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Welcome to a unique episode of LLChat that combines our popular TalkAbroad and ImmerseMe series featuring graduate student, Catherine Earp. Catherine is currently pursuing her Master of Arts degree in Humanities at ODU (December 2027). She is a Pilates teacher and educator with over 25 years of experience in the classical tradition. She trained under Romana Kryzanowska, a direct student of Joseph Pilates, and currently serves as a Level 4 Teacher-Trainer, working with both clients and instructors to refine how people move and learn. 

Catherine's study of French is an intentional way to stay intellectually challenged while also stepping back into the role of a student, exploring different learning styles and experiences firsthand. We’re so glad to have her with us today. Learn more about how Catherine thinks tools like TalkAbroad and ImmerseMe offer a "domestic study abroad experience," thanks to their immediate feedback and gamification features. 

Our sincere thanks to Ibrahima Wann and Alice Troutman for their podcast hosting expertise!

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We celebrate National French Week (November 4-10) and the 2025 theme, Design your Future with French, with a special LLChat podcast episode from our series Québécois Poets & Writers. 

Xavière Hardy is a distinguished writer and specialist in Video Game Production Management from Montreal. She's the author of acclaimed books such as "Follement écrivaines" and "Ne passez pas par la case départ." Her career spans significant roles in the literary and gaming industries, including managing major projects like Hyper Scape and For Honor at Ubisoft. Additionally, she serves on the board of Femmes de Parole, actively enriching poetic and intercultural dialogues.

Our sincere thanks to Dr. Peter Schulman for hosting and sharing this course interview. 

We are grateful for the editing skills of Ibrahima Wann.

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We are delighted to kick off the new season of LLChat with our popular series on Virtual Reality for World Languages and Cultures Using ImmerseMe, featuring ODU student Lauren Westcott. Lauren graduated in May 2025 with a major in English and a concentration in technical writing. In her interview, she describes her immersive French learning as "a rewarding and fulfilling experience to be able to learn about the way that other people do things. It gives you an entirely different perspective on your own life." Listen to how ImmerseMe's virtual reality and AI have made a positive impact on her language learning. Check out Lauren's full story in our episode below. 

Our thanks to Arielle Rodgers for hosting this spectacular episode! 

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This is Part 2 of our interview with Caitilin Walsh in the series: The Language Services Industry. She is a professional translator, industry advocate, and past president of the American Translators Association (ATA). She served on ATA’s Education and Pedagogy Committee. Ms. Walsh also served on the executive committee of the Joint National Committee for Languages. An ATA-certified French-English translator, she produces translations for the computer industry and food lovers alike. She is a graduate of Willamette University (Oregon) and the Université de Strasbourg, France. She teaches ethics and business practices at the Translation and Interpreting Institute at Bellevue College. 

This episode is from an earlier interview.

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LLChat is honored to have Caitilin Walsh as our first guest to the new series: The Language Services Industry (Part 1). She is a professional translator, industry advocate, and past president of the American Translators Association (ATA). She served on ATA’s Education and Pedagogy Committee. Ms. Walsh also served on the executive committee of the Joint National Committee for Languages. An ATA-certified French-English translator, she produces translations for the computer industry and food lovers alike. She is a graduate of Willamette University (Oregon) and the Université de Strasbourg, France. She teaches ethics and business practices at the Translation and Interpreting Institute at Bellevue College. 

This episode is from an earlier interview.

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The World Cultural Studies degree program at ODU shapes leaders and thinkers fluent in intercultural understanding and global collaboration. In this episode from our series, This Global Life, Dr. Lee Slater welcomes ODU student, Julius Clark. Julius is a student preparing for graduation with a Bachelor of Arts degree in World Cultural Studies and a Bachelor of Science degree in Psychology. In this episode, Dr. Slater and Julius discuss the global lives of students today and their creative paths to address world issues. 

This interview was recorded at an earlier date in Spring 2024. 

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LLChat is pleased to welcome Dr. Lee Slater as host of our new series, This Global Life. In our first episode to the series, Dr. Slater welcomes panelists Dr. Waqar Azeem (Binghamton University), Ms. Nimisha Sinha (Binghamton University), and Dr. Lopamudra Basu (University of Wisconsin-Stout). The goal of this conversation is to explore how cultural forms of bearing witness intervene in the politics and technologies of human rights around the globe. 

For more information on this discussion, please refer to the following links:

1. Art Title: Installation
   Artist: Mahwish Chishty
   Source: https://www.mahachishty.com/new-projects#/the-reaper/

2. Art Title: Stealth
   Artist: Mahwish Chishty 
   Source: https://www.mahachishty.com/drone-art-series

3. Art Title: ME: Portraiture in the Age of Facial Recognition
    Artist: Kathryn Brimblecombe-Fox
    Source: https://kathrynbrimblecombeart.blogspot.com/2021/04/me-portraiture-in-age-of-facial.html

4. Art Title: Drone: Enduring Presence (Meta Landing)
    Artist: Kathryn Brimblecombe-Fox
    Source: https://kathrynbrimblecombeart.blogspot.com/2017/09/drone-enduring-presence-meta-landing.html

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We are joined today by our guest, Émilie Rivard, a beloved Québécoise writer of over 100 children’s and young adult books such as Really and Truly, Ma vie autour d’une tasse John Deere, Le bonheur au bout de la laisse, C’est ma maman!, Petite plante deviendra monstre, et sur le pot les Zétoiles! Terreur dans la classe de sixième, Le raton terrible, Spag, Marcher sur une ligne de trottoir, ça jamais !, Le Bas-Saint-Laurent, Atchoum, les mensonges !  and countless other delightful and charming works. She has also written for magazines and television. Her novel 1ère avenue won the Prix Jeunesse des libraires in 2018

Rivard studied creative writing at Université Laval in Quebec City and focused her writing on imagination and creativity. She writes regularly for Les Explorateurs. 

Our deep appreciation to Dr. Peter Schulman for hosting this episode.

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We are pleased to welcome Dr. Peter Schulman back to LLChat as a guest on our series, Virtual Reality for World Languages & Cultures Using ImmerseMe. Professor Schulman participated in a grant-funded research project at ODU to explore virtual reality with his advanced-level students. He seamlessly integrated the ImmerseMe lessons into his Business French course for students to practice in real-world scenarios. Listen to the details of his experience and what he believes is a game changer for learning and teaching world languages. 

Our thanks to Joelle Ghosn for her expertise in hosting this interview.    

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We welcome Kimberly Mckinnis to our series on Virtual Reality for World Languages and Cultures Using ImmerseMe where she will share her experiences on emerging technologies to learn French. Professor McKinnis is an adjunct faculty member in the Department of Art at Old Dominion University and Lake Taylor High School, as well as a member of the glass studio team at the Chrysler Museum of Art. She holds an M.F.A. in Art (Exhibition Design) from California State University in Fullerton, California. In her studio practice, she utilizes a variety of media including silver, glass, video, and performance. Her work has been exhibited nationally and internationally and has been featured in publications such as the annual New Glass Review by the Corning Museum of Glass.

Professor McKinnis is the winner of the Silver Global Citizen Award for the 2023 ImmerseMe Cup and was at the top 9% of over 1,750 competitors worldwide!  

Our gratitude goes to Ayat Yousef for expertly hosting this episode.

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