Contact Information
707 S. Mathews Ave. | MC-168
Urbana, IL 61801
Biography
I've been teaching English to multilingual learners for the last 15 years, both in the U.S. and internationally. I am particularly interested in academic writing instruction (especially first year composition). My other professional interests include: materials design/development, writing assessment, and supporting graduate teaching assistants. Outside of work, I enjoy reading, hiking with my family, watching the Green Bay Packers, and fishing.
Research Interests
EAP/ESP writing
Language Assessment
Materials Design
Education
MATESOL, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign
BA, History & Philosophy, University of Wisconsin, Madison
Grants
- University of Illinois College of Liberal Arts and Sciences Student Success Initiative Grant (2022-2024)
- Scholars Travel Fund Grants (Fall 2016, Spring 2018, Spring 2019, Spring 2023)
Awards and Honors
- UIUC Provost Award for Excellence in Undergraduate Teaching (2026)
- LAS award for Excellence in Undergraduate Teaching for Instructional Staff (2026)
- English Language Specialist - Kazakhstan (May/June 2024) (supported by Georgetown University & U.S. Department of State)
- UIUC College of Liberal Arts and Science Impact Award for inspiring efforts during COVID (2020)
- American English @ State Developer/Presenter (Fall 2016, Spring 2019, Summer 2020)
- Huazhong Agricultural University Summer English Communication Program (Summer 2017) - Wuhan, China (supported by Ohio State University)
- English Language Fellowship - NUST MISiS (Moscow, Russian Federation) (AY 2014-15) (supported by Georgetown University & U.S. Department of State)
Courses Taught
- ESL 111 (F2F & Online)
- ESL 112 (F2F & Online)
- ESL 115
- ESL 500
- ESL 501/515
- ESL 502/592
- ESL 503/593
- ESL 512 (Online)
- ESL 521 (Online)
- ESL 504
- ESL 508 (Online)
Additional Campus Affiliations
Senior Lecturer, Linguistics
Recent Publications
Deeke, A., Kotnarowski, J., Feist, K. M., & Pennell, J. (2026). Interdisciplinary Collaboration and Library Instruction: A Case for Lesson Study. Portal: Libraries and the Academy, 26(2), 303-335. https://doi.org/10.1353/pla.2026.a986769
Deeke, A., Feist, K., Kotnarowski, J., & Pennell, J. (2023). Fostering Interdisciplinary Collaboration Via Lesson Study. In D. Mueller (Ed.), Forging the Future: The Proceedings of the ACRL 2023 Conference (pp. 396-405). Association of College and Research Libraries. https://www.ala.org/acrl/sites/ala.org.acrl/files/content/conferences/confsandpreconfs/2023/FosteringInterdisciplinaryCollaboration.pdf
Yan, X., Kim, H. R., & Kotnarowski, J. E. (2021). Development of a Profile-Based Writing Scale: How Collaboration with Teachers Enhanced Assessment Practice in a Post-Admission ESL Writing Program at a USA University. In B. Lanteigne, C. Coombe, & J. D. Brown (Eds.), Challenges in Language Testing Around the World: Insights for Language Test Users (pp. 529-546). Springer. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-981-33-4232-3_36
Kotnarowski, J. E., & Rosado, C. A. (2020). Picking Teams: A Communicative Decision-Making Game. In U. Nurmukhamedov , & R. Sadler (Eds.), New Ways in Teaching with Games (pp. 5-7). TESOL Press.
Rosado, C. A., & Kotnarowski, J. E. (2020). Teaching Questions and Descriptions With “International Guess Who?”. In U. Nurmukhamedov, & R. Sadler (Eds.), New Ways in Teaching with Games (pp. 93-94). TESOL Press.