Department of Second Language Studies
What is Second Language Studies?
Second Language Studies (SLS) is an interdisciplinary field that addresses the learning, teaching, and use of second (or multiple) languages from educational, linguistic, psychological, sociological, and anthropological perspectives. Our undergraduate and graduate programs are relevant to students interested in ESL and TESOL. Our programs also go well beyond those areas and include teaching and researching languages other than English.
Our Degree Programs
Undergraduate (BA)
Explore how second and foreign languages are learned, taught, and used across diverse contexts. Combining theory, research, and practice, the program prepares students to become second language specialists ready for graduate study and language-related careers.
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Graduate (MA)
The MA in SLS prepares all students to independently design, carry out, and analyze their own research studies.
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Graduate (PhD)
The PhD in SLS offers advanced training in research on the linguistic analysis of second languages, second language learning, second language use, and second language pedagogy.
More InfoWhat does multilingualism look like on O‘ahu?
Events
9/07
OFFICE CLOSED: Labor Day
9/10
No Brown Bag Seminar
9/15
Registration Deadlines: Withdraw w/o W
9/17
(Brown Bag Seminar) Two Classifier Grammars in Contact: Dominance, Surface Overlap, and Transfer in Heritage Korean–Mandarin Bilinguals
9/24
Brown Bag Seminar: TBA
9/26
Registration Deadlines: Apply for Graduation
10/01
Brown Bag Seminar: Dr. Miho Yamashita
10/08
Brown Bag Seminar: From Silencing to Reclamation: Indigenous Language Revitalisation after Historical Trauma
News
Dr. Daniel Isbell quoted in Popular Science
SLS PhD student Alexander F. Tang and SLS Professor Dr. Betsy Gilliland published in the International Journal of Applied Linguistics
SLSSA Welcome Cooler Fall 2026
SLS PhD Alumna Yu-Tzu Chang Hired as Postdoc Research Fellow