Susan M. Gass is University Distinguished Professor in the Department of Linguistics, Germanic, Slavic, Asian and African Languages at Michigan State University. She has conducted research in a wide variety of sub-areas of second language acquisition including language transfer, language universals, second language research methods, and input and interaction. She is the author/editor of numerous books including "Second Language Acquisition: An Introductory Course "(with Larry Selinker) and "Input, Interaction, and the Second Language Learner." She has published widely in the field of second language acquisition and is the recipient of numerous awards including the Distinguished Scholarship… and Service Award from the American Association for Applied Linguistics and the Distinguished Faculty Award from Michigan State University. She has served as the President of the American Association for Applied Linguistics and is currently the President of the International Association of Applied Linguistics (AILA).