Mission Statement

The Institute conducts research on language, literacy, and bilingualism and their development and acquisition in an urban society. The central mission of RISLUS is to investigate those research questions that are at the nexus between language and the New York City urban environment. Basic and applied research is conducted:

  • on structural, social and educational issues associated with the language of urban dwellers, with special emphasis on bilingual and bidialectal communities and their language related needs strengths and needs ;
  • on the language and language-learning profile of students in the University and NYC public schools, and on the progress of these students in the acquisition of English as a second language as well as other modern languages ;
  • on the acquisition of academic literacy skills in both English and other languages, by students whose native base is another language or another variety of English ;
  • on ways to make language instruction at CUNY, in both ESL and modern languages, a model for public schools and universities throughout the country.

RISLUS
365 Fifth Avenue
New York, NY 10016
212-817-8511

Ricardo Otheguy, Director
rotheguy@gc.cuny.edu

Gita Martohardjono, Associate Director
GMartohardjono@gc.cuny.edu

Leigh Garrison, Student Coordinator
rislus@gc.cuny.edu

RISLUS is located in the Linguistics Program at The Graduate Center, The City University of New York. Established in 1961, The Graduate Center is the doctorate-granting institution of The City University of New York (CUNY). An internationally-recognized center for advanced studies and a national model for public doctoral education, The Graduate Center offers more than thirty doctoral programs in the arts, humanities, social sciences, and the natural sciences, as well as a number of master's programs. Many of its faculty members are among the world's leading scholars in their respective fields. Ten of The Graduate Centers doctoral programs place among the top ten in the country, six are ranked in the top five, and in the broad category of humanities, The Graduate Center is rated fourth, according to a new method of assessing the relative strength of doctoral programs by scholarly productivity. The school currently enrolls over 4000 students from throughout the United States, as well as from about eighty foreign countries, and its alumni hold major positions in industry and government, as well as in academia. The Graduate Center is also home to twenty-eight interdisciplinary research centers and institutes focused on areas of compelling social, civic, cultural, and scientific concerns. Located in a landmark Fifth Avenue building, The Graduate Center has become a vital part of New York City's intellectual and cultural life with its extensive array of public lectures, exhibitions, concerts, and theatrical events. Further information on The Graduate Center and its programs can be found at www.gc.cuny.edu.

News

- RISLUS Fellow Kate Menken has been awarded a $182,000 grant from the New York City Department of Education. The project Title is: "Meeting the Needs of Long-Term English Language Learners in High School, Phase II."  Kate Menken is the principal investigator and Professor Tatyana Kleyn, from the City College of New York, is a member of the research team. Research Assistants are: Nelson Flores (Urban Education), Alexander Funk (Linguistics), and Nabin Chae (Urban Education) of the CUNY Graduate Center.