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West Texas - Home of the most beautiful skies I know!
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My Alma Mater - Go Tech!
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LHS Golden Tornadoes

Biography

I was born and raised in West Texas where you can see from horizon to horizon, everyone is friendly and helpful and where the red dirt creeps into every nook and cranny of everything. I was raised by extremely talented, artistic and resourceful parents who taught me how to see something not for what it is, but what it could be. I attribute all of my success to them. They were not rich people, but if it had not been for their amazing gifts and their need to always create something wonderful from very few resources, I would not be the teacher I am today. 

From my elementary years I was surrounded by Spanish speakers and I begged everyone I could to teach me Spanish, but classes weren't offered until high school. I heard Spanish everywhere! It fascinated me that people could make such different sounds and understand each other, but I could not. So, I waited, very impatiently I might add, until the end of my 8th grade year to write Spanish down as my first choice in my course selection. I remember clearly getting to pick my Spanish name, who sat next to me and the smoker's voice of my first Spanish teacher, Mrs. McMannis. I was the kid in the class who was writing down words she looked up in the dictionary and conjugated verbs even when I did not have to!
Obviously, I am a complete Spanish nerd!

Education & Association

  • Bachelor of Arts, Spanish and English - Texas Tech University
  • Post Graduate Studies - Instructional Technology - University of Houston - Clear Lake
  • Member - ACTFL
  • Member / Board Member - TFLA
  • Member - SWCOLT
  • Member - TCEA
  • Former Moderator - #Langchat

Accomplishments

  • Texas Foreign Language Association - Best of Show   2011
  • Southwest Conference on Language Teaching - Best of Show   2013
  • Texas Foreign Language Association - Vice President    2013
  • Texas Foreign Language Association - Teacher of the Year   2013
  • Texas Foreign Language Association - President-Elect     2014
  • Texas Foreign Language Association - President   2015
  • Texas Foreign Language Association - Past President  2016
  • TFLA Director of Professional Development - 2018 to Present

Areas of Expertise

  • Authentic Resources
  • Collaborative Learning
  • Discovery Grammar 
  • Discovery Reading
  • Target Language Teaching
  • Talk Read Talk Write for World Languages
  • Student Feedback
  • Language Processing
  • Prime Time / Down Time
  • Integrated Performance Practice & Assessments

Presentations / Consultations

Some of my greatest passions are sharing my love for language teaching with other world language teachers and designing rich and engaging learning experiences for language students. I am available for private contracting for the services listed below. Email for information on fees.
  • Professional development workshops & sessions
  • Full Day Teacher Trainings
  • Instructional / Curriculum Design

My Badges