Graduate student presents research on effective teaching methods at Romania conference

Liberty University English graduate student Sophia Jantomaso showcased her “Language as Illumination” research project at The Symposium of Students in English conference in Timisoara, Romania, earlier this month.

The conference afforded students from nations around the world opportunities to present research pertaining to English education. Siberia, Italy, Hungary, and the U.S. were among the countries represented. The event was open to undergraduate and graduate students interested in research connected to the English language and the literature and culture of English-speaking countries.

Jantomaso graduated in 2022 with a Bachelor of Arts in English. Her recent research focused on how a teacher’s educational methods can play a significant role in how their students perceive the world. Through neuroimaging studies, she showed how the brain works when processing the English language and literature and explained that the Western form of education is lacking a healthy, holistic approach.

“What a lot of cultural research is finding is that the West puts a lot of emphasis on the logical, utilitarian way of learning, which is more of an individual process,” she said. “But what researchers are really starting to find is that the ability to perceive the world by standing back and watching and observing is very tied to our ability and capacity for empathy with other people and being able to relate and put ourselves in their position rather than thinking about everything, including people, as a way to our own ends.”

During the conference, Jantomaso spoke with students and professors who had thoughts and questions pertaining to her studies.

Her trip was funded by a grant from Liberty’s Center for Research & Scholarship (CRS). She compared the conference to the center’s annual Research Week, which she participated in shortly after returning from Romania.

“It kind of felt like Research Week (at Liberty) where you have all different kinds of presentations and a keynote speaker,” she said.

Jantomaso said her perspective on research has changed since taking a research intensive course last semester and traveling overseas.

“Connecting with students who are in the same stage of life but who are in a completely different political and social atmosphere really made my world feel bigger,” she said.

“So now, I really value research and especially things like Research Week because it allows you to enter this dialogue where your own ideas are balanced out and very much enriched by other people’s perspectives,” she added.

After completing her English Master’s Degree, Jantomaso plans to take her research into the realm of higher education.