I was born and raised in Buenos Aires, Argentina. I moved to the US when I was 19 and have lived here ever since.

Task-based interaction
Computer-Assisted Language Learning
Corrective feedback
Second language writing
Heritage language learners
Teacher training

My primary research interests involve instructed adult second language acquisition of Spanish, both via computer-assisted instruction as well as in a formal classroom setting. The goal of my research is to empirically evaluate the extent to which different pedagogical tools may be beneficial to second language (L2) and heritage language (HL) learners. I am interested not only in the linguistic gains that may result from different pedagogical practices, but also in the learners' perceptions and attitudes.

Ph.D., Second Language Acquisition and Teacher Education, UIUC
M.A., Spanish Linguistics, UIUC
B.A., Spanish, California State University San Marcos (Summa Cum Laude)

ACTFL OPI Certified Tester
Darlene F. Wolf Fellowship for outstanding academic achievement and teaching excellence
Excellence in Language Instruction Award
AAPPL Certified Rater
Best Student Abstract, Georgetown University Round Table on Languages and Linguistics
11 Outstanding Mentions on “List of Teachers Ranked as Excellent by Their Students”
Liberal Arts and Sciences Humanities Fellowship for academic excellence
Best Graduate Student Paper in Linguistics, Department of Spanish, Italian, and Portuguese

Provost's Faculty Retreat Grant to design and implement an instructional enhancement
Teaching Advancement Board Travel Grant to attend the Symposium on Spanish as a Heritage Language
Academic Professional Development Fund Travel Grant to attend the AATSP Annual Conference.
Graduate College Conference Travel Grant to attend the 2009 Second Language Research Forum

SPAN 102: Beginner Spanish II (Fall 2006, Spring 2007)
SPAN 122: Intensive Elementary Spanish
SPAN 103: Intermediate Spanish
SPAN 141: Introduction to Spanish Grammar
SPAN 142: Spanish in the Professions
SPAN 200: Readings in Hispanic Texts
SPAN 204: Advanced Grammar in Context
SPAN 208: Oral Spanish
SPAN 228: Spanish Composition
SPAN 228-A: Spanish Composition for heritage learners
SPAN 252: Introduction to Spanish Linguistics
SPAN 305: The Structure of Spanish
SPAN 307: Bilingualism
SPAN 308: Spanish in the US
SPAN 471: Introduction to Second Language Teaching and Learning
SPAN 477: Spanish Grammar for Communicative Language Teaching
SPAN 478: Topics in Secondary Language Teaching
SPAN 571: Proseminar in Language Teaching

4080 FLB
M/C 176
Urbana, IL 61801