Heather Mehrtens

Heather Mehrtens holds an MA in TESL, a BA in Linguistics with Highest Distinction, and a BA in Germanic Languages & Literatures from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. In addition, she is currently a doctoral student at Johns Hopkins University pursuing her EdD in Education. Her working dissertation project is entitled: “Deconstructing the Lingering Effects of Colonization, Whiteness, and Native-Speakerism on ESOL Instruction.”

She has been teaching ESOL since finishing her BA, and has earned an Excellence in Teaching Award from Harvard Extension School. She has worked in a variety of programs and settings, and has taught nearly every language level. Her research interests include raciolinguistics, decolonization, global Englishes, and content and task-based teaching methods for language teaching. In her free time, she enjoys spending time with her family and friends, catching up on TV, kayaking, swimming, and traveling.