Kathy Kim
Program Director, Language Education
Assistant Professor
Dr. Kathy Kim is an assistant professor of applied linguistics and director of the Second Language Acquisition Lab at Boston University Wheelock College of Education & Human Development. Her research examines how contextual and instructional interventions shape the development of explicit and implicit L2 knowledge. Her work also spans research inclusivity in web-based experimentation, NLP-supported assessment, and the pedagogical potential of generative AI for Korean pragmatics. She is committed to advancing equity in quantitative research and to examining the construct validity of (psycho)linguistic measures.
Dr. Kim is a recipient of the Best of Modern Language Journal award (2019) and has received funding from the National Science Foundation and the AI and Education Faculty Research Grant.
Recent News
- BU Wheelock Welcomes New Faculty for 2025
- How Second Language Learners Become Proficient
- BU Wheelock Welcomes Six New Faculty
In the Media
Education
PhD, Second Language Studies, Michigan State University
MA, TESOL, Boston University
BA, English Literature, Keimyung University
Courses
LS658: Second Language Acquisition
TL 622: Assessment for Language Teaching and Research
Research
First Language-Second Language Proficiency with MultiAutoEIT: An Open Access Measure of Oral Language Proficiency, 2024 AI and Education Faculty Research Grant
Selected Publications
Kim, K., Bornstein, M, Liu, X., & Li, Y. (in press). A Bayesian Approach to Implicit L2 Learning: Web-Based Replication of Williams (2005) and Kim et al. (2023) with Underrepresented Learners. Research Methods in Applied Linguistics.
Kim, K., Chen, X., & Liu, X. (2024). Automating spoken data analysis with commercial NLP support: A tutorial and a validation of accuracy scoring of elicited imitation. Research Methods in Applied Linguistics.
Kim, K. & Godfroid, A. (2023). Exploring the interface of explicit and implicit second-language knowledge: A longitudinal study. Bilingualism: Language and Cognition.
Kim, K., Maie, R., Suga, K., Miller, Z., & Hui, B. (2023). Learning without awareness of academic and non-academic samples: An individual differences study. Registered Report. Language Learning.
Isbell, D., Kim, K., & Chen, X. (2023). Exploring the potential of commercial speech-to-text for automated scoring of the Korean Elicited Imitation Test. Research Methods in Applied Linguistics.
Kim, K. & Fenn, K. (2020). Sleep-dependent consolidation of L2 grammar knowledge: The role of awareness. Studies in Second Language Acquisition.
Kim, K. & Godfroid, A. (2019). Should we listen or read? Modality effects in implicit and explicit L2 knowledge of grammar. The Modern Language Journal, 103(3).
Selected Presentations
Kim, K. & Brysbaert, M. (2025). Language exposure and L2 grammar knowledge development [Paper presentation]. American Association for Applied Linguistics.
Kim, K. (2025). Testing the validity of implicit and explicit L2 grammar knowledge measures [Paper presentation]. . Second Language Research Forum.
Jung, Y. & Kim, K. (2025). Comparing language examples from GenAI and corpora for L2 pedagogy: The case of Korean honorifics [Paper presentation]. Second Language Research Forum.
Isbell, D., Kim, K., Nickolai, D., & Lim, W. (2025). Raising the ceiling: Expanding a Korean elicited imitation test to measure advanced learners and bilinguals [Paper presentation]. Second Language Research Forum.
Bornstein, M. & Kim, K (2025). Examining accessibility in web experimentation: An extension of Kim et al. (2023) and Williams (2005) [Roundtable presentation]. Second Language Research Forum.
Kim, K (2024). Implicit L2 grammar knowledge: Modality, memory consolidation, and individual differences. Ghent University, Belgium.
Kim, K (2024). Longitudinal examination of explicit and implicit L2 knowledge constructs: Theoretical and measurement implications. The Hong Kong Polytechnic University, Hong Kong.