Academic record

A body of work across language, law, and learning.

Mary Bary holds a PhD in Applied Linguistics from Northern Arizona University. Publications below are cited as published under M. Akbary.

articles

teaching

grants

Education

2023–present
PhD, Applied Linguistics — Northern Arizona University
2020
MA, Linguistics — University of Utah
2016
MA, TESL

At a glance

Seven peer-reviewed journal articles (2016–2026).
Eleven conference presentations across AAAL, SLRF, Law & Corpus Linguistics, and more.
Editorial assistant for the Language Learning journal.

Peer-reviewed journal articles

7 selected publications

Akbary, M. (2026). Sense-tagging legal language: Corpus-based disambiguation in jury instructions. International Journal for the Semiotics of Law. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11196-026-10535-5
Jarvis, S. & Akbary, M. (2026). Sentence repetition, paraphrasing, and comprehension. Annual Review of Applied Linguistics. https://doi.org/10.1017/S0267190526100269
Benzaia, L., Jarvis, S., Akbary, M. & Park, L. (2024). L2 proficiency and Miranda rights comprehension. International Journal of Speech, Language & the Law, 31(2). https://doi.org/10.3138/ijsll-2024-0018
Akbary, M., Benzaia, L., Jarvis, S. & Park, L. (2023). Evaluating the utility of elicited imitation in forensic linguistics. Research Methods in Applied Linguistics, 2. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.rmal.2023.100067
Akbary, M. & Jarvis, S. (2023). Lexical diversity as a predictor of genre in American TV shows. Digital Scholarship in the Humanities, 38(3). https://doi.org/10.1093/llc/fqad004
Omidian, T., Akbary, M. & Shahriari, H. (2019). Phrasal verbs in EFL contexts. WORD, 65(1). https://doi.org/10.1080/00437956.2019.1567040
Akbary, M., Shahriari, H. & Hosseini Fatemi, A. (2016). The value of song lyrics for teaching and learning English phrasal verbs. Innovation in Language Learning and Teaching. https://doi.org/10.1080/17501229.2016.1216121

Citation data is also available through Mary's Google Scholar profile on the source academic site.

University teaching experience

Northern Arizona University

Su 2025 · Program in Intensive English (PIE) Workshops — Instructor
Su 2024 · ENG 548, Fundamentals of Second Language Teaching — Instructor
Sp 2024 · ENG 707, Seminar on Forensic Linguistics — TA

The University of Utah

Su 2023 · GLOBL 2230, Global Citizenship — Instructor
Su 2023 · GLOBL 910, English for Academic Purposes 1 — Instructor
F 2022 · LING 1200, Intro to the Study of Language — TA
Sp 2022 · LING 3600, Cross-Cultural Communication — TA
F 2021 · LING 3600, Cross-Cultural Communication — TA
Su 2021 · LING 3500, Intro English Grammar — Instructor
Sp 2021 · ENGL 1200, Introduction to Study of Language — TA
F 2020 · EAS 1040, Grammar & Editing Nouns — Instructor
Su 2020 · LING 3500, Intro English Grammar — TA

Guest lectures

ENG 707 & Seminar on Forensic Linguistics — Elicited Imitation Test-Based Model for Predicting Miranda Warning Comprehension. NAU (2024).
LING 6150 — Forensic Linguistics, Contract Interpretation with Corpus Linguistics. University of Utah (2022).
LING 6150 — Forensic Linguistics, Corpus Linguistics and Plain Meaning. University of Utah (2022).
LING 6150 — Forensic Linguistics, Introduction to the Corpus of Contemporary American English (COCA). University of Utah (2022).

Conference presentations

11 presentations

Akbary, M. & Jarvis, L. (2026). Linguistic Predictors of Listening Comprehension… AAAL, Chicago.
Grixoni, F., Akbary, M., Kendro, K. & Egbert, J. (2026). Testing the Comprehensibility of Jury Instructions. AAAL, Chicago.
Jarvis, S., Egbert, J., Akbary, M. et al. (2025). Testing the Comprehensibility of Jury Instructions through Empirical Linguistic Methods. 10th Law & Corpus Linguistics Conference, Provo.
Akbary, M. & Jarvis, S. (2025). Investigating Sentence Difficulty in L2 Elicited Imitation. Second Language Research Forum (SLRF), Flagstaff.
Benzaia, L., Jarvis, S., Akbary, M. & Christison, M. (2025). Exploring broad and narrow comprehension of the Miranda warning. AAAL, Denver.
Jarvis, S., Egbert, J., Akbary, M. et al. (2024). Improving the Comprehensibility of Jury Instructions… 9th Law & Corpus Linguistics Conference, BYU.
Akbary, M., Benzaia, L., Jarvis, S. & Park, L. (2024). Investigating the relationship between L2 proficiency and Miranda rights comprehension. AAAL, Houston.
Akbary, M., Benzaia, L. & Jarvis, S. (2023). Oral paraphrasing and elicited imitation as tests of listening comprehension in a legal context. AAAL, Portland.
Akbary, M. & Jarvis, S. (2022). Decoding TV genres: A new classification model. UUSCIL, Salt Lake City.
Akbary, M. & Jarvis, S. (2021). Exploring lexical diversity in contemporary American television: An automated classification of TV genres. Corpus Linguistics 2021, Limerick.
Akbary, M. & Shahriari, H. (2016). Phrasal verbs and their role in selecting music for teaching English as a foreign language. LIF 2016, Istanbul.

Scholarships & grants

17 awards

2026 · Stoller–Grabe Jarvis (SGJ) Award — English Dept., NAU
2026 · GSAAL Conference Award — NAU
2026 · Patricia Mapes Andersen English Scholarship (B) — NAU
2025 · Patricia Mapes Andersen English Scholarship (A) — NAU
2025 · GSAAL Conference Award — NAU
2025 · Graduate Student Government Travel Award — NAU
2024 · Brigham Young University Travel Grant
2024 · GSAAL Conference Award — NAU
2023 · Brigham Young University Travel Grant
2023 · Graduate Student Travel Assistance, Graduate School — University of Utah
2023 · Departmental Conference Grant — University of Utah
2023 · University of Utah Graduate Fellowship
2022 · Departmental Conference Grant — University of Utah
2022 · Robert G. Hunter Graduate Fellowship — University of Utah
2021 · Departmental Conference Grant — University of Utah
2021 · Departmental Conference Grant, Int’l Assoc. of Forensic Linguists — University of Utah
2020 · Graduate Fellowship — University of Utah

Specialized training

2023 · TESOL Certificate — The University of Utah
2023 · Diversity, Equity & Inclusion — The University of Utah

Contact

Research, teaching, and collaboration

For academic inquiries, teaching, or potential collaboration around the American television corpus, contact Mary directly.

ma3228@nau.edu