I direct the Foreign and Second Language Education program area, which includes graduate and undergraduate programs in foreign language and ESL education for certification and for preparation of teachers and curriculum coordinators internationally. I am on the editorial board of the Modern Language Journal. My research areas include sociocultural approaches to strategies-based language learning, models for professional teacher development and teacher resistance to change, and family language maintenance in the diaspora.

Ph.D. Foreign & Second Language Education, 1987, Purdue University, West Lafayette, IN

M.A. German Language, Literature & Linguistics, 1979,  University of Pittsburgh

TESOL Certification, 1975, Applied Linguistics, University of Pittsburgh

Pennsylvania Secondary Teaching License, 1974.

B.A.  German Studies; Linguistics Minor (Magna Cum Laude), 1973, Washington and Jefferson College, Washington, PA

• Nyikos, M. & Fan, M. Y. (2007). A review of research on vocabulary learning strategies: Focus on learner’s voice and language proficiency. In A. Cohen and E. Macaro (Eds.), Language learner strategies: 30 years of research and practice (pp.251-273). Oxford, UK: Oxford University Press.
• Nyikos, M. (2008). Gender in language learning. In Carol Griffiths (Ed.), Lessons from good language learners: Insights for teachers and learners (pp.73-82). Cambridge University Press.