Richard Donato (Ph.D., Linguistics, University of Delaware) is professor in the Department of Teaching, Learning, and Leading in the School of Education at the University of Pittsburgh and holds secondary appointments in the Departments of French and Italian, Hispanic Languages and Literatures, and Linguistics. His research interests include early foreign language learning, sociocultural theory, classroom discourse analysis, and teacher education.
His research on foreign language education earned him the American Council on the Teaching of Foreign Languages/Modern Language Journal Paul Pimsleur award (1997 and 2006), the Northeast Conference Freeman Award (2004), and the French Institute of Washington Award (2003). In 2016, he won the University of Pittsburgh’s Provost award for doctoral student research mentoring. In 2019, he was awarded the Pennsylvania State Modern Language Association Frank Mulhern Award for Outstanding Leadership in World Languages and Cultures.
He is the co-author of the books A Tale of Two Schools: Developing Sustainable Early Language Programs (2010) and Volumes I and II of Enacting the work of language teaching: High leverage teaching practices (2017 and 2021).