As an instructor of Spanish and Linguistics, I have three major goals for my students:
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attain an advanced proficiency level in Spanish
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acquire the necessary socio-cultural and linguistic knowledge to communicate successfully with Spanish speakers
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challenge notions of language standards and promote linguistic diversity and linguistic justice.
Courses I teach
SPAN 3001
Advanced Communication in Spanish
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Students work toward the development of advanced oral and writing proficiency in Spanish through a variety of texts and in different real-life and simulated contexts. We review language structures and communicative functions for more effective written and oral proficiency. The course focuses on communicative activities and strategies to improve accuracy and fluency.
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SPAN 3005
Advanced Communication in Spanish for Heritage Speakers
This course is designed for students who were raised in homes or communities where Spanish was spoken and want to increase their proficiency. The course builds on the language skills students already possess and helps them learn to communicate in Spanish using formal varieties of the language. Special emphasis is placed on reading and lexical development, grammar review, spelling, and composition.
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SPAN 4110/5110
Spanish Grammar from a Linguistic Perspective
This advanced course in Spanish grammar uses a linguistic framework to examine structures that are subject to sociolinguistic variation. In this course, students learn about the sociopolitical factors that explain why some grammatical forms are deemed prestigious and others are stigmatized. Students also learn grammatical terminology and how to identify categories and constructions in Spanish
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SPAN 4120/5120
Spanish Phonetics
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This course offers a comprehensive review of the Spanish phonetic system. The fundamental principles of phonetic analysis are introduced in a simple and concise manner in order to show how Spanish sounds are produced, how they fall into patterns, and how they change in different environments. Major attention is devoted to practice, training in phonetic transcription and acoustic analysis. We also discuss dialectal differences in pronunciation from around the Spanish speaking world.
SPAN 4150/5150
Spanish in the United States
This class provides an introduction to the Spanish language spoken in the United States. The course consists of a descriptive and critical overview of the linguistic practices of different Spanish-speaking communities in the US. It focuses on the characteristics of Spanish in contact with English. It also examines social issues surrounding the use of Spanish in the United States, such as language attitudes and ideologies, language policy, bilingualism and the role of education.
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LLAC 2250
Linguistic Diversity and Social Justice
In this course, students learn about the ways in which linguistic diversity mediates social justice. We explore questions like the following: What is the relationship between language and power? How does linguistic prejudice contribute to social inequality? How does linguistic stratification contribute to cultural domination? We engage with scholarly and journalistic work that focuses on the linguistic dimensions of social inequality, and we examine real-world instances of linguistic injustice.