Dr. Salvatore Attardo, my dissertation advisor and current mentor, is one of the most influential professors that I have had the pleasure of working with. I always try to follow his example of academic excellence.
Hilal Ergül, Ph.D. Assistant Professor of Applied Linguistics/TESOL at University of Northern Iowa
- Alum
In her master’s thesis, Hilal Ergül cited A&M-Commerce professor Salvatore Attardo what seemed like a million times, so she decided she must track him down and work with him for her Ph.D. Though her fascination with linguistics started in her undergrad where she majored in TESOL (Teaching English to Students of Other Languages), it was at A&M-Commerce that she figured out how to synthesize both theoretical linguistics and TESOL into a career she is passionate about. Ergül currently serves as an assistant professor of Applied Linguistics/TESOL and the TESOL Program Coordinator at the University of Northern Iowa, and if you ask her students, they will tell you her class is rigorous but that she is fair, kind and compassionate—always willing to go the extra mile, or extra office hour, for her students.
A Conversation with Dr. Hilal Ergül
What is your proudest personal or career accomplishment?
I'd have to say the first time one of my articles got accepted for publication in an international peer-reviewed journal.
Tell us about an influential class you took at A&M-Commerce.
I liked all of my classes as all of them were state of the art and taught by experts in their fields, but one that I still actively draw from is Critical Pedagogy taught by Dr. Tabetha Adkins.
Tell us about an influential professor or person on campus during your time at A&M-Commerce.
Dr. Salvatore Attardo, my dissertation advisor and current mentor, is one of the most influential professors that I have had the pleasure of working with. I always try to follow his example of academic excellence.
If you could live anywhere in the world, where would it be?
I can't decide if I would like a view of the Bosphorus Strait in Istanbul, or Central Park in NYC. If they weren't awfully crowded, noise polluted metropolises (metropoli?) with huge commutes, either option would be dreamy.
What is the most interesting thing you can see out of your office window?
Right now the most interesting thing I can see is little mountains of shoveled snow everywhere. Having moved here from Texas, snow is still interesting and exciting to me.
What was your first job?
I ‘worked’ at my brother's internet cafe. This was back when we needed landlines to connect to the internet, and not everyone had a computer. It was fun!
Educational Background
- Ph.D., English (Applied Linguistics), Texas A&M University-Commerce, 2018
- M.A., English Linguistics, Hacettepe University, 2012
- B.A., English Language Teaching, Uludag University, 2006
Research Interests
- Teaching English to Students of Other Languages (TESOL)
- Pragmatics
Selected Publications
Ergül, H. (TBD). Corrective feedback for oral language errors: What every second language teacher needs to know. University of Michigan Press. [under contract]
Attardo, S., Ergül, H., Gironzetti, E., & Jerónimo, H. (TBD). The book of joyous writing: A guide to academic success. Cambridge University Press. [under contract]
Ergül, H. (2023). The case for smiling? Nonverbal behavior and oral corrective feedback. Journal of Psycholinguistic Research, 52, 17-32. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10936-021-09807-x [Published online first in 2021]
Gironzetti, E., Hempelmann, C. F., Al Dawsari, A., Balali, S., Chlopicki, W., Ergül, H., Huang, M., Laineste, L., Menjo, S., & Shilikhina, K. (2023). Semantic components of laughter behavior: A lexical field study of 14 translations of One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest. Humor: International Journal of Humor Research, 36(1), 95-133. https://doi.org/10.1515/humor-2022-0114
Miller, S., Ergül, H., & Attardo, S. (2022). “Dr. Shelby, that's a world record!”: Frame-breaking in experimental settings. Pragmatics & Cognition, 29(1), 136-160. https://doi.org/10.1075/pc.22009.mil
Ergül, H. (2021). Smiling as a mitigating strategy in oral corrective feedback: An empirical study. Journal of Pragmatics, 183, 142-153. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.pragma.2021.07.018
Ergül, H. (2020). Oral corrective feedback and learner uptake: The Turkish EFL setting. Konin Language Studies, 8(2), 165-184. https://doi.org/10.30438/ksj.2020.8.2.3
Miller, S., Ergül, H., & Attardo, S. (TBD). Laughter and embarrassment in a complicated task. In Alba, L., & M. Haugh (Eds.), Sociopragmatics of emotion (pp. TBD). Manuscript in press with Cambridge University Press.
Ergül, H., Miller, S., Attardo, S., & Kramer, K. (2023). Alternative conceptualizations of the Smiling Intensity Scale (SIS) and their applications to the identification of humor. In B. Priego-Valverde (Ed.), Multimodal approaches of humor in interaction (pp. 109-130). De Gruyter Mouton. https://doi.org/10.1515/9783110983128-005
Ergül, H. (2014). Gender roles in humor. In S. Attardo (Ed.), Encyclopedia of Humor Studies (pp. 263-264). SAGE.
Ergül, H. (2014). Politeness. In S. Attardo (Ed.), Encyclopedia of Humor Studies (pp. 584-586). SAGE.
Salvatore, A., & Ergül, H. (2014). Humor in Ancient Egypt. In S. Attardo (Ed.), Encyclopedia of Humor Studies (pp. 30-33). SAGE.
Peer-reviewed Book Reviews:
Ergül, H. (2024). Review of the Cambridge handbook of corrective feedback in second language learning and teaching by Nassaji, H., & Kartchava, E. (Eds.). TESOL Journal 15(1), e726. https://doi.org/10.1002/tesj.726 [Published online first in 2023]
Ergül, H. (2017). Review of the book Investigating English Pronunciation: Trends and Directions, by J. A. Mompean, & J. Fouz-Gonzalez (Eds.). Journal of Second Language Pronunciation, 3(1), 144-148. https://doi.org/10.1075/jslp.3.1.08erg
Ergül, H. (2016). Review of the book Humor in the Classroom: A Guide for Language Teachers and Educational Researchers, by N. D. Bell, & Pomerantz, A. The Linguist List, 27, 5067. https://old.linguistlist.org/pubs/reviews/get-review.cfm?SubID=36181277
Ergül, H. (September, 2024). English translations of Mandarin kinship and address terms in drama subtitles across three streaming platforms. Paper presentation submitted for the 6th biennial AMPRA Conference, St. Petersburg, FL.
Ergül, H. (April, 2024). Correcting learner errors with humor: Practical considerations. Teaching tip presented at the TESOL International Convention & English Language Expo, Tampa, FL.
Ergül, H., & Miller, S. (March, 2024). Personality and Speech Production: Perception and reality. Poster presented at the AAAL Conference, Houston, TX.
Zwanziger, E., & Ergül, H. (November, 2023). Correcting learners with a smile: Social emotional aspects of feedback. Electronic poster presented at the ACTFL 2023 Convention and World Languages Expo, Chicago, IL.
Ergül, H. (July, 2023). The pragmatic duality of humor during oral corrective feedback. Paper presented at the 18th biennial IPrA Conference, Brussels, Belgium.
Ergül, H. (November, 2022). Incidental attention to form and frame-shifting in language classrooms. Paper presented at the 5th biennial AMPRA Conference, Columbia, SC.
Miller, S., Ergül, H., Attardo, S. (November, 2022). Establishing and breaching the experimental frame. Paper presented at the 5th biennial AMPRA Conference, Columbia, SC.
Ergül, H. (March, 2022). Mitigating oral corrective feedback through humor in adult EFL classrooms. Paper presented at the TESOL International Convention & English Language Expo, Pittsburgh, PA.
Miller, S., Ergül, H., Attardo, S. (March, 2022). Fourth wall breaches in experimental settings: A pragmatic analysis. Paper presented at the AAAL Conference, Pittsburgh, PA.
Ergül, H. (July, 2021). Mitigating teacher feedback: Smiling as part of a politeness ritual. Paper presented at the 17th biennial IPrA Conference, Winterthur, Switzerland.
Ergül, H. (November, 2018). Mitigating oral corrective feedback: Preliminary results. Paper presented at the TexTESOL State Conference, Dallas, TX.
Ergül, H. (September, 2016). What teachers correct in the EFL classroom: A preliminary report. Paper presented at the 35th Second Language Research Forum, New York, NY.
Ergül, H. (March, 2015). The effectiveness of corrective feedback: Exploring the role of the teacher's facial expression in the EFL classroom. Paper presented at the AAAL Conference, Toronto, ON.
Ergül, H. (July, 2014). Gender differences in impolite responses to unfunny jokes. Paper presented at the International Society for Humor Studies Conference, Utrecht, NL.
Ergül, H., & Hempelmann, C. F. (March, 2014). Gender-based variation in verbal reactions to unfunny jokes. Paper presented at the AAAL Conference, Portland, OR.
Ergül, H. (July, 2013). Responses to failed humor in mixed gender interaction. Paper presented at the International Society for Humor Studies Conference, Williamsburg, VA.
Honors, Grants and Awards
- 2023 – Recognition at the UNI Panther Faculty and Staff Appreciation night
- 2022 – UNI Graduate College 2022 Summer Fellowship 4-week Award ($3,800)
- 2022 – UNI Beverly Funk Barnes Educator Excellence Award nominee
- 2022 – MIDTESOL Executive Board Travel Award for the TESOL International 2022 Convention ($500)
- 2021 – UNI Office of the Provost and Executive Vice President for Academic Affairs Pre-tenure Faculty Grant Award ($1,431)
- 2021 – Jacob L. Mey and Hartmut Haberland Early Career Award nominee (results pending)
- 2020 – UNI College of Humanities, Arts, and Sciences Faculty Research/Creative Activity Grant ($500)
- 2017 – EarlyMatters Dallas Reading Scholars Fellowship ($1,500)
- 2009 – Fulbright Foreign Language Teaching Assistantship ($30,000)
- 2006 – EU European Commission's Comenius Language Assistantship (€6,000)