Research Discipline/Bio
Ali Ebrahimpourlighvani is a Lougheed Fellow doctoral student in Applied Linguistics at Teachers College, Columbia University, specializing in language and technology. Ali is a graduate student member of ILTA. His research focuses on SDS-based L2 speaking assessment and how AI-driven conversational agents can act as interlocutors to elicit critical thinking and support construct and interactional authenticity grounded in constructivist learning principles. He is exploring how critical thinking can be elicited in human-AI spoken interaction. Before joining Teachers College, Ali completed his M.A. in Applied Linguistics with a specialization in language assessment at Iowa State University (ISU), and his thesis is titled Speaking Assessment and Critical Thinking Test: An Innovation in Assessing Oral Communication Ability of International University-Level Students. During his MA at ISU, he served as instructor of record and redesign fellow for ISUComm foundational courses.
Educational Background
Master of Arts, Applied Linguistics, Iowa State University, 2025
Bachelor of Arts, English Translation Studies, Azad University of Tabriz, 2019
Honors/Awards
-Awarded Lin Lougheed Doctoral Fellowship in Language & Technology, 2025-present
-Awarded Miller Grant Fellowship from the Center for Excellence in Learning and Teaching (CELT), Iowa State University, 2024
-Awarded Freda Huncke Endowment Graduate Teaching Fellowship, Iowa State University, 2023
Last Updated: Nov 5, 2025