She earned her MA and PhD in L2 at the University of Texas at Austin. Her research focuses on L2 methodology and teacher education, variation in German, and dual immersion, and has been published in scholarly venues such as Foreign Language Annals, the Modern Language Journal and Unterrichtspraxis/Teaching German. Her publications also include co-edited volumes and German language textbooks. In 2010, the American Council for the Teaching of Foreign Languages (ACTFL) awarded her the Anthony Papalia Award for Excellence in Teacher Education. She has served in leadership positions of national professional organizations and serves as the co-chair of Utah's World Language Council, which produced the Utah Language Roadmap for the 21st Century that helped establish Utah's Dual Language Immersion Program.