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Faculty Member

Dr. Thierno Aliou Diallo

Biography

Dr. Thierno Aliou Diallo is originally from Guinea (Conakry). After earning a Ph.D. in French and second language acquisition at The Ohio State University in the summer of 2023, he joined Coastal Carolina University as a visiting assistant professor and taught French from elementary to advanced levels. He joined Utah Valley University in August 2024 as assistant professor of French and director of the French program. He holds a master’s degree in linguistics and language pedagogy from the Université de Rennes 2 in France and another in linguistics and language contact from the University of Oran 2 (Algeria). His doctoral thesis focused on the processing of object pronouns in French by English-speaking students. He is also interested in Arabic and Spanish as second languages. He holds a certificate of advanced proficiency in Arabic from Avant and a diploma in Spanish as a foreign language (B2 level) from El Instituto Cervantes. His current research projects focus on input processing and the role of modality in language learning. He also collaborates with international researchers to study the effects of phonetically variable input and lexical input processing. He has co-authored a chapter on “The Effects of Instruction on the Second Language Acquisition of French” which is to appear in the volume Second Language Acquisition of French_ Linguistic Perspectives, in Cambridge edited by Jeffrey Steele.

When he is not teaching or doing research, Dr. Diallo can be found cooking, cycling, watching crime movies or chatting with friends and family.

Education

PhD, The Ohio State University, 2023

Major: French and Second Language Acquisition

MA, University of Rennes 2, 2017

Major: Linguistics and Language Pedagogy

MA, University of Oran 2, 2015

Major: Linguistics and Language Contact

BA, University of Oran 2, 2013

Major: Literature and Languages

Teaching

FREN 1010

Beginning French I, Summer 2026

FREN 1020

Beginning French II, Summer 2026

FREN 3050

Advanced French, Spring 2026

FREN 1010

Beginning French I, Spring 2026

FREN 4900R

Special Topics in French, Spring 2026

FREN 4900R

Special Topics in French, Spring 2026

Presentations

Diallo, Thierno Aliou (Presenter Only), The 7th annual meeting of The Southeastern Association Cultural Studies (SEACS) conference , "From Input to Output_ Effective Techniques for Teaching Object Pronouns ", The 7th annual meeting of The Southeastern Association Cultural Studies (SEACS) conference , Charlotte (North Carolina). (March 28, 2026)
Wong, Wynne (Co-Presenter), Diallo, Thierno Aliou (Co-Presenter), Zhou, William (Co-Presenter), Chan, Marjorie (Co-Presenter), American Association for Applied Linguistics (AAAL), "Beyond the hexagon_ Accent variability and L2 French Vocabulary Learning", American Association for Applied Linguistics (AAAL), Chicago (Illinois). (March 23, 2026)
Diallo, Thierno Aliou (Presenter Only), Utah Foreign Language Association (UFLA), "Enhancing the Comprehension of French Object Pronouns Through Input-Based Instruction", Utah Foreign Language Association (UFLA), Utah Valley University (Orem). (March 12, 2026)
Wong, Wynne (Co-Presenter), Zhou, William (Co-Presenter), Diallo, Thierno Aliou (Co-Presenter), Chan, Marjorie (Co-Presenter), American Association for Applied Linguistics (AAAL), "Equitable Language Instruction_ The effects of ‘native’ and ‘non-native’ voices on French lexical learning", American Association for Applied Linguistics (AAAL), Denver (Colorado). (March 25, 2025)
Diallo, Thierno Aliou (Presenter Only), The 6th annual meeting of The Southeastern Association Cultural Studies (SEACS) conference , "Revitalizing Grammar Instruction_ The Impact of Warm-ups, Games, and Simulations in an Intermediate-Level French Grammar Course ", The 6th annual meeting of The Southeastern Association Cultural Studies (SEACS) conference hosted by the University of North Carolina at Charlotte , Charlotte (North Carolina). (February 21, 2025)
Diallo, Thierno Aliou (Presenter Only), LING2502: Issues of Bilingualism and Bilingual Education, "Bilingual Education in West Africa", The University of Newcastle, New South Wales (Australia). (October 7, 2024)

Scholarly/Creative Works

Wong, Wynne , Diallo, Thierno Aliou , "The Effects of Instruction on the Second Language Acquisition of French" . Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
Wong, Wynne , Zhou, William , Chan, Marjorie , Diallo, Thierno Aliou , "Do L1 speakers provide better input for L2 vocabulary learning? Evidence from French lexical acquisition" . Canada: the Canadian Modern Language Review.
Ito, Kiwako , Vualle-Barcan, Marie-Laure , Welby, Pauline , Wong, Wynne , Diallo, Thierno Aliou , Thorpe, Alex , "Any French is good French_ Multi-dialect input for training gender-marking clitics" . Studies in Second Language Acquisition (Cambridge University Press).

Awards

Global Spotlight Fellowship Award

The Office of Global Engagement - April 18, 2025

I received this fellowship for organizing the Francophone Day Celebration on March 20, 2025, celebrating diversity in the French-speaking world and highlighting Asian Francophone authors in its inaugural session. I invited Dr. Xinyi Tan, Associate Professor of Chinese and French at Coastal Carolina University, for a full-day event. She delivered an interdisciplinary talk, “Rewriting the Canon_ Translingual and Transmedia Storytelling in Asian Francophonie,” showing how Asian Francophone authors reshape key moments in Asian and French history. The event drew over 60 attendees—a notably strong turnout—and many students stayed afterward to engage with her work. As a result, I received the Global Fellowship Award from UVU’s Office of Global Engagement.

The Graduate Associate Teaching Award (GATA)

The Ohio State University - April 26, 2023

The Graduate Associate Teaching Award (GATA) is the Ohio State University’s
highest recognition of the exceptional teaching provided by graduate students serving as teaching associates.