My research and pedagogical interests focus on the notion of interculturality in teacher education. I investigate the deployment of symbolic competence in unscripted intercultural encounters, in both formal and informal learning contexts. In my work, I examine how interculturality emerges and is negotiated in interaction, how it is addressed in foreign language curricula, and how it is enacted in language classrooms as well as in informal educational sites. My interest in interculturality positions my academic work across second language teaching and learning, literacy, and visual culture studies.
I have published in the fields of intercultural and multicultural education, and teacher education. I have presented at conferences in the fields of language education, applied linguistics, teacher education, and French studies.
I grew up in France, received my M.A. in International Education from Université Lyon II, and completed my Ed.D in Language Education at Rutgers in 2012. I have three first names but I only use the first, and my last name is made of two parts but does not include any hyphens. My full name is roughly pronounced 'kris-tel pal-pa-kü-air-li' or [kʁistεlpalpakyεʁli].