Robert Yates
Professor of English/TESL
Universty of Central Missouri State
Warrensburg, Missouri 64093
(660) 543-8741 Fax: (660) 543-4076
Earned Degrees
Degree Date Institution Major Concentration
PhD. 1990 University of Illinois Applied Linguistics: Second
at Urbana-Champaign language acquisition
M.A 1986 University of Illinois
at Urbana-Champaign Applied Linguistics
M.A. 1983 University of Illinois at Chicago Linguistics: Specialization in
TESOL
B.S 1982 Northwestern University Communication Studies.
Teaching experience
Aug. 1990-present UCM Professor (since 2003)
Aug. 1984-Aug. 1990 University of Grad. Asst. part-time
Illinois-CU
1983-1984 National College adjunct
of Education instructor
1982-1983 University of teaching Asst. part-time
Illinois-Chicago
Primary Area(s) of Teaching and Scholarship: applied linguistics, second language acquisition, grammar, and basic writing.
Course Responsibilities
English 1020 Rhetorical Writing
English 1030 Rhetorical Writing II
English 1080 Advanced Composition (new course for 2006-7)
English 1190 Expository Composition in English as a Second Language
English 2230 Film and Literature (Topics include The Western; Vietnam; Civil War; and Addiction)
English 3110 English Grammar
English 4110 Linguistics
English 4850 Introduction to Principles of Second Language Teaching*
English 5120 Second Language Acquisition
English 5010 Introduction to Graduate Studies for TESL
English 5110 Advanced Pedagogical Grammar for TESL
* This course is now English 5120.
English 5870 TESOL II: The written language
English 5890 Practicum in English as a Second Language
Special 3 week courses at the Maastricht Center for Transatlantic Studies
International English (2000)
A Second Regard: Hollywood Remakes of European Films (2002)
Yates/XXX
Articles
Yates, Robert, & Kenkel, Jim (forthcoming). Underlying principles of organization principles. Journal of Applied Linguistics.
Muchisky, Dennis, & Yates, Robert (2004). Response to Bartels and Freeman and Johnson to “On reconceptualizing teacher education.” TESOL Quarterly, 134-140.
Kenkel, James, & Yates, Robert. (2003). A developmental perspective on the relationship between grammar and text. Journal of Basic Writing, 22, 35-49.
Yates, Robert, & Muchisky, Dennis. (2003). On reconceptualizing teacher education. TESOL Quarterly, 37, 135-147.
Yates, Robert, & Kenkel, James (2003). Responding to sentence-level errors. Journal of Second language writing. 22, 29-47.
Yates, Robert, & Muchisky, Dennis. (September, 2002) A reader reacts "Second Language Teacher Education." TESOL Matters, 12(2), 3-4
Yates, Robert, & Kenkel, James. (Fall, 2001). On the dysfunctional nature of systemic functional grammar. Academic Exchange Quarterly, 5(3), 100-105.
Kenkel, James, & Yates, Robert. (Fall, 2000) A justification for teaching grammar. Syntax in the School, 17(1), 1+.
Yates, Robert. & Tillyer, David (1995) Students teaching future teachers. With David Tillyer. ESL in Higher Education Newsletter. 14, 1+.
Proceedings
Yates, Robert, & Kenkel, James. (1996) On using grammar checkers. Proceedings of the Assembly for the Teaching Grammar.
Kenkel, James, & Yates, Robert. (1995) Grammar and literacy: Embedding outside sources in texts. Proceedings of the Assembly for the Teaching Grammar.
Kantz, Peggy, & Yates, Robert (1994) Whose judgments? A survey of faculty responses to common and highly irritating writing errors. Proceedings of the Assembly for the Teaching of English Grammar.
Yates, Robert. (1993) On the acquisition of argument structure in second language learning. Proceedings of the 27th Annual Mid-America Linguistics. Conference/Conference on Siouan-Caddoan Languages.
Reviews
Review Larry Andrew’s Linguistics for L2 teachers (2003, January). http://www.ESLminiconf.net/jan2003/andrewsreview.html
Review of Koster, C. & Wijnen F. (eds.) (1996). Proceedings of the Groningen Assembly on Language Acquisition. Studies in Second Language Acquisition, 19(4) 519-20, 1997.
Review of V. Cook's Linguistics and Second Language Acquisition. Studies in Second Language Acquisition, 18:2, 1996.
Review of the Longman Activator. With Cheryl Eason. TESOL Quarterly, 29:209-11 1995.
A plethora of textbooks on SLA. TESL-EJ 1:3. 1995 (www.kyoto-su.ac.jp/information/tesl-ej/ej03/r21.html)
Scholarly presentations since 1997
October, 2007. Ten plus papers every language teacher should read. MIDTESOL. Lake of the Ozarks, MO.
March, 2007. With James Kenkel. Understanding and treating “untreatable” errors. TESOL. Seattle, WA.
November, 2006. With Dennis Muchisky. On TESOL at 40: A view from the Heartland. MIDTESOL. Ceder Rapids, IA.
Yates/XXX
October, 2005. Why Chomsky still matters to language teachers. MIDTESOL. Lee’s Summit, MO.
July, 2005. With James Kenkel. On the grammar-text interface in developmental writing. AILA. Madison, WS.
March, 2005. With James Kenkel. Research the grammar text interface. TESOL. San Antonio, TX.
March, 2005. Ten papers every language teacher should have read. Missouri MIDTESOL. Springfield, MO.
October, 2004. With Dennis Muchisky. What do you know about methods? MIDTESOL. Independence, MO.
October, 2003. On the differences between American and British English. MIDTESOL. Lincoln, NE.
March, 2003. With James Kenkel. Analyzing errors from an interlanguage perspective. TESOL. Baltimore, MD.
March, 2003. The comparative fallacy of systemic functional grammar. American Association for Applied Linguistics. AAAL, Arlington, VA.
March, 2003. With Jim Kenkel. Underlying principles of organizational competence. American Association for Applied Linguistics. AAAL, Arlington, VA.
March, 2003. Evaluating learner dictionaries. Missouri MIDTESOL. Southwest Missouri State University, Springfield, MO.
February, 2003. With Jim Kenkel.. On the grammar-text interface of L1 and L2 developing writers. Georgetown University Roundtable. Georgetown University.
October, 2002. On the nature of student errors. MIDTESOL. Iowa State University. Ames, IA.
April, 2002. With James Kenkel. Teaching the Grammar of Discourse. Annual international conference of TESOL. Teachers of English to Speakers of Other Languages. Salt Lake City, UT.
March, 2002. On the grammar-text interface of developing writers. Missouri Philological Society. Central Missouri State University.
February, 2002. With James Kenkel. Learner knowledge of form-meaning connections in text construction. Conference on form-meaning connections in second language acquisition. Sponsored by the University of Illinois at Chicago. Chicago, IL.
October, 2001. On teaching organizational competence. MIDTESOL annual convention. MIDTESOL. Blue Springs, MO.
July, 2001. With James Kenkel. On observational and explanatory descriptions of English grammar. ATEG (Assembly for the Teaching of English Grammar) annual conference. Parkville, MO.
July, 2001. What kind of grammar structures are complex? Part of the pre-conference mini-course offered by ATEG. Parkville, MO.
February, 2001. With Dennis Muchisky. On reconceptualizing teacher education research. TESOL. St. Louis, MO.
February, 2001. With Jim Kenkel. Responding to sentence-level errors in student writing. TESOL. St. Louis, MO.
September, 2000. With Jim Kenkel. The Influence of the Basic Variety on the Writing of Instructed Learners. Second Language Research Forum. Madison, WI.
July, 2000. With Jim Kenkel. The agrammatical nature of texts: Implications for teaching writing and grammar. ATEG annual conference. Brooklyn, MN.
October, 1999. With Dennis Muchisky. What you need to know about the history of language teaching. MIDTESOL Annual Conference. Iowa City, IA
Yates/XXX
July, 1999. With Jim Kenkel. We’re Prescriptivists. Isn’t Everyone? ATEG annual conference. Raritan, NJ.
May, 1999 With Dennis Muchisky. On the status of disciplinary knowledge in language teacher education. International Language Teacher Conference. Minneapolis, MN.
April, 1999. With Jim Kenkel. What do learners already know? 52nd Annual Kentucky Foreign Language Conference. Lexington, KY.
March, 1999. The incomplete nature of the whole language. Missouri MIDTESOL. Springfield, MO.
October,1998. What learners already know. MIDTESOL Annual Conference. St. Louis, MO.
July, 1998. With Jim Kenkel. Grammatical competence and punctuation. ATEG annual conference. Seattle, WA
November, 1997. Students know more grammar than we think they do. Missouri Association of Teachers of English, Tan-ta-ra, MO.
October, 1997. With Jim Kenkel. The grammar of L2 Learners' texts. MIDWEST Regional TESOL, Milwaukee, WI.
July, 1997. With Jim Kenkel. On the dysfunctional nature of systemic-functional grammar, or putting the cart before the horse. ATEG annual conference. Williamsport, PA.
April, 1997. The Ebonics Debate: An ESOL Perspective. Missouri South State College, Missouri MIDTESOL, Joplin, MO.
March, 1997. Are we losing the L in TESOL? Annual international conference of TESOL. Orlando, FL.
Activities within professional organizations.
Vice-President of the Fellowship of Missouri Education Workers/MNEA. (2006-present)
Reviewed two papers for TESOL Quarterly (2005-6)
Reviews a paper for Language Learning (2006)
President of the Missouri Association of Faculty Senates (2003-04)
Reviewer for Heinle & Heinle Award for best research paper in Second Language Acquisition in 2003.
Past President, MIDTESOL, Fall, 1996-Fall, 1997; President, Fall, 1995-1996; First Vice-President, MIDTESOL, Fall, 1994 -Fall, 1995.
Reader for abstracts submitted to the Applied Linguistics Interest Section of TESOL for TESOL ‘04, TESOL ‘02, TESOL '97, TESOL '96, TESOL '94, TESOL '93.
Employment counselor. TESOL '97, TESOL '94, TESOL '93, TESOL '92.
Co-editor of the newsletter for MIDTESOL. 1991 to Fall, 1994.
Reader of abstracts submitted to Midwest Regional TESOL, 1994.
Associate Executive Secretary, Missouri Philological Association. 1992 to 1994..
Current Academic and Professional Memberships
American Association for Applied Linguistics
Fellowship of Missouri Educations Workers / Missouri National Education Association
National Council for the Teaching of English
TESOL
MIDTESOL