Susan Gass

Susan Gass (born 1946) is an American Kenneth W. Mildenberger Prize-winner linguist. She is currently a professor at the Department of Linguistics and Germanic, Slavic, Asian and African Languages at the Michigan State University. Her research focuses on applied linguistics with a special focus on second language learning, corrective feedback, and task-based language learning.

Gass is the Director of the English Language Center, Co-Director of the Center for Language Education And Research, co-Director of the Center for Language Teaching Advancement and Director of the Second Language Studies Ph.D. Program at the Michigan State University.

Between 2002 and 2008 she served as President of the International Association of Applied Linguistics.

She is currently the Editor of Studies in Second Language Acquisition.

According to Google Scholar, Gass's most cited publications include: Second language acquisition: An introductory course, Second language research: Methodology and design, and Input, interaction, and the second language learner.

One of her major publications is a journal article, published in Applied Linguistics in 1985, entitled Non-native/Non-native Conversations: A Model for Negotiation of Meaning. The article, co-written with Evangeline Varonis, builds on the research focusing on conversational interactions between native speakers and non-native speakers. The paper focuses on interactions among non-native speakers of English. Varonis and Gass noted that negotiation of meaning was the most common among non-native speaker/non-native speaker pairs.

Gass has had work published in several major journals such as Applied Linguistics, Studies in Second Language Acquisition, Language Learning, The Modern Language Journal, and AILA Review.

She has co-written books with Larry Selinker, Alison Mackey, Charlene Polio, and Bill VanPatten.

Gass has received numerous outstanding awards throughout her career.

• 1995: MSU Outstanding Research Award, Golden Key Honor Society, 1995
• 1996: Paul Pimsleur Award for Outstanding Research, ACTFL (American Council for the Teaching of Foreign Languages).
• 1998: Ralph Smuckler Award for advancing international studies and programs, Michigan State University Michigan Association of Governing Boards Award
• 2002: Distinguished Scholarship and Service (American Association for Applied Linguistics)
• 2012: Language Learning Outstanding article (with Luke Plonsky)
• 2016: Kenneth W. Mildenberger Prize (with Alison Mackey)