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Dr. Sara Katherine Hillman

Dr. Sara Katherine Hillman

Instructional Associate Professor (English)

Office Number: 328E
Office Phone: +974.4423.0659


Sara Hillman teaches English and communication courses in the Division of Arts & Sciences and has served as the coordinator for the Foundations of English program since 2019. She is a scholar of applied linguistics, second language pedagogy, sociolinguistics, and intercultural communication. Her work has appeared in top tier journals such as TESOL Quarterly, System, Linguistics and Education, Language Learning Journal, Multilingua, and World Englishes, and she has published numerous chapters in edited volumes related to language and higher education in the Gulf and Arab world. She recently guest edited a special journal issue, “The emotional landscape of English medium instruction (EMI) in higher education” for Linguistics and Education.

Research Interests

  • Linguistically and culturally responsive pedagogies in English medium instruction (EMI) and transnational higher education
  • Spatial, social, and linguistic belonging in international branch campuses
  • Emotion labor, identities, and ideologies in second language teaching and learning
  • Linguistic landscapes and educational spaces
  • Language planning and policy
  • Language and intercultural communication
  • Global Englishes
  • Translingual pedagogies and practices

Visit Dr. Hillman's ResearchGate Profile or Google Scholar Profile to access her publications.

Education

  • Ph.D. in Second Language Studies, Michigan State University, USA, 2011
  • M.A. in Teaching English to Speakers of Other Languages, Michigan State University, USA, 2006
  • B.A. in International Studies, American University (Washington, D.C.), USA, 2002

Experience

  • Associate Professor of English and Foundation English Coordinator, Division of Arts & Sciences, Texas A&M University at Qatar (2023-current)
  • Assistant Professor of English and Foundation English Coordinator, Liberal Arts Program, Texas A&M University at Qatar (2015-2022)
  • Assistant Professor (fixed-term), Department of Linguistics and Languages, Michigan State University (2012-2015)
  • Acting Academic Director of Arabic Flagship Program and Visiting Assistant Professor, Department of Linguistics and Languages, Michigan State University (2011-2012)

Publications

Hillman, S. (in press). Challenges facing multilingual students in Qatar’s Education City international branch campuses: Advancing a social justice-centered policy agenda. In E. Zaidan, E. Toc, A. Al-fadala, & L. Cochrane (Eds.), Future of Education in Qatar. Springer.

Hillman, S., Elsheikh, A., Abbas, N., & Scott, B. (in press). Teaching preparatory English in the cross-border higher education landscape: A collaborative autoethnography of our emotion labor. In M. Nazari and P. De Costa (Eds.), [Special Issue ‘Second language teacher emotion labor’]. IRAL (International Review of Applied Linguistics in Language Teaching).

Hillman, S. (in press, 2024). English in Qatar. In Elyas, T. (Ed.), The Wiley Blackwell Encyclopedia of World Englishes, 6 Volume Set (The Middle East).

Hopkyns, S. & Hillman, S. (2024). Translingual practice in GCC English-medium higher education: A scoping review. In S. Curle, D. Yuksel, & M. Altay (Eds.), Multilingual and Translingual Practices in English Medium of Instruction (pp. 11-30). Bloomsbury Collections. https://doi.org/10.5040/9781350373273.ch-002

Hillman, S. (2023). ‘I feel unbalanced’: Bridging emotions, creativity, and translingual practice with EMI students. The Language Learning Journalhttps://doi.org/10.1080/09571736.2023.2239861

Hillman, S., Li, W., Green-Eneix, C., & De Costa, P. I. (2023). The emotional landscape of English medium instruction (EMI) in higher education. Linguistics and Educationhttps://doi.org/10.1016/j.linged.2023.101178

Hillman, S., Li, W., Sahan, O. et al. (2023). Forum on “The emotional landscape of English medium instruction (EMI) in higher education.” Linguistics and Educationhttps://doi.org/10.1016/j.linged.2023.101181

Hillman, S. (2023). Language educational policies and ideologies in Qatar: Language policies and ideologies in Qatar: Is resistance to English-medium instruction the right resistance? In M. Wyatt and G. El Gamal (Eds.), English as a medium of instruction (EMI) in the Arabian Gulf (pp. 55-69). Routledge.

Hillman, S. (2023). Negotiating between cultural and academic values: Undergraduate education choices and divisions in the State of Qatar. In A. Ibrahim & O. Barnawi (Eds.) Past, present, and future of higher education in the Arabian Gulf region: Critical comparative perspectives (Chapter 10). Routledge.

Hillman, S. (2023). Intersecting scapes, global flows, and new identity options: Female Qatari students’ informal learning of Turkish language. In S. R. Mehta & F. Al-Rashdi (Eds.), Language, culture, and identity in the Arab World (pp. 134-152). Routledge.

Hillman, S., Reynolds, D. & Elsheikh, A. (2022). Expanding communicative repertoires through plurilingual pedagogies in IBC classrooms in Qatar. In Coelho, D. & Steinhagen, T. (Eds.), Plurilingual pedagogy in the Arabian Peninsula: Transforming and empowering students and teachers (pp. 114-130). Routledge.

Hillman, S. (2022). Navigating identity and belonging as international branch campus students: The role of linguistic shame. In S. Hopkyns & W. Zoghbor (Eds.), Linguistic identities in the Gulf: Waves of change (pp. 215-230). Routledge.

Hillman, S. (2021). Linguistically responsive instruction in international branch campuses: Beliefs and practices of liberal arts and STEM instructors. TESOL Quarterly, 55(4), 1162-1189. https://doi.org/10.1002/tesq.3078

Hillman, S., Graham, K. M., Eslami, Z. R. (2021). EMI and the international branch campus: Examining language ideologies, policies, and practices. Australian Review of Applied Linguistics, 44(2), 229-252. https://doi.org/10.1075/aral.20093.hil

Graham, K. M., Eslami, Z. R., & Hillman, S. (2021). From English as the Medium to English as Medium: Perspectives of EMI Students in Qatar. System, 44(2), 229-252. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.system.2021.102508

Amani, S., Youssef, E., Alagha, R, Hillman, S., and Ruimi, A. (2021). “This is a very male job”: Challenges encountered by females during recruitment and hiring for engineering jobs in Qatar. ASEE Annual Conference and Exposition Proceedings, July 26-29, Long Beach, CA. https://peer.asee.org/this-is-a-very-male-job-challenges-encountered-by-females-during-recruitment-and-hiring-for-engineering-jobs-in-qatar

Ahmad, R. & Hillman, S. (2020). Laboring to communicate: Use of migrant languages in COVID-19 awareness campaign in Qatar. Multilingua Journal of Cross-cultural and Interlanguage Communication40(3), 303-337https://doi.org/10.1515/multi-2020-0119

Hillman, S., Selvi, A. F., Bedrettin, Y. (2020). A scoping review of world Englishes in the Middle East and North Africa. World Englishes, 40(2), 159-175https://doi.org/10.1111/weng.12505

Hillman, S. (2019). “I’m a heritage speaker of the Damascene dialect of Arabic”: Negotiating the identity label of Arabic heritage language learner Heritage Language Journal16(3), 296-317. https://www.heritagelanguages.org/

Hillman, S. (2019). ‘It will be funny [to speak Hindi]’: Travelling Englishes and perceptions about learning migrant languages in QatarIn Phan, L.H. Bao, D. & Barnawi, O. (Eds.), [Special Issue ‘Mobilities, Immobilities, and Inequalities: Interrogating ‘Travelling’ Ideas in English Language Education and English Medium Instruction in the Asia Pacific and broader Middle East regions’]. Transitions: Journal of Transient Migration, 3(2), 177-200. https://doi.org/10.1386/tjtm_00006_1

Hillman, S., Graham, K. M., & Eslami, Z.R. (2019). Teachers’ translanguaging ideologies and practices at an international branch campus in Qatar. In Canagarajah, S. & Gao, X (Eds.), [Special Issue ‘Translingual Practice in Higher Education’]. English Teaching & Learning43(1), 41-63. https://doi.org/10.1007/s42321-018-0015-3

Hillman, S. & Ocampo Eibenschutz, E. (2018). English, super-diversity, and identity in the state of Qatar. World Englishes, 37(2), 228-247. https://doi.org/10.1111/weng.12312

Hillman, S. & Salama, G. (2018). Female participation in engineering fields: Successes, challenges, and recommendations in a non-western context. In M. Auer and D. Guralnick (Eds.), Teaching and Learning in a Digital World, Series in Advances in Intelligent Systems and Computing, Volume 716 (pp. 323-331). Sydney, Springer Nature. https://link.springer.com/chapter/10.1007/978-3-319-73204-6_36

Hillman, S., Salama, G., Ocampo Eibenschutz, E., Awadh, S., & El-Said, L. (2017, June). Being female and an engineering student in Qatar: Successes, challenges, and recommendations. ASEE Annual Conference and Exposition Proceedings, June 25-28, Columbus, Ohio. Retrieved from https://www.asee.org/public/conferences/78/papers/18122/view

Hillman, S. K. (2015). Basic Arabic for health care professionals. In J. Trace, T. Hudson, & J. D. Brown (Eds.), Developing Courses in Languages for Specific Purposes (pp. 36–48) (NetWork #69) [PDF document]. Honolulu: University of Hawai‘i. doi: http://hdl.handle.net/10125/14573

Kraemer, A., Ahn, S., Hillman, S., & Fei, F. (2009). Innovative learning modules for language in context: MIMEA. CALICO Journal, 27(1). https://eric.ed.gov/?id=EJ863307