
Dr. Sandra Zappa-Hollman
Biography
I am an applied linguist with a special interest in teaching English for academic purposes (EAP) and researching academic (English) discourse socialization of multilingual students in higher education contexts where English is the main instructional language. Other related areas of interest include language and content integration (CBI/CLIL), intercultural competence, feedback on L2 writing, curriculum and materials design, and language program evaluation. My work draws on socio-cultural theory (particularly Second Language Socialization), Social Network Theory, and the notion of Communities of Practice. More recently, my research as well as materials design and teaching are informed by Systemic Functional Linguistics and genre-based pedagogies.
For the past decade I have also been involved in academic program development and administration. Since 2014, I’m the director of the Academic English Program at UBC Vantage College (http://vantagecollege.ubc.ca/), a first year university program for international multilingual students at the University of British Columbia.
Projects
Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council of Canada (SSHRC) – Insight Grant
Co-Investigator; PI Heike Neumann (Concordia); Co-I Saskia Van Viegen (York)
Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council of Canada (SSHRC) – Insight Development Grant
Principal Investigator
Graduate Research Assistants: Dmitri Detwyler (UBC), Greta Perris (UBC)
Project contact email: Teaching.Multilingual.Students@ubc.ca
Project status: data collection completed; currently engaged in data analysis
Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council of Canada (SSHRC) – Insight Development Grant
Co-Investigator; PI Joel Heng-Hartse (SFU), Co-Investigator Tim Anderson (UVic)
Graduate Research Assistant (UBC site): Sara Van Dan Acker
Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council of Canada (SSHRC) – Explore Grant
Principal Investigator
Co-investigators: Alfredo Ferreira (UBC), Laura, Baumvol (UBC)
Collaborators: Simone Sarmento UFRGS)
Graduate Research Assistants: Greta Perris (UBC), Sara Van Dan Acker (UBC), Marine Matte (UFRGS)
Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council of Canada (SSHRC) – Connection Grant
Co-Investigator; PI Saskia Van Viegen (Stille) (SFU), Penny Kinnear (UofT), Li-Shih Huang (UVic)
Collaborators: Bruce Russell (UofT), Julia Williams (U Waterloo), Roumi Ilieva (SFU), Tanya Missere-Mihas (U Waterloo)
Graduate Assistant: Dmitri Detwyler (UBC site)
UBC Department of Language and Literacy Education – Rits LLED Seed Fund
PI: Steven Talmy; Co-investigator: Meike Wernicke
Hampton New faculty Awards
Principal Investigator
Scholarship of Teaching and Learning Fund (SoTL) – UBC
Principal Investigator
Graduate Research Assistant: John Haggerty (UBC)
Principal Investigator
Co-PI: Joanne Fox (UBC), Brian Wilson (UBC)
Graduate Research Assistants: Laura Baumvol (UBC); Dmitri Detwyler (UBC)
Advancing Education Renewal, Office of the Provost and VP, UBC
Co-investigator
PI: Patty Kelly
Co-investigaors: Alfredo A. Ferreira, Jodie Martin, Joanne Fox, Jonathan Otto, Jacqui Brinkman
Graduate Assistants: Kwesi Yaro, Angela Rutakomozibwa, Susan Sechrist, Reena Titoria, Greta Perris
Small Teaching and Learning Enhancement Fund Innovation projects, UBC
PI: Vladan Prodanovic
Co-investigators: Gabriel Potvin, Juan Abello, Saloome Motavas, Sandra Zappa-Hollman, Alys Avalos-Rivera
Small Teaching and Learning Enhancement Fund Innovation projects, UBC
With Sarah Parker (UBC Library), Amber Shaw (Vantage College),
Collaborators: Simon Neame, Aleteia Greenwood, Anne Olsen, Jennifer Walsh-Marr, Eilidh Singh
Teaching and Learning Enhancement Fund (TLEF)
PI: Andrew Scales
Co-investigators: Monique Bournot-Trites
Graduate Research Assistants: Rachel Wang, Robin Ryan
Selected Publications

















Zappa-Hollman, S., Bournot-Trites, M., Wang, R. & Ryan, R. (2014). UBC Tandem Language Learning Handbook. University of British Columbia. Available online: http://www.tandemubc.ca/#!handbook/c18pd
Duff, P. A. & Zappa-Hollman, S. (2013). Critical discourse analysis of popular culture. In C. Chapelle (Ed.), The Encyclopedia of Applied Linguistics. Malden, MA: Wiley-Blackwell.
Duff, P. A. & Zappa-Hollman, S. (2013). Pop culture and second language teaching and learning. In C. Chapelle (Ed.), The Encyclopedia of Applied Linguistics. Malden, MA: Wiley-Blackwell.
Sellick, A., Bournot-Trites, M., Reeder, K., Scales, A., Smith, M., Zappa-Hollman, S. (2011). Key strengths of an innovative volunteer ESL workshop. Canadian Journal of University Continuing Education, 37 (2), 1-18.
Zappa-Hollman, S. (2007). Academic presentations across post-secondary contexts: The discourse socialization of non-native English speakers. Canadian Modern Language Review 63, (4), 455-485. (Recipient of CMLR Best Graduate Student Paper Award).
Zappa-Hollman, S. (2007). EFL in Argentina’s schools: Teachers’ perspectives on policy changes and instruction. TESOL Quarterly, 41, (3), 618-625.
Nicol, C. Yusyp, M., Zappa, S., Sasges, M., & Moore, J. (2004). Living action research: Authoring identities through YaYa Projects. Educational Action Research, 12, (3), 311-328