Office of Study Abroad
Michigan State University
109 International Center
East Lansing, MI 48824-1035
Phone: (517) 432-4346
Email: berquis6@msu.edu
Brett Berquist is the executive director of the Office of Study Abroad. He joined Michigan State University in July 2009 from Western Michigan University, in Kalamazoo, where he served as the executive director of international programs. At MSU, Brett is working on implementation of recommendations from the 2008 MSU Study Abroad Task Force focusing on Quality, Accessibility, and Diversity. His background includes experience in international student recruitment, study abroad program development, chairing departments of modern languages, strategic planning and management.
Brett has served on internationalization taskforces in four universities and has given over 30 conference and workshop presentations on intercultural programs and learning. His areas of expertise are study abroad program design and administration, quality assurance in learning mobility, globalization strategy, risk management, IT and communications, and experiential education abroad.
After growing up on the American plains, his first foray abroad was to France, a country which finally granted him dual citizenship many years later. In France, he chaired foreign language departments for eight years and was responsible for leading the development of a completely new language curriculum in three ‘grandes écoles’ of business and engineering. In a Parisian business school, he led student participation in international education from 10% to 98% in three years through an innovative learning mobility program called ‘le passeport international.’ In this role, he organized short-term study abroad programs in France for U.S. MBA students as well as taking European students overseas. He also designed and taught pre-sessional intensive induction programs for international students joining the MBA at the University of Durham.
Brett holds a BA in music and French literature from the University of Missouri, an MA in linguistics with high honors from the University of Kansas, a Diplôme de Langue et Civilisation Françaises from the Université de Paris IV, and has completed doctoral work in psycholinguistics and second language acquisition at the Université de Technologie de Compiègne France.
He has travelled to nearly 50 countries and has over 20 years experience working in international education in the U.S., U.K., France and Korea.
Executive Director
Office of Study Abroad
Michigan State University (East Lansing, MI)
July 2009 to present
Executive Director International Programs
Diether H. Haenicke Institute for Global Education
Western Michigan University (Kalamazoo, MI)
August 2005 – July 2009
Director of Study Abroad
Haenicke Institute for International and Area Studies
Western Michigan University (Kalamazoo, MI)
January 2003 – August 2005
Director of International Program Development
Grand Valley State University (Grand Rapids, MI)
2001-2002
Director of International Development
Assoc. Professor of English and Intercultural Communication
Chair of Modern Languages
Groupe ISC Paris - Institut Supérieur du Commerce (Paris, France)
1997-2001
Program Development Consultant
Focus on the MBA intensive program for international MBA students
University of Durham Language Centre & Business School (Durham, England, UK)
Summers 1997, 1999, 2000
ESL and French Instructor
Pohang University of Science and Technology (Pohang, South Korea)
1997
Assistant Professor of English and Intercultural Communication
Department Chair, Cultures et Communication Anglophones
École Supérieure de Commerce de Troyes (Troyes, France)
1992-1996
EFL Program Coordinator
Université de Technologie de Troyes (Troyes, France)
1993-1994
Assistant Professor, Department Langues et Cultures & Continuing Education
Groupe ESC Rennes - École Supérieure de Commerce (Rennes, France)
1990-1992
Graduate Teaching Assistant
Applied English Center (IEP) and French Department
University of Kansas (Lawrence, Kansas)
1988-1990
Western Michigan University
Grand Valley State University
Groupe ISC Paris - Institut Supérieur du Commerce
WMU International News. (2007-09) Editor-in-chief. Electronic magazine. 18,000 subscription base. http://international.wmich.edu/component/option,com_magazine/Itemid,401/
Compétences en langues dans les ESC: objectifs et programmes [language competence in French business schools: objectives and programs]. (1998) In Actes du XXVème Congrès de l’Union des Professeurs de Langues des Grandes Écoles, Jill Faucher (Ed.). Paris: UPLEGESS, pp. 92-110.
Individual Differences in Working Memory Span and L2 Proficiency: Capacity or Processing Efficiency? (1997) In Sorace, A., Heycock, C. and Shillcock, R. (Eds.) Proceedings of the GALA '97 Conference on Language Acquisition. Edinburgh: Human Communication Research Centre, University of Edinburgh, pp. 468-473.
Memory Models Applied to L2 Comprehension: a Search for Common Ground. (1997) In Taillefer, G. and Pugh, A.K., Eds. Lecture à l’Université: Langues maternelle, seconde et étrangère [Reading in the University: First, Second and Foreign Languages]. Toulouse: Presses de l’Université des Sciences Sociales de Toulouse, pp. 29-44.
Pourquoi l'Autonomie? [In Defense of Learner Autonomy]. (1994) In Actes du Deuxième Colloque de l'UPLEGESS sur l’Autonomie dans l’Apprentissage des Langues. Jacques Terracol (Ed.). Paris: UPLEGESS, pp. 4-7.
Une Démarche vers l’Autonomie [Towards Learner Independence]. (1993) In Actes du XXIème Congrès de l’Union des Professeurs de Langues Étrangères dans les Grandes Écoles, Alan Preston (Ed.). Paris: UPLEGESS, pp. 49-66.
Doctoral dissertation (incomplete) Les implications de la mémoire de travail dans l’apprentissage d’une langue étrangère [Implications of working memory in foreign language learning] Incomplete doctoral dissertation, Université de Technologie de Compiègne, France. Advisor: Jean-Paul Narcy
M.A. thesis On the role of short-term memory in listening comprehension. Thesis for M.A. Linguistics. University of Kansas. Defended with honors, November 1991. Thesis advisor: David A. Dinneen; jury: Keith Percival, Michael Henderson
Future of Transnational Education Programs at Western Michigan University (2006). Status report of 20 years of TNE @ WMU and vision proposal. (83pp.)
AQUARIUS - Quality assurance in international student mobility – handbook of practical tools. (2007). Erasmus-Mundus funded research project – 5 universities in 5 countries. Co-author of final report and handbook.
Internationalization at WMU: mission, strategies, organization. (2004) Research analysis of needs and proposals for reorganization of international programs. (60pp.)
Guidelines for comparing performance on two tests of ESL proficiency: The TOEIC Test and the TOEFL. (1998). Wilson, K.M., Berquist, B. & Bell, I.
Corrélations et Équivalences TOEIC / TOEFL (1996) A bilingual report of a study on equivalencies between TOEIC and TOEFL scores. Available on request through the TOEIC office in Paris. (10 pp.)
La Politique et les Résultats du Test of English for International Communication TOEIC à l'ESC Troyes. (1995). W/ Jill Vernon. An internal report analyzing the language program and proposing suggestions for curriculum reform. (53 pp.)
Enquête sur les Programmes Langues dans les Écoles Supérieures de Commerce. (1996). A report of a survey of language programs in French business schools, conducted in 1996. Distributed to French business schools. (20 pp.)
Review of Reading and Language Processing by John M. Henderson, Murray Singer, and Fernanda Ferreira (Eds.). Mahwah, NJ: Lawrence Erlbaum Associates. TESL-EJ Vol. 2 No. 4 (June 1997). [http://www-writing.berkeley.edu/TESL-EJ/ej08/r10.html]
Review of Management and Marketing by Ian MacKenzie (1997) Hove, UK: LTP. and Build Your Business Grammar by Tim Bowen (1997) Hove, UK: LTP. TESL-EJ Vol.3 No.3 (Sept. 1998). [http://www-writing.berkeley.edu/TESL-EJ/ej11/r1.html]
Tools for Quality Assurance in Administering International Exchange – AQUARIUS. BUTEX, Belfast, Northern Ireland, June 2008. Panel with E.F. Zenatti-Daniels, Aston University.
The great debate: experience vs academic performance. NAFSA Association of International Educators, Washington DC, May 2008. Panel with D. Potts, Australian Education International, S. Ferst, Rutgers University.
International Programs in Asia, Facing East/Facing West Conference, a Multidisciplinary Conference on North America’s Relations with China, south Asia, and Other Asian Countries, Kalamazoo, Michigan, June 2007. with Cathleen fuller, WMU.
Tools for Quality Assurance in Administering International Exchange – AQUARIUS. NAFSA Association of International Educators, Minneapolis, Minnesota, May 2007. Panel with R. Sonntag-Krup, Universität Paderborn, E.F. Zenatti-Daniels, Aston University.
Report on European-funded research on student exchange administration. National Forum on Outbound Mobility, Perth, Australia, October 2006.
Development of Transnational Education Programs from a US perspective. Australian International Education Conference, Perth, Australia, October 2006. with Cathleen Fuller, WMU.
Reshape, Redesign, Restructure: Organizing the international office to meet its mission. AIEA Association of International Education Administrators, San Diego, California, February 2006. Panel with R. Davis, Western Michigan University, J. Gallegos, University of North Carolina – Charlotte, Debra Langton, Macquarie University
Innovation in student mobility: 3 case studies. Australian International Education Conference, Gold Coast, Australia, October 2005. Panel with T. Adams, Macquarie University, G. King, Swinburne University of Technology, D. Potts, Macquarie University
Risk and Responsibility in Student Mobility Programs: Four International Perspectives. NAFSA Association of International Educators, Seattle, Washington, May 2005. Panel with F. Francis, Concordia University, E. LeBlanc, Queen’s University, L. Mitchell, University of Guelph, D. Potts, Macquarie University
Responsibility for practical training in business schools: crossing the EU / US divide. Global International Internship Congress, Amsterdam, Netherlands, April 2005
IT Frontiers for International Office Operations. AIEA Association of International Education Administrators, Washington, DC, February 2005. Panel with T. Albrecht, University of Texas Austin, A. Gillespie, Purdue University, B. Snyder, Purdue University
Risk and Responsibility in Student Mobility Programs: Four Perspectives. Canadian Bureau for International Education, Ottawa, Canada, Nov. 2004. Panel with F. Francis, Concordia University, E. PaderLeBlanc, Queen’s University, L. Mitchell, University of Guelph, D. Potts, Macquarie University
Working memory models applied to second language acquisition. American Association of Applied Linguistics, Seattle, Washington, March 1998
Setting and tracking ESP objectives through TOEIC. TESOL, Seattle, Washington, March 1998
Individual differences in L1/L2 working memory w/ Eleonora Talarico. TESOL , Seattle, Washington, March 1998
Propriétés Spécifiques de la Mémoire de Travail et l’Apprentissage d’une Langue Seconde: le traitement des indices prosodiques. w/ Eleonora Talarico. Mémoire de travail et développement - atelier de conjoncture, Université de Savoie, Chambéry, France, March 1997
Comment mesurer l’évolution du niveau linguistique tout au long de la scolarité : le cas du TOEIC à l’ESC Troyes. GERAS (Groupe d'Études et de Recherches en Anglais de Spécialité), École Normale Supérieure, Paris, France March 1997
La mémoire de travail entre neuropsychologie et psycholinguistique: l’exemple du traitement d'une L2. w/ Eleonora Talarico. Séminaire de neuropsycholinguistique cognitive. Maison de la Recherche, Toulouse, France, Feb. 1997
Am I talking too fast or too much?: Memory constraints in ESL listening comprehension. IATEFL, Eurocentre - Cambridge, UK, March 1997
La mémoire de travail dans le traitement d'une langue seconde: intersection entre modèles psychologiques et hypothèses psycholinguistiques. w/ Eleonora Talarico. Deuxième Colloque de Sciences Cognitives - Façade Atlantique, Biarritz, France, Nov. 1996
Working Memory Constraints in L2 Listening Comprehension: Implications for second language learning. EUROSLA conference (European Association of Second Language Acquisition), Université d'Aix en Provence, France, Sept. 1994
Greater China: market trends & program development options. Faculty Forum on Greater China. Western Michigan University, March 2006. [http://international.wmich.edu]
Innateness and Working Memory Constraints in Second Language Acquisition. Autumn 1997 Linguistics Colloquium Series, Dept. of Linguistics and English Language, University of Durham, England, Sept. 1997 [http://www.dur.ac.uk/Linguistics/colloq.htm]
Memory Constraints in Second Language Acquisition. Phonetics Dept., Universität Trier, Germany, April 1997
Pourquoi l'Autonomie? [In Defense of Learner Autonomy]. UPLEGESS Congress, Ecole Nationale des Travaux Publics, Lyon, France, Jan 1994
Study Abroad Program Development. Workshop co-hosted with the International Education Council. Western Michigan University, Nov. 2008 and 2009
Developing a Faculty-led International Program. Faculty Learning and Teaching Center, Grand Valley State University, Michigan, Jan. 2002
Le Concept de Mémoire de Travail: Limites et Perspectives, w/ Eleonora Talarico. Doctoral Seminar in Language Learning Methodology, Université de Technologie de Compiègne, France, March 1996
Compétence communicative et compréhension orale L1 <--> L2 : barrières et ouvertures. Research Seminar, École Supérieure de Commerce de Troyes, France, May 1994
On the Role of Short-Term Memory in Listening Comprehension: implications for teacher-talk. IATEFL Conference (International Association of Teachers of English as a Foreign Language), Université Catholique de Lille, France, Nov. 1992
Teaching Pronunciation in Adult Continuing Education. w/Joanne Ward. In-house teacher-training workshop at Groupe ESC Rennes, France, Sept. 1992
Short-term Memory in Listening Comprehension: Implications for Teachers. In-house teacher-training workshop at Groupe ESC Rennes, France, Sept. 1992
It’s Not What You Do, It’s Why You Do It: Teaching Methodology in Adult Continuing Education. w/Joanne Ward. In-house workshop at Centre d’Études des Langues - Rennes, France, Sept. 1991
Innovations in Placement Testing. In-house workshop at Centre d’Études des Langues, Rennes, France, Sept. 1991
Language Proficiency Interview – LPI qualified interviewer/rater in English, ETS
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