Stacey Oberly, assistant professor of linguistics, specializes in Southern Ute linguistics, descriptive linguistics, Native American language immersion, language documentation and revitalization, Numic phonetics, Native American education, and instrumental phonetics. She is credited with adding an immersion lesson in Southern Ute, along with incorporating culture, traditions and music into her classes, bringing to life American Indian languages on the verge of extinction. In addition to learning the language, students in the class learn about culture, traditions, creation stories and music and the resulting similarities and differences between neighboring tribes. One student said of Oberly's immersion technique, "After noticing how fast we were learning words by repeating them back using visual, verbal and physical cues, I thought, shouldn't all languages be taught this way?"