Biography
Benjamin Brown holds a Ph.D. in Applied Linguistics and an M.A. in Teaching Spanish from Northern Arizona University, as well as a B.A. in Spanish Education with a TESOL minor from BYU–Idaho. His research and teaching center on heritage language learners, second language motivation, and classroom discourse, with a focus on applying linguistic theory to pedagogical practice.
Benjamin Brown has taught courses at both secondary and postsecondary levels. Before coming to BYU-Hawaii, he worked as an Assistant Teaching Professor at Northern Arizona University, where he developed and taught curricula focused on academic writing, research methods, and peer review. He has also taught intercultural communication and TESOL courses to university students in Shanghai, China, and previously taught high school Spanish in Alaska.
His scholarship explores heritage language pedagogy, learner motivation, corpus methods, and learner speech features. His dissertation examined how learner attitudes and speaking tasks influence prosodic features such as rhythm, stress, and speech rate among heritage Spanish speakers. He has presented at language conferences on topics related to learner motivation and corpus linguistics.
Ben is actively engaged in initiatives to support first-year students and create welcoming learning environments. He has served as a team lead for student retention efforts and collaborated with faculty and student partners to inform classroom practices. He has also volunteered at academic conferences and led programming projects to support colleagues’ research.
Education
Northern Arizona University
Ph.D. in Applied Linguistics Graduated December 2023
Doctoral Dissertation:
The Effect of Attitude and Speaking Tasks on Heritage Spanish Speakers’ Production of Rhythm, Lexical Stress and Speech Rate
Northern Arizona University
M.A. of Teaching Spanish Graduated May 2018
Master’s Thesis:
Motivations and Attitudes in Second Language Production
Brigham Young University - Idaho
B.A. in Spanish Education Minor in TESOL Education Graduated Dec 2015
Teaching
Assistant Professor
Brigham Young University - Hawaii August2025-Present
I teach courses in Linguistics, English as an International Language and Spanish. I conduct
research in applications of artificial intelligence for language teaching and student factors
such as resiliency and gratitude. I mentor undergraduate students in research assistant
positions and TESOL Education majors in teaching internships. I serve as the faculty
advisor for the TESOL Society to promote professional development opportunities for
TESOL students and I coordinate the reading and writing course for our international
students.
Visiting Professor
Tianhua Normal College - Shanghai, China June 2025
During the course of two weeks, I taught two sections of ESL Methods to
two cohorts of Chinese university students. I designed my own syllabus and curriculum for this position which focused on preparing ESL Teachers for curriculum development and classroom management. Students engaged with the content for this course through group projects, research projects and teaching practices.
Visiting Professor
Tianhua Normal College - Shanghai, China (Online) May 2024
During the course of two weeks, I taught two sections of Intercultural Communication to
two cohorts of Chinese university students. I designed my own syllabus and curriculum for this position which focused on recognizing how communication is affected by students' home culture, perception of foreign cultures and creating a shared culture through intentional communication. Students engaged with the content for this course through group projects, research projects and discussions.
Visiting Professor
Tianhua Normal College - Shanghai, China December 2023
During the course of two weeks, I taught two sections of Trends and Theories in TESOL to
two cohorts of Chinese university students. I designed my own syllabus and curriculum for this position which included an in-depth review of past and current instructional methods and theories as well as a thorough analysis of meta-analytic data on student gains across TESOL methods. Students engaged with the content for this course through group projects and discussions.
Assistant Teaching Professor
Northern Arizona University - Flagstaff, AZ August 2023-June 2025
I developed and taught curriculum for first-year college writing courses which focused on: rhetorical analysis, research methods and transferable peer-review practices. My curriculum emphasized peer-to-peer connection and relevance to students' professional goals and personal growth.
English Composition Instructor
Northern Arizona University - Flagstaff, AZ August 2019-May 2023
During my PhD studies I worked as the instructor of record for English composition courses for first-year writing courses. I developed and delivered a curriculum on rhetorical analysis, research methods and transferable peer-review practices.
Research Assistant
Northern Arizona University - Flagstaff, AZ August 2022-May 2023
During my PhD studies I worked as a research assistant for an editor. My duties included tracking and reporting on manuscripts throughout the review process. I collaborated with
journal editors to plan for future journal issues/publications. I worked with a variety of
scholars to design and implement original research ideas.
Spanish High School Teacher
Wasilla High School - Wasilla, AK August 2018-May 2019
Developed curriculum for four different year-long Spanish language classes. Held class for approximately 200 students weekly.
Spanish Language Instructor
Northern Arizona University - Flagstaff, AZ August 2016-May 2018
Taught ten sections of lower division Spanish and collaborated with a cohort of five grad students to develop rigorous lessons for undergraduates. Conducted research with undergraduate participants to better understand how motivation impacts language acquisition.
Lead Teacher
Pilot Point School - Pilot Point, AK November 2015-May 2016
Planned for and taught a multi-age classroom in a remote village in Alaska. Developed rotations within class periods which allowed for teacher-to-group instruction within a class that spanned multiple grade levels. Sought out and developed different resources to plan for class periods that were out of initial content area.
Research
Saengchai, S., Brown, B., Pack, A., & Escalante, J. (September 2026). Celebrating mistakes: An AI
gratitude coach in the EIL classroom. The Word: The Newsletter of Hawaiʻi TESOL
Workshop on Promoting Student Wellbeing Through Custom AI Chatbots and Positive Psychology
Presented at Thailand TESOL-January 2026
Celebrating Mistakes: Positive Psychology Scaffolded with Generative AI
Presented at Thailand TESOL-January 2026
Task Type Design for Heritage Language Learners through Real Registers
Presented at Southwest Conference on Language Teaching-March 2024
Distinguishing Speech Features of Heritage Spanish Speakers with Consistent and Inconsistent Contact Presented at DSP Linguistics Colloquium-November 2020
Lexical Bundles of Heritage Spanish SpeakersPresented at PEAKS Conference-February 2020
Strategies for Promoting the Development of Autonomy in a Spanish Language Class. Presented at Southwest Conference on Language Teaching-February 2018
Service and Professional Development
Language Innovations & Futures in TESOL (LIFT) Lab Co-Director January 2026-Present
Brigham Young University-Hawaii, HI
I collaborate with TESOL faculty to secure funding for an agentic artificial
intelligence lab that is used for enhancing in-house ESL curriculum and for training TESOL
Education majors in curriculum and materials development. The lab serves TESOL teachers-in-training by enabling them to pursue large-scale projects and to train them for ethical and productive use of AI.
First Year Together Team Lead AY 2024/2025
Northern Arizona University, Flagstaff, AZ
I worked across different departments and programs with other faculty who teach 1st-year
students. We collaborated to develop and implement pedagogical strategies to increase
1st-year student inclusion and retention. For example, we met with student partners to discuss and understand student perspectives and needs. Those student partners then observed our classes and gave feedback from a student perspective. Additionally, I collected data on student attendance and AI in the college classroom in order to analyze it and inform pedagogy.
Equity in the Classroom Seminar
Northern Arizona University, Flagstaff, AZ February 2022
Completed interactive seminar on equitable teaching practices which focused on
microaggressions that are commonly experienced by minority groups. Practiced creating
and incorporating inclusive dialogue into teaching practices.
Volunteer at the American Association for Corpus Linguistics Conference
Northern Arizona University, Flagstaff, AZ September 2022
Provided technological support for presentations and worked at the registration desk.
Moderated presentations.
PyClub Team Lead
Northern Arizona University, Flagstaff, AZ Spring & Fall 2021
Worked with a team of 3 graduate students to create Python programs. These Python
programs were used to help complete various linguistic research projects for faculty and
students.
Graduate Student Liaison
Northern Arizona University – Flagstaff, AZ August 2020-May 2021
Met bi-weekly with the Graduate Student Association of Applied Linguistics to plan student
centered activities. Communicated with potential and new graduate students to answer
questions and help them make connections on university campus.
Adverse Childhood Experiences Sensitivity Team Member
Wasilla High School – Wasilla, AK October 2018 – May 2019
Completed 20 hours of sensitivity training which focused on cognitive and social
deficits of children who have experienced trauma. Recruited and held meetings with
community members to disseminate this knowledge and enact change in local
classroom curriculum.
Spanish Instructor
Brigham Young University-Idaho – Rexburg, ID January 2015-June 2015
Designed and taught beginner Spanish lessons for children (ages 8-14). Worked with the school administrator to imbue the school's academic goals into daily lesson plans.
EFL Teacher
International Language Program; Zhongshan, China August 2013-December 2013
Planned for and taught lessons to help over 40 children (ages 5-13) learn English in a 5-month program in southern China.
Awards
Faculty Travel Grant
Brigham Young University-Hawaii February 2026
Awarded $3,100 to travel and present research at the Japan Association for Language Teaching International Conference in November, 2026
Graduate Teaching Assistantship
Northern Arizona University – Flagstaff, AZ August 2016-May 2018
Awarded tuition remission and an annual stipend.
Graduate Teaching Assistantship
Northern Arizona University – Flagstaff, AZ August 2019-May 2023
Awarded tuition remission and an annual stipend.
CV Last Updated September 2026