Eric Johnson is a Lecturer in Italian at The Ohio State University. His journey in academia began at the University of Pittsburgh, where he completed his MA in Italian Language & Literature and wrote his thesis, Utero in affitto, bimbi da asporto e donne in vendita, on the use of imagery, expressions, and metaphors in the family-oriented language of the Italian far-right. After finishing his MA, he headed just up the road to Carnegie Mellon University, where he received his PhD in Applied Linguistics & Second Language Acquisition. While at CMU, Eric developed an interest in digital game-based language learning, and his dissertation presented a qualitative investigation into the emergence of language learning opportunities in a collaborative, digital game-based pedagogical intervention. He has presented his work at conferences of the Northeast Association for Language Learning Technology, as well as the American Association of Applied Linguistics. He has also served as an instructor in the Master's program in Technology-Mediated Language Teaching and Learning at the Universitat Oberta de Catalunya. Eric is passionate about leveraging engaging and innovative technologies into language instruction.

 

Outside of the university setting, Eric spent three years as a member of Duolingo's Italian-English contractor team, he taught Italian language courses of all levels to adults for several years at a private language school in his hometown of Pittsburgh, he spent a year teaching English to adults in Bologna, and, most recently, he worked as an on-site manager for a study abroad program in Rome. In his free time, Eric stays busy with a part-time role as tickle monster for his daughters.