María Barros-García
Visiting Assistant Professor of Modern Languages-Spanish
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| Contact 309-341-7331 mjbarrosgarcia@knox.edu |
General Interests
"I believe that one of the best ways to encourage the students' motivation and improve their learning is by creating a comfortable work atmosphere, favoring participation and doing activities to foster their critical thinking. I also take a keen interest in students' individual progress, so I provide them with options to continue learning outside of the classroom. Moreover, I attempt to promote the students' research curiosity, guiding them to present their work in conferences and to get started in the publishing world, as well as offering them chances to participate in national and international projects. For example, last year I invited one of my undergraduate groups to take part in a European Project which seeks to identify the best practices in the teaching of second languages to immigrant adults. My students' task consisted of writing fiction tales addressed to immigrants learning Spanish. The best tales have been published and are now used in several immigrant adults' centers in Granada, Spain.
With regard to my research, I examine the expression of politeness in Spanish. My ultimate goal is to apply the research findings to the design of pedagogical materials focused on the improvement of the communicative and intercultural competences of Spanish learners. Incorporating teaching about politeness in the classroom should enable students to interpret the right meaning of the target culture, to achieve their communicative goals, and to strengthen their interpersonal relationships, as well as help them avoid intercultural misunderstandings that can generate stereotypes, speaker isolation or recipient offense. My publications deal with the interrelation between language and culture, Spanish politeness and mass media.
My main hobby is to travel. In my opinion, by knowing more about different cultures, one will be able to positively value the difference and establish friendly relationships with people from different backgrounds. As a teacher, I try to foster my students' disposition to self-reflectiveness, a habit of critical thinking, and an informed view of the plurality of our multicultural world. Because in the process of learning a language, one needs to re-think its own culture and values, to start respecting and tolerating the foreign language/culture, avoiding stereotypes and prejudices."
Years at Knox: 2012 to present
Education
Postdoctoral Fellow, 2012, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign.
Ph.D., Spanish Linguistics, 2011, University of Granada, Spain.
M.A., Spanish Linguistics, 2008, University of Granada, Spain.
M.A., Spanish Teaching as a Foreign Language, 2008, University of Granada, Spain.
B.A., Hispanic Philology, 2006, University of Granada, Spain.
Teaching Interests
Spanish Linguistics, elementary, intermediate, and advanced Spanish, Spanish for specific purposes, methodology for the teaching of Spanish as a second language, intercultural aspects of communication, oral discourse analysis, and normative Spanish.
Selected Professional Accomplishments
Honors/Grants
Postdoctoral Fellowship awarded by the CEI Program, University of Granada, Spain, 2011-2012.
Doctoral Dissertation Completion Fellowship awarded by the Spanish Ministry of Sciences and Education Department of Spanish Linguistics, University of Granada, Spain, 2007-2011.
Bridge-Contract awarded by the University of Granada, Spain, 2011.
National Award for Best Student Record awarded by the Spanish Ministry of Sciences and Education, 2007.
Deparmental Fellowship awarded by the Department of Spanish Linguistics, University of Granada, Spain, 2006-2007.
Socrates-Erasmus Programme Fellowship awarded by the European Commission Queen Mary and Westfield College, University of London, United Kingdom, 2005-2006.
Publications
"Cumplidos y ofrecimientos: actividades de cortesia valorizadora en Ia conversación coloquial espanola." In Julio Escamilla Morales (ed.), Aetas del Quinto Coloquio EDICE. Miradas multidiscipllnares a los fenomenos de cortesía y descartesia en el mundo hispanico. E-book: Stockholm University, Forthcoming.
"La cortesia valorizadora en la conversaci6n coloquial española: estudio pragmalingiiístico." Granada: Editorial Universidad de Granada Ph.D. Dissertation, 2011.
"(Des)cortesía en los medios de comunicación: aplicación a Ia enseñanza de EJLE." Barros Garcia, Pedro & M Jesús Barros Garcia. In Calalina Fuentes Rodríguez, Esperanza Alcaide Lara & Ester Brenes Pena (eds.), Aproximaciones a Ia (des)cortesia verbal en espanol, 103-117. Germany: Peter Lang, 2011.
"lnnovación en Ia ensenanza/aprendizaje de la pragmatica del espanol." In Antonio Martinez González (ed.), El estudiante en el sistema ECTS. Barros Garcia, M Jesus & Esteban Tomas Montero del Arco. lnnovaciones docentes para clases te6ricas y practicas, 45-58. Granada: Editorial Copicentro, 2010.
"Actos corteses valorizadores: felicitaciones y expresi6n de buenos deseos." lnterlingüistica, 675-685, 2010.
"Actos de habla y cortesia valorizadora: las invitaciones." Tonos Digital 19, 2010.
"Unidad didactica intercultural Estas invitado." Boletln de Ia Asociacion para Ia Enseñanza del Espanol como Lengua Extranjera 42, 23-34: 2010.
"La cortesia: un saber fundamental en Ia ensenanza de lenguas. Boletin de Ia Asociacion para Ia Ensenanza del Espanol como Lengua Extranjera 42, 13-22: 2010.
"La cortesia en Ia cultura espanola. In M Isabel Montoya Ramirez (ed.), La lengua y la cultura en e/ aula. Espaflol y eslovaco, 25-38. Granada: Universidad de Granada.
"La integracion del saber cultural en el aula de E/LE: cuestiones de cortesia. Coleccion La didactica del espanol actual: tendencias y usos, volumen 2. Universidad de Granada, Universiteit Hassell, Radboud Universiteit Nijmegen & Consejerla de Educacion de Ia Embajada de Espana en Palses Bajos, 2009.
"El saber cultural en Ia ensenanza de EJLE: Ia (des)cortesla." In Esteban Tomas Montero del Arco (ed.), El Espanol del siglo XXI. Actas de las XIV Jornadas sobre la lengua espanola y su ensenanza, 131-145. Granada: Universidad de Granada, 2009.
"El profesor de E/LE: factores que influyen en su formacion. In Agustin Barrientos Clavero, Jose Carlos Martin Camacho, Virginia Delgado Polo & Marla lnmaculada Fernandez Barjola (eds.), El profesor de español LE/L2. Barros Garcia, Pedro & M Jesus Barros Garcia. Actas del XIX Congreso lnternacional ASELE, Vol. 1, 267-276. Caceres: Universidad de Extremadura, 2009.
"Estudio linguistico sobre la terminologla vitivinicola de Tierra de Barros (Badajoz)." Barros Garcia, Pedro & M Jesus Barros Garcia. In Jose M Becerra Hiraldo & Francisco Torres Montes (eds.), Estudios de lengua española. Homenaje al Profesor Jose Maria Chamorro, 51-70. Granada: Universidad de Granada, 2008.
"Comunicacion e interculturalidad: Analisis de usos (des)corleses en los medios de comunicacion y su aplicacion didactica. Biblioteca Virtual redELE: Ministerio de Educacion, Politica Social y Deporte, 2008.
"El espanol de los medios de comunicacion: la prensa escrita." In Juan Antonio Moya Corral & Marcin Sosinski (eds.), El Español en los Territories Bilingües. Aetas de las XIII Jomadas sobre Ia enseflanza de Ia lengua, 151-166. Granada: Universidad de Granada, 2008.
"Criterios semanticos para Ia diferenciacion de los usos de los verbos ser y estar en la enseñanza del espanol a extranjeros. Son suficientes? In Juan Antonio Moya Corral & Marcin Sosinski (eds.), Las Hablas Andaluzas y Ia Enseñanza de la Lengua. Actas de las XII Jomadas sabre la ensenanza de la lengua, 127-136. Granada: Universidad de Granada, 2007.
Barros Garcia, Pedro & M" Jesus Barros Garcia. "El lexico y Ia fraseologla descorteses en el lenguaje politico. In Pedro Barros Garcia Pedro, Gonzalo Aguila Escobar & Esteban Tomas Montero del Arco (eds.), Estudios lingüisticos, literarios e históricos. Homenaje a Juan Martinez Marin, 45-58. Granada: Universidad de Granada, 2007.
Presentations
"Are Spanish Informal Conversations Impolite?" Pragmatics Festival, Indiana University, Bloomington, Indiana, 2012.
"Politeness Use in Rapprochement Cultures." ILLS 4: Illinois Language & Linguistics Society 4, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, Illinois, 2012.
"El trabajo de Ia imagen en Ia conversacion coloquial española." XXVIII Biennial Louisiana Conference on Hispanic Languages and Literatures, Louisiana State University, Baton Rouge Louisiana, 2012.
"La enseñanza transversal de Ia ortografia y Ia ortotipografia espanolas." XVII Jornadas sabre Ia Enseñanza de Ia Lengua Espanola, University of Granada, Spain, 2011.
"El uso de textos virtuales para el analisis del discurso oral. Aplicaciones a Ia enseñanza de EJLE." XXI Congreso lnternacional de Ia Asociación para la ensenanza del espanol como lengua extranjera (ASELE): Workshop University of Salamanca, Spain, 2011.
"La ensenanza del papel y rasgos de Ia cortesla valorizadora a partir del analisis de corpus." XXI Congreso lntemacional de Ia Asociacion para Ia ensenanza del espaflol como lengua extranjera (ASELE), University of Salamanca, Spain, 2010.
"Culturally Responsive Teaching: Empowering Navajo Children in the Classroom." Paper, National Association for Multicultural Education, Las Vegas, Nevada, 2010.
"Face-enhancing politeness in Spanish interaction." Birkbeck College Pragmatics Circle, University of london, England, United Kingdom, 2010.
"Speech acts and politeness: invitations and offers." IV International Symposium on International Symposium on Intercultural, Cognitive and Social Pragmatics (EPICS IV), University Pablo de Olavide, Seville, Spain, 2010.
"Diferencias interculturales en la concepción de la (des)cortesla: repercusiones en Ia enseñanza de E/LE." I Congreso lnternacional en la Red sobre lnterculturalidad y Educación, 2010.
"La cortesia valorizante en Ia interaccion comunicativa espanola: Proyecto de tesis." XXXIX Simposio lnternacional de Ia Sociedad Espanola de linguistica, University of Santiago de Compostela, Spain, 2010.
"Los medios de comunicacion y la enseñanza de Espanolpara Fines Especificos (EFE)." XX Congreso lnternacional de Ia Asociación para Ia ensenanza del espaiiol como lengua extranjera (ASELE), Comillas, Cantabria, Spain, 2009.
"How do mass media use the Spanish language? Pedagogical Implications" V International Congress Spanish in the U.S. and Spanish in contact: Coral Gables/Miami Florida, 2009.
"El saber cultural en Ia ensenanza de EJLE: Ia (des)cortesla." XIV Jornadas sobre Ia lengua espanola y su ensenanza, University of Granada, Spain, 2008.
"(Des)cortesia en los medios de comunicación: aplicación a Ia enseñanza de E/LE." International Congress (Des)Corlesla y vio/encia verbal en espanol, University of Seville, Spain, 2008.
"El lexico de Ia vid y la bodega en la comarca de los Barros (Badajoz). Estudio linguistico-etnografico." II International Congress Wine industry terminology and translation, University of Valladolld, Soria, Spain, 2008.
"Norma y uso en los medios de comunicación." XXXVII Simposio lnternacional de Ia Sociedad Espanola de linguistica, University of Navarra, Pamplona, Spain, 2007.
"Descortesla en ellenguaje politico." XII Jornadas sobre Ia enseñanza de Ia lengua española, University of Granada, Spain, 2006.
Campus & Community Involvement
Applied Linguistics Research Group HUM-227.
Spanish Linguistics Society (Sociedad Espanola de Linguistica, SEL.)
Association for the Teaching of Spanish as a Foreign Language (ASociacion para la Ensenanza de Espanol como Lengua Extranjera, ASELE.)