CHRISTINE SAGNIER (Ph.D., Université de Besançon) is Coordinator of the French Language Program and a specialist in Applied Linguistics and Second Language Acquisition. Her dissertation explored issues in Applied Linguistics in the light of recent research in cognitive psychology, psycholinguistics and sociocultural theory. She has published articles in European research journals and is currently actively involved in redesigning the undergraduate French language curriculum and setting up a new training and mentoring program for Assistants in Instruction.  Her research interests include human learning and cognition, Vygotskian theories on language and learning and their methodological implications, textual genre theory and textual analysis, intercultural communication and implications of current research in psycholinguistics for the teaching of foreign languages.