Hammond's presentation entitled “Isn’t Google-translate Enough? Teaching Foreign Language in the Digital Age,” will explore the benefits and challenges of language adoption in the 21st Century. Drawing upon her own, personal, journey learning English and teaching Japanese, she will explore the impact of digital translation tools on global communications. This has proven particularly important as the pandemic has restricted international travel.

A native of Japan, Hammond completed her undergraduate degree in English Literature at Hosei University in Tokyo and a masters degree in Japanese Pedagogy and Culture at the University of California, Long Beach. She has previously taught Japanese at the middle and high school levels, and at advanced levels at the University of California, Irvine, and now at UT Martin. Hammond is the faculty advisor to the Japanese Language and Culture Club, has led study abroad tours, and coordinates student placements for full semester study programs at several Universities in Japan.

The event is part of a series celebrating the 50th anniversary of the Honor Society of Phi Kappa Phi on the UTM campus. Established on May 21, 1971, Chapter 127 was an early example of the Society’s presence at a regional comprehensive university. As the nation’s oldest and most selective multidisciplinary collegiate honor society, Phi Kappa Phi initiates more than 25,000 students, graduate students, faculty, and staff each year on more than 325 campuses across the United States, its territories, and the Philippines.

The Muriel D. Tomlinson lecture is presented every spring by a distinguished faculty in the humanities. This lecture is in honor of Dr. Muriel Tomlinson, a faculty member and chairperson of the Department of Modern and Foreign Languages from 1959-1976. Tomlinson created the language laboratory on UT Martin campus, and was a staunch supporter of the ideals of the Honor Society of Phi Kappa Phi.