Meet the Team
The AALE Team ➡️
The AALE project brings together a collaborative cross-Canadian team of leading experts from the University of Toronto (OISE), York University, McGill University, and the University of Ottawa.
Supported by a dedicated team of researchers, language educators, students, and volunteers, this project draws on decades of collective scholarly expertise to bridge the theoretical foundations of the project with real-world classroom applications and experiences.
Our Mission 🎯
Together, this collaborative team is dedicated to fostering a more inclusive, dynamic, and agency-driven future for language education, empowering learners and educators across Canada and the world.
Team Members 🧩
Dr. Enrica Piccardo
Principal Investigator
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Dr. Enrica Piccardo is a Professor of Applied Linguistics and Language Education at the Ontario Institute for Studies in Education, University of Toronto and a collaborator with the Council of Europe since 2008. Her research spans language teaching approaches/curricula, multi/plurilingualism, creativity and complexity in language education.
University of Toronto
enrica.piccardo@utoronto.ca
Full profile
Dr. Geoff Lawrence
Co–Principal Investigator
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Dr. Geoff Lawrence specializes in research on teacher beliefs, teacher education and pedagogical innovation in language education. Dr. Lawrence’s work focuses on the examination of emerging technologies and intercultural/plurilingual pedagogies in language teaching, teacher education and program design.
York University
glawrenc@yorku.ca
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Dr. Aline Germain–Rutherford
Co–Principal Investigator
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Dr. Aline Germain-Rutherford, brings expertise from studies examining language teacher practices and curricular innovation and has extensive international collaboration experience in the design/implementation of participatory training models for language educators in Canada, the US and Europe in this project.
University of Ottawa
agermain@uottawa.ca
Full profile
Dr. Angelica Galante
Co–Principal Investigator
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Dr. Angelica Galante specializes in mixed methods research on plurilingual pedagogy and teacher education. Dr. Galante has extensive experience conducting research in multilingual settings, both in Canada and Brazil. Based on empirical results of her research, she creates professional development materials for language teachers to support plurilingual practices in schools, available in the Plurilingual Lab website.
McGill University
angelica.galante@mcgill.ca
Full profile
Justin C. Taylor
Research Assistant and
present Project Manager
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Justin Taylor is a PhD Student in applied linguistics at York University. He has over 12 years of experience in education, including higher education administration, English teaching, and linguistics. He has worked with teachers-in-training, undergraduates, and adult students from across the globe. His scholarly interests include teacher identity and training, queer(ed) approaches to education, and innovative research methodologies.
José Luis Ortiz Soria
Research Assistant
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José Luis Ortiz Soria is a PhD candidate in the Applied Linguistics program at York University. He has over 12 years of experience teaching Spanish as a foreign language across K-12, post-secondary education, and corporate settings. He also holds a background in Computer Science, which informs his interdisciplinary approach to language education. His primary research interests include technology-mediated language teaching and learning, artificial intelligence in education, language learning beyond the classroom, and learning experience design.
York University
jlortiz@yorku.ca
S. M. Sanzana Rahman
Research Assistant
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S. M. Sanzana Rahman is a PhD candidate, graduate assistant, and teaching assistant at the Ontario Institute for Studies in Education (OISE) at the University of Toronto. Her research interests focus on the intersection between plurilingual pedagogies and technology-mediated instruction in the second language education contexts.
University of Toronto
smsanzana.rahman@mail.utoronto.ca
Miguel Sánchez Luna
Research Assistant
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Miguel Sánchez Luna is an EFL educator and research assistant currently pursuing a PhD in Educational Studies at McGill University. His doctoral research investigates the integration of Generative AI multimodal affordances into language education, aiming to enhance student motivation and foster critical pluriliteracies within public education contexts in the Global South. The goal of his research is to empower students with the agency and critical literacy to navigate an increasingly AI-integrated, plurilingual, and pluricultural digital world.
Karam Noel
Research Assistant and
previous Project Manager
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Karam Noel is a PhD candidate at the University of Toronto, with research interests in language assessment, test validation, and plurilingual/action-oriented pedagogies. He is also a Relationship Manager at McMaster University, where he supports the career exploration and development of undergraduate business students through curriculum, workshops, and coaching.
University of Toronto
karam.noel@utoronto.ca
Andre Scholze, PhD
Research Assistant
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Dr. Andre Scholze holds a PhD in Language and Literacies Education from the Ontario Institute for Studies in Education at the University of Toronto. His research explores language teachers’ beliefs about plurilingualism and their experiences with integrating language and cultural diversity into the language classroom. In addition to extensive teaching experience in English as a foreign or additional language in Brazil, the United States, and Canada, he has been involved in numerous Canadian and international language education research projects.
University of Toronto
andre.scholze@utoronto.ca
John Wayne dela Cruz, PhD
Research Assistant
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Dr. John Wayne dela Cruz holds a PhD in Educational Studies (Language Acquisition Program) in the Department of Integrated Studies in Education at McGill University. His PhD research examines the intersections and interactions of language (acquisition, use, pedagogy, and policy), culture, and identity—topics that are personally relevant to him as an immigrant additional language learner and teacher. Tagalog, Ilocano, Kapampangan, English, and French are all part of his plurilingual repertoire. Ikinagagalak ka niyang makilala!
McGill University
john.delacruz@mail.mcgill.ca
Website – Google Scholar
Louise Nunn
Research Assistant
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Louise Nunn is a soon to be graduating Teacher Candidate in the Master of Arts in Child Study and Education at OISE. She holds a Bachelor of Arts in Linguistics from the University of Toronto and enjoys studying language. She is planning to become a French immersion or core French primary/junior educator. Her research interests include how the action-oriented approach can be leveraged to engage more students in the study of French in the Ontario context.
OISE, University of Toronto
louise.nunn@mail.utoronto.ca
Tatiana Jennifer Antonia Fimognari
Research Assistant
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Tatiana Jennifer Antonia Fimognari is a PhD student in the LLE program. Her research interests encompass a diverse range of areas in the field of Language and Literacies Education, notably the Common European Framework of Reference for Languages (CEFR), the Action-Oriented Approach, plurilingualism, mediation, and Italian as a heritage language preservation and promotion in the North American context.
University of Toronto
tatiana.fimognari@utoronto.ca
Danielle Hunter
Research Assistant
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Danielle Hunter is a PhD student in the LLE program and a consultant in language education policy and practice with the Council of Europe, specializing in the CEFR. She has been a French as a Second/Additional Language (FSL) teacher in Ontario’s K-12 education system, a district consultant for the FSL, Classical and International Languages, and Positive School Climates. An author of pedagogical resources on the CEFR and the action-oriented approach, she regularly provides training and coaching in these areas. She served on the writing team for the revised FSL Ontario Curriculum, and is an accredited Diplôme d’études en langue française (DELF) examiner/scorer.
University of Toronto
danielle.hunter@mail.utoronto.ca
Ekaterina ‘Kate’ Prigaro
Research Assistant
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Ekaterina ‘Kate’ Prigaro is a PhD student in the Language and Literacies Education program. With a background in theoretical linguistics, she has taught for and designed undergraduate linguistics courses for over 6 years. Her research interests focus on the inclusion of plurilingual practices in the context of informal and peer-led classrooms, along with a focus on strengthening language support at the undergraduate level.
University of Toronto
kate.prigaro@mail.utoronto.ca
Violetta Cupial
Research Assistant
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Violetta Cupial is a language educator, curriculum developer, and doctoral student in Language and Literacies Education at the Ontario Institute for Studies in Education, University of Toronto. Her work explores multilingual and plurilingual pedagogies in higher education, particularly in English for Academic and Specific Purposes (EAP/ESP). Her interests include learner and teacher agency and identity, language teacher education and programming, and integrating technologies/AI into plurilingual approaches for academic writing. Violetta is especially interested in using Complex Dynamic Systems Theory and its methodologies to understand language learning and agency, and to inform curriculum development, teacher knowledge, and classroom supports for multilingual learners.
OISE, University of Toronto
violetta.cupial@mail.utoronto.ca
Jingjing Xing
Research Assistant
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Jingjing Xing is a PhD student in Language and Literacies Education at the Ontario Institute for Studies in Education (OISE) at the University of Toronto. Her research interests include critical multilingual pedagogies, critical language awareness, translanguaging, and game-based language learning. She is particularly interested in how innovative, inclusive pedagogical approaches can empower multilingual learners and support their linguistic identities and agency.
University of Toronto
jingjing.xing@mail.utoronto.ca
Aisha Adebayo
Research Assistant
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Aisha Adebayo is a PhD candidate and graduate assistant in the Language and Literacies Education program at OISE. She has experience working in an Early Childhood Education setting and has previously taught Yoruba as a heritage language with an Ontario School board. Her research interests include plurilingual parenting, heritage language learning, plurilingual storytelling, multiliteracies, and Anti-Black Islamophobia.
OISE, University of Toronto
aishab.adebayo@mail.utoronto.ca
Our Volunteers ➕
- Adriana Ortiz
- John Scott
- Yashu Shi
- Nicola Townend
- Linda Ward