Experiencias Intermediate Spanish - PROGRAM SAMPLER

viii DI ANE CEO - DI FR ANCESCO, PhD Writing Experiencias with the author team has been a wonderful way of tying together my many interests and experience: research, teaching, consulting, and globally engaged learning. With a PhD in Spanish Applied Linguistics and Teaching Methodology from the University of Pittsburgh, I ultimately landed in Cincinnati where I teach courses in Spanish language, linguistics, and world language pedagogy at Xavier University. I often work with undergraduate and graduate pre-service teachers, supervising fieldwork and student teaching, and as a consultant with K-12 world language teachers. Over the years, instructing Spanish to students at all levels and ages in a variety of contexts, I have found that teaching metacognitive learning strategies, integrating culture and facilitating authentic interaction are effective ways to engage students in successful communication. My research in applied linguistics and language pedagogy, and my experience serving as Faculty Director of both the Center for Teaching Excellence and the Eigel Center for Community-Engaged Learning at Xavier University have influenced the pedagogical underpinnings and the array of tasks, activities and learning strategies in Experiencias .My love for travel has takenmearoundtheworld, leading study abroad and immersion programs for students, faculty and staff to numerous Spanish-speaking countries. I also research and facilitate student interaction through virtual exchange. It is my hope that Experiencias inspires learners to explore, experience, and interact with different peoples, opening their minds to diverse ideas and perspectives. I dedicate Experiencias to my family. I deeply appreciate their patienceandencouragement throughout thedevelopment of this project. I thank my supportive colleagues around the globe who continue to inspireme. Tomy students, for all the fun that we have had learning together. Thank you for helpingme to grow as an educator. GREGORY L . THOMPSON, PhD I am the son of a teacher, the brother of a teacher, the nephew of several teachers, and likely the father of future teachers as my daughters are interested in following in my footsteps. I always wanted to be a teacher growing up and received my bachelors with a double major in math and Spanish teaching in 1999. I then decided to continue my education receiving an MA in Spanish Pedagogy from Brigham Young University (2001), and then a PhD in Second Language Acquisition and Teaching from the University of Arizona (2006). I have taught classes in language pedagogy, bilingualism, Spanish phonetics, applied linguistics, as well as classes on the development of language skills. I have published articles in areas including code-switching in the foreign language classroom; heritage language learners; service-learning and language acquisition; bilingualism and languages in contact; and placement exams and language testing. I have also published three books titled Intersection of Service and Learning: Research and Practice in the Second Language Classroom ; Spanish in Bilingual and Multilingual Settings around the World ; and The Changing Landscape of Spanish Language Curricula: Designing Higher Education Programs for Diverse Students . Currently I am working at Brigham Young University in the pedagogy section of the Department of Spanish and Portuguese. I have had the opportunity to supervise intermediate Spanish since 2012. I feel strongly that the training I have received, my research experience, and my 20+ years of teaching experience have helped me in working on this extensive textbook project of Experiencias . Working with this author team on Experiencias has helped not only as a professional in the field but also as a professor and as a supervisor of instructors. I dedicate this work to my family for their loving support, to my students who teach me every day, and to all of those educators who have changedmy life and continue to inspireme. About the Authors