- BA - SUNY Albany 1971
- MA - General Linguistics - University of Rochester 1975
- MA - Spanish - Middlebury College 1984
- DML - German/Spanish - Middlebury College 1986
I am a Professor of Foreign Languages at Bridgewater
College (http://www.bridgewater.edu/)
and teach both German and Spanish in the Department
of Foreign Languages.
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| Spanish courses SPAN 360 Spanish for the Professions SPAN 301-302 Advanced Spanish Grammar SPAN 201-202 Intermediate Spanish |
German courses GER 101-102 Beginning German GER 201-202 Intermediate German
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Professional Interests
| Spanish for Professional Use Methods of Foreign Language Instruction (FREN/SPAN 400 Teaching for Proficiency) |
19th-Century German Women Writers
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Statement
My approach to teaching is very much proficiency oriented. I believe that the study of a foreign language should enable students to use that language in conversation, in reading, in their careers. My German and Spanish classes do a great deal of group conversational work for exactly that reason.
One of the strengths of the Bridgewater College program, in my view, is the opportunity to study overseas. While working on my doctorate, I spent a year at the Johannes-Gutenberg-Universität in Mainz and another year in Madrid. As an undergraduate, I also had a semester in Guadalajara, Mexico. Such experiences really enhance foreign language study, and I'm glad Bridgewater can provide them through the BCA (Brethren Colleges Abroad) program.
My background includes a B.A. in Spanish from SUNY Albany and an M.A. in Spanish from Middlebury as well as an M.A. in Linguistics from the University of Rochester. My doctorate from Middlebury (D.M.L.) is in German and Spanish with a dissertation on the historical dramas of Christian Dietrich Grabbe. In the area of linguistics, I have a keen interest in second language acquisition and helping prospective language teachers learn their craft. Research interests include 19th-century German literature and comparative literature (German/Spanish). I have written articles on major writers and works in both literatures and have written a book about Luise Büchner and her extended essay, "Frauen und ihr Beruf." Initial research on this project was funded by an NEH grant, and I integrate information on 19th-century women writers into my literature courses. My most recent book is Mathilde Franziska Anneke (1817-1884): The Works and Life of a German-American Activist (January 2006). In addition to my literary interests, I have given a number of papers at conferences and workshops on techniques in foreign language instruction.
My family lives in nearby Dayton, Virginia, with two cats who
are also multilingual.