Education:
M.A. Candidate in European Studies; University of Virginia (2026)
B.A in Linguistics, Minors in German Studies and Middle Eastern Studies; University of Virginia (2024)
 

Ethan Spradlin is a current Master’s candidate in European Studies at the University of Virginia. He obtained his Bachelor of Arts degree in Linguistics with minors in German and Middle Eastern Studies at the University of Virginia in 2024. As an undergraduate, he specialized in Teaching English to Speakers of Other Languages (TESOL), which is a field concerned not only with the practice of teaching English abroad, but with theories, methods, and implementations of English teaching. This experience informs and inspires his research interest in Europe.

He is interested in the continued prospect of English as a lingua franca in Europe in the face of rising far-right nationalism. Most notably, the secession of the United Kingdom from the European Union has resulted in a lower pressure exerted by the English language on EU members. Moreover, nationalist politicians encourage language policies in their nations which aim to prioritize the use native majority languages and deprioritize the use and teaching of foreign or minority languages. His main research interest lies at the intersection of the following questions: With continued migration to the European Union, what opportunities will migrants be afforded to learn languages by governments? If migrants are not afforded institutional support, via what avenues will they learn new languages upon migration? Will migrants learning new languages on their own learn the language of the country to which they migrate or will they continue to learn English for more global opportunities?