Experience Summary
I began tutoring Spanish as an undergraduate twenty-five years ago. In college, graduate school and as a professor I wrote literary analyses in Spanish, English and Portuguese. Many of these papers were written from historical, sociological or psychoanalytic perspectives. I taught all levels of undergraduate Spanish, and some graduate courses. I have taught English as a second language. I have basic vocabuary skills in
Arabic, Russian and French and can ask and answer basic questions in Russian and French. I also have a knowledge of the written alphabet in Russian.
Teaching Style
My teaching style for Spanish is proficiency-based, culture-based and student-centered. My college students master basic Spanish vocabulary and grammar through writing grocery lists, ordering from a menu, describing how they are feeling, and even decorating skull cookies for the Day of the Dead. On a similar note, I teach children by discovering and exploring Spanish with them. Together we decorate Day of the Dead cookies, create and label picture posters, and play games in Spanish to practice vocabulary. Each activity always targets the child's strongest learning styles and their comfort zones.
| Type |
Level |
Year |
Title |
Issued by |
| Degree |
Ph.d. |
1993 |
Spanish |
Stony Brook University, LI New York |
| Degree |
MA |
1988 |
Spanish |
Temple University, Philadelphia, PA |
| Certification |
Two-year certificate |
1986 |
Multilingual Business and Government Studies (Academic Certificate Only) |
Temple University, Philadelphia PA |
| Other |
Minor in Portuguese |
1986 |
Portuguese |
Temple University, Philadelphia, PA |
| Other |
40 hour training course in medical interpreting |
2010 |
Medical Interpreting |
Bridging the Gap training in medical interpreting |
| Other |
fluent |
current |
Spanish |
Near-native speaker |
| Degree |
BA |
1986 |
Spanish |
Temple University, Philadelphia PA |