Professor Martha Bigelow of the Department of Curriculum and Instruction has been awarded the 2020 Charles A Ferguson Award for Outstanding Scholarship by the Center for Applied Linguistics (CAL). The award was established in honor and legacy of the organization’s founder, Charles Ferguson, who was a pioneer in the discipline of applied linguistics. The award is presented annually to an individual who has made significant contributions in the areas of language learning and sociolinguistics. CAL’s mission, according to their website, is to “promote language learning and cultural understanding by serving as a trusted source for research, resources, and policy analysis.”

Shirley Brice Heath, a linguistic anthropologist and widow of the award’s namesake, Charles A Ferguson, presented the award to Bigelow virtually. She praised Bigelow for her extensive work with Somali refugees and immigrants in Minnesota, and stressed the importance of language revitalization and language learning research.

“Martha’s integrity, commitment, and imagination should work as inspiration and an ideal model for the many students with whom she has worked,” Brice said. “We all want many more of those who speak, read and write languages far from English to enter the field of applied linguistics.”

Bigelow’s areas of research interest are: second language acquisition, schooling experiences of adolescent immigrant youth, pre-service language teacher education, and multicultural education.

Learn more about Second Language Education research in the Department of Curriculum and Instruction.