RLL210: Language Pedagogy: Theories, Practices, & Approaches;* [RLL220: Second Language research and practice](https://hwpi.harvard.edu/flag/rll-220-rubrics)*; T549: Technology-enhanced Language Learning and Teaching;* Beginning French I: *Cross-Cultural Encounters in French*; Beginning French II: *Paris in Virtual Reality* ***Instructor and Student Access to La R*****é*****publique virtual reality immersive experiences*** [here](https://player.wondavr.com/p/a441bc65-0755-4842-9083-757071170627#Main_Menu) ![La République](/sites/g/files/omnuum2506/files/styles/hwp_1_1__960x960_scale/public/nicolemills/files/republique2.jpg?itok=KHMGb1Vo) (Collaboration with Wonda VR, Rus Gant, and Chris Dede) [Professional Website](https://works.bepress.com/nicole_mills/) My research intersects the fields of psychology of language learning and teaching, educational technology and virtual environments in language learning, curriculum development, & language program evaluation. My recently published [book](https://yalebooks.yale.edu/book/9780300223293/perspectives-teaching-language-and-content) *Perspectives on Teaching Language and Content* (2020) (with Stacey Katz Bourns and Cheryl Krueger, Yale University Press) aims to create links between foreign language pedagogy and meaningful content through the intersection of innovative theories, approaches, and practices. Collaboratively written by scholars with expertise in theoretical linguistics, literary and cultural studies, and education, the book provides guidelines and models that prepare instructors to teach in a rapidly changing and evolving field (see book review [here](https://muse.jhu.edu/article/806135/summary)). My research has also been featured in the *Modern Language Journal, Foreign Language Annals,* the *Computer Assisted Language Instruction Consortium* (*CALICO) Journal*, *Language Learning*, the *International Journal of Applied Linguistics*, and various edited volumes In curriculum design, I aim to move away from more traditional classroom structures and include experiential and virtual learning contexts. I was also honored to receive the Innovation in Language Program Direction [Award](http://aausc.org/AAUSCblog/9418536) in 2020 for my efforts to implement online teaching as Director of Language Programs in RLL at Harvard during the pandemic from the *American Association of University Supervisors and Coordinators*. With the support of a grant from the *Harvard Inititiative for Learning and Teaching* (HILT) (2017-2018), I collaboratively developed a [virtual reality (VR) project ](https://hilt.harvard.edu/funding-opportunities/previously-awarded-projects/projects/virtual-reality-narratives-in-foreign-language-pedagogy/)for a beginning French course that immerses students in the lives of four diverse Parisians who live in the same quarter of Paris (in collaboration with Rus Gant, Chris Dede, and Wonda VR). I have been invited to speak about the initiative at various conferences and institutions including Yale, Princeton, MIT, Bennington, and Columbia and the project was featured in Boston.com ([*What we learned at Hub Week 2018*](https://www.boston.com/news/events/2018/10/15/what-we-learned-at-hubweek-2018)) and the Educause Review ([*Three Examples from the Field AR and VR in Teaching and Research*](https://er.educause.edu/blogs/2018/8/three-examples-from-the-field-ar-and-vr-in-teaching-and-research)). The teaching team and I were fortunate to receive the ABL Connect award for Teaching Innovation from Harvard's Center for Teaching and Learning (2018) for this VR program and its accompanying pedagogical materials. Details on this project are featured in a [chapter](https://www.degruyter.com/document/doi/10.21832/9781788923613-014/html) entitled "Engagement and Immersion in Virtual Reality Narratives" (2020, Multilingual Matters) and an [article](https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10.1111/flan.12494) entitled "Culture and Vision in Virtual Reality Narratives" (2020, *Foreign Language Annals)*. Expanding on the work from this project, we received an additional HILT grant to [support virtual reality pedagogical initiatives](https://hilt.harvard.edu/funding-opportunities/previously-awarded-projects/projects/vrpedagogy/?utm_source=Harvard%20Initiative%20for%20Learning%20and%20Teaching%20Network&utm_campaign=9a243b8b11-6.18.2019%20Conference%20save%20the%20date,%20EI%20video&utm_medium=email&utm_term=0_382d69fe74-9a243b8b11-81315109) across Harvard (2019-2020) (with Susan Berstler & Rus Gant). In collaboration with Wonda, I have also engaged in several curricular design initiatives exploring artificial intelligence in language education with funding from the Course Innovation fund from Harvard’s Office of Undergraduate Education, the Harvard Initiative for Learning and Teaching, as well as the Provost Fund for Interfaculty Collaboration. These initiatives explore the intersection of digital literacy with creative AI Pedagogies and their transformative possibilities with an eye to research-based design. I have been invited to present on this topic at Princeton University, Harvard University, the University of Calabria (Italy), Real Colegio Complutense at Harvard University, the EUROCALL AI special interest group, Harvard XR, Northeastern University, Northwestern University, and Villanova University as well as at the CALICO and MLA conferences. One of these projects was featured in the March/April 2024 Harvard Magazine article [Applying AI - How and Why](https://www.harvardmagazine.com/2024/03/jhj-ai-higher-education). I have also had the opportunity to work in the realm of digital humanities as one of the co-founders of the [Charlie Archive at Harvard Library](https://library.harvard.edu/collections/charlie-archive), a multimedia collection of printed and digital materials produced in the aftermath of the Charlie Hebdo attacks in Paris. The support from the Lasky-Barajas Fund for Digital Arts & Humanities has allowed us to grow this digital humanities project, and it now includes a collection of diverse donations from around the world. In January 2017, we curated an interactive [exhibit](https://frenchculturalcenter.org/events/the-charlie-archive/) of digital and ephemeral materials from the Charlie Archive at the French Cultural Center in Boston. The archive was also featured in the popular press ([Le Monde](https://www.lemonde.fr/societe/article/2016/01/10/je-suis-charlie-et-je-ne-suis-pas-charlie-integrent-harvard_4844679_3224.html)*,* [TV5 Monde](https://information.tv5monde.com/info/le-centre-culturel-francais-de-boston-au-coeur-de-l-actualite-138912)*,* [L'Obs](https://www.nouvelobs.com/attentats-terroristes-a-paris/20160708.OBS4267/charlie-ou-pas-charlie-comment-harvard-a-decide-de-tout-archiver.html), and the [Harvard Gazette](https://news.harvard.edu/gazette/story/newsplus/the-charlie-archive-documents-a-global-response/)). Download 6 citations download- [BibTeX](/bibcite/export?pager_style=no_pager&number_of_items=6&sort_field=bibcite_year--desc&taxonomy_filters=&&&format=bibtex) - [EndNote X3 XML](/bibcite/export?pager_style=no_pager&number_of_items=6&sort_field=bibcite_year--desc&taxonomy_filters=&&&format=endnote8) - [EndNote 7 XML](/bibcite/export?pager_style=no_pager&number_of_items=6&sort_field=bibcite_year--desc&taxonomy_filters=&&&format=endnote7) - [Endnote tagged](/bibcite/export?pager_style=no_pager&number_of_items=6&sort_field=bibcite_year--desc&taxonomy_filters=&&&format=tagged) - [Marc](/bibcite/export?pager_style=no_pager&number_of_items=6&sort_field=bibcite_year--desc&taxonomy_filters=&&&format=marc) - [PubMedId](/bibcite/export?pager_style=no_pager&number_of_items=6&sort_field=bibcite_year--desc&taxonomy_filters=&&&format=pubmed_id) - [RIS](/bibcite/export?pager_style=no_pager&number_of_items=6&sort_field=bibcite_year--desc&taxonomy_filters=&&&format=ris) ### 2020 [Language Program Direction During COVID-19: Collective Memories of the Extraordinary](/publications/language-program-direction-during-covid-19-collective-memories). Second Language Research and Practice . 2020. [Language Program Direction During COVID-19: Collective Memories of the Extraordinary](/publications/language-program-direction-during-covid-19-collective-memories). Second Language Research and Practice . 2020. Mills N. [Engagement and Immersion in Virtual Reality Narratives](/publications/engagement-and-immersion-virtual-reality-narratives). In: Engagement in the Second Language Classroom. Bristol, UK: Multilingual Matters; 2020. Mills N. [Engagement and Immersion in Virtual Reality Narratives](/publications/engagement-and-immersion-virtual-reality-narratives). In: Engagement in the Second Language Classroom. Bristol, UK: Multilingual Matters; 2020. Mills N, Courtney M, Dede C, Dressen A, Gant R. [Culture and Vision in Virtual Reality Narratives](/publications/culture-and-vision-virtual-reality-narratives). Foreign Language Annals. 2020. Mills N, Courtney M, Dede C, Dressen A, Gant R. [Culture and Vision in Virtual Reality Narratives](/publications/culture-and-vision-virtual-reality-narratives). Foreign Language Annals. 2020. - add\_circle do\_not\_disturb\_on Abstract Hansen (2014) states that foreign language studies must learn to conceive of culture as an open, multi-voiced and dialogical interaction full of contradictions”(p. 9). One advocated approach to teach transcultural understanding is through the analysis of... Bourns S, Krueger C, Mills N. [Perspectives on Teaching Language and Content](/publications/linking-foreign-language-pedagogy-and-meaningful-content-theories). New Haven, CT: Yale University Press; 2020. Bourns S, Krueger C, Mills N. [Perspectives on Teaching Language and Content](/publications/linking-foreign-language-pedagogy-and-meaningful-content-theories). New Haven, CT: Yale University Press; 2020. ### 2017 Mills N, Moulton S. [ Students’ and instructors’ perceived value of language and content curricular goals](/publications/students%E2%80%99-and-instructors%E2%80%99-perceived-value-language-and-content-curricular). Foreign Language Annals. 2017;winter:1–17. Mills N, Moulton S. [ Students’ and instructors’ perceived value of language and content curricular goals](/publications/students%E2%80%99-and-instructors%E2%80%99-perceived-value-language-and-content-curricular). Foreign Language Annals. 2017;winter:1–17. ### 2016 Mills N, Belnap K. [Beliefs, motivation, and engagement: What every teacher of Arabic needs to know about self-efficacy](/publications/beliefs-motivation-and-engagement-what-every-teacher-arabic-needs-know). In: Handbook for Arabic Language Teaching Professionals in the 21st Century . 2nd ed. 2016. Mills N, Belnap K. [Beliefs, motivation, and engagement: What every teacher of Arabic needs to know about self-efficacy](/publications/beliefs-motivation-and-engagement-what-every-teacher-arabic-needs-know). In: Handbook for Arabic Language Teaching Professionals in the 21st Century . 2nd ed. 2016. [ More arrow\_circle\_right ](/publications)