Vita Kogan
Office
McGowan Building
Tel
(831) 647-4115
Email
vkogan@miis.edu

Vita V. Kogan is a postgraduate researcher at the University of Barcelona, Spain, where she explores individual differences in relation to language learning aptitude. She graduated from the Middlebury Institute of International Studies with MA in Teaching Foreign Language and from the University of Edinburgh, the UK with MSc in Psycholinguistics. 

 

In Edinburgh, Vita was a part of Bilingualism Matters, a center that helps inform the public about the nature of language learning and bilingualism. Before moving to Europe, Vita taught her native Russian at the Defense Language Institute in Monterey, where she was awarded the Commandant’s Coin for Excellence and the Provost’s Teaching Excellence Award. 

 

In 2015 Vita started a Facebook page, “Sample a language,” to promote second-language education by creating short engaging digests of academic articles and introducing effective language-learning resources. In May 2017, she created a language-learning board game, LinguaPolis, which was selected for inclusion at the 5th International Educational Games Competition (ECGBL 2017).

Areas of Interest

Professor Kogan’s research combines the psycholinguistic study of individual differences and contrastive linguistic analysis. She investigates language learning aptitude and individual biases for specific languages. In the classroom, her golden teaching triad consists of real-world experience, social interaction, and exploration. Professor Kogan focuses on teaching authentic language through task- and project-based learning.

Academic Degrees

  • PhD in Applied Linguistics, University of Barcelona, Spain (in progress, expected 2019)
  • mSc in Psychology of Language, University of Edinburgh, UK, 2016
  • MA in Teaching Foreign Language, Middlebury Institute of International Studies, 2012
  • BA in Russian Language and Literature, Ural Federal University, Russia, 2005
  • Diploma in Public Relations, Advertising, and Applied Communication, Ural Federal University, Russia, 2005

Professor Kogan has been teaching at the Institute since 2011.