Polzl joined the department this spring, and for the next two years, she looks forward to interacting with the “cosmopolitan, kind, and open” people here.

An Austrian-born linguist, who obtained her M.A. in German/English literature and linguistics from Austria in 1993, Polzl gained some work experience before continuing with her studies of English, which she calls “the language of the global nomad.” She earned another M.A. in Modern English Language from the University of London in 1999, before pursuing her PhD in intercultural communication with English as a lingua franca from the University of Vienna in 2006. 

The multi-disciplinary aspect of her studies focusing on the cultural and intercultural identity as well as the consequences of globalization on human diversity prompted Polzl to visit different countries in our region in order to collect data for her research, stopping in Egypt, Syria, Jordan, and Lebanon.

Her love for the sun and the Mediterranean were important factors in Polzl’s decision to work at the College for International Studies in Madrid, where she spent the past three years prior to coming to AUB. Polzl speaks Spanish quite well and now resolves to revisit her Arabic and build her knowledge of the language.

At AUB, Polzl is teaching two courses to undergraduates:  Introduction to Language as well as Pragmatics and Discourse. She is also giving a graduate seminar, covering students' research interests. She finds AUB students “polite, kind, nice to work with, willing to get involved in research; and they have a brilliant sense of humor as well a perfect sense of irony. They are also savvy and wise beyond their years.”