Silvia Rodriguez Sabater
Associate Professor of Spanish
Education
Indiana University
PhD, Hispanic Linguistics (Second Language Acquisition, Curriculum and Instruction, Pragmatics)
University of Northern Iowa
MA, Applied Linguistics and Spanish
University of Arizona
Medical Interpreting, Medical Interpreter Competency Exam
Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona
Graduate Diploma, Legal Translation
Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona
Llicenciatura (BA), English Language and Literature and Secondary Education
Research Interests
Teaching and learning languages online
Exploring sustainability in the L2 classroom
Developing intercultural competence in the service learning context
Developing authentic assessments in the L2 classroom
Courses Taught
Undergraduate
SPAN 101: Elementary Spanish I
SPAN 102: Elementary Spanish II
SPAN 150: Intensive Elementary Spanish
SPAN 190: Elementary Spanish I
SPAN 201: Intermediate Spanish
SPAN 202: Intermediate Spanish II (face-to-face and Distance Education)
SPAN 202/FYE: Intermediate Spanish II: The geography and cultures of Spain
SPAN 250: Intensive Intermediate Spanish
SPAN 313: Spanish Composition (face-to-to face and Distance Education)
SPAN 323: Civilization and Culture of Spain II
SPAN 344: Advanced Grammar and Lexicon
SPAN 381: Introduction to Spanish Linguistics
SPAN 400: Service Learning: Latinos in the U.S. (face-to-face and Distance Education)
SPAN 448: Spanish Sociolinguistics
SPAN 449: Pragmatics and Language Learning
SPAN 491: Special Topics: Exploring Spanish and Second Language Learning (face-to-face and online)
SPAN 495: Senior Capstone: Languages and Voices: Language Learning, Educational Policy and Linguistic Rights in Spain, Latin America, and the Caribbean
SPAN 496: Directed Reading: Education Issues of Hispanic Children in Charleston; Hispanics and Secondary Education
SPAN 498: Independent Study: Service Learning in Costa Rica; Questions in Spanish Linguistics (online)
SPAN 499/LING 499: Bachelor’s Essay: Teaching Spanish in High School; Hispanics on Johns Island; Teaching Spanish and English as an L2; The use of the Diminutive in Mexican Popular Magazines for Female Teens
Graduate
SPAN 590/INTR 510: Language and Culture
SPAN 630: Seminar in Hispanic Studies: Teaching Spanish as a Second Language (online)
SPAN 681: Spanish Linguistics for Language Teachers
LALE 601: Applied Linguistics (face-to-face, hybrid, and online)
LALE 603: Second Language Acquisition
LALE 690: Special Topics in Language Education: Pragmatics and Second Language Learning
LALE 695: Standards-based Teaching Portfolio
Honors
HONS 391: Bilingualism Issues: The bilingual community and the bilingual self
HONS 499: Bachelor’s Essay
Publications
Rodriguez Sabater, S. (2020). Food for thought: Building socially conscious readers and writers through exploring eating practices and sustainability perspectives. Hispania, 104.
Rodriguez Sabater, S. (2015). Beyond Mexico and Spain: cultural diversity in Spanish college textbooks. The Southern Journal of Linguistics, 39 (2), pp. 69-86.
Rodriguez Sabater, S. (2015). Cultural activities in Spanish college textbooks. Academic Exchange Quarterly, 19 (3), pp. 37-42. (Special issue on Language).
Rodríguez-Sabater, S. (2015). Service learning and intercultural competence in the Spanish as a second language classroom. The Southern Journal of Linguistics, 39 (1), pp. 1-23
Rodríguez-Sabater, S. (2011). Review of Schauer, G. A. (2009). Interlanguage Pragmatic Development. The Study Abroad Context. London and New York: Continuum International Publishing Group. The Modern Language Journal, 95, 333-334. (Invited).
Rodríguez-Sabater, S. and Weyers, J. R. (2010). Ning applications in teaching and administration. Academic Exchange Quarterly, 14 (4), pp. 86-91.
Martínez-Gibson, E., Rodriguez-Sabater, S., Toris, C., and Weyers, J. (2010). A study of ser and estar in second language learners of Spanish. Southern Journal of Linguistics, 34 (1), pp. 49-74.
Rodríguez-Sabater, S. (2008).“En una playa de Acapulco, les pregunté a unos mexicanos “¿me decís dónde puedo comprar un zumo?” “Por qué se habrán reído?” in Ewald, J. and Edstrom, A. M (pp. 61-70). El español a través de la lingüística: preguntas y respuestas. Somerville, MA: Cascadilla Press.
Rodríguez-Sabater, S. (2005). Utilizing undergraduate peer teaching assistants in a speaking program in Spanish as an L2. Foreign Language Annals, 38 (4), pp. 533-543.
Rodríguez-Sabater, S., Martínez-Gibson and C. Pope. (2005). Translation into Spanish of the OPTION Observing patient involvement scale by G. Elwyn, A. Edwards, M. Wensing, and R. Grol.
Rodríguez, S. (2004). Review of Reagan, T. G. and Osborn, T. (2002). The foreign language educator in society: toward a critical pedagogy. Mahwah, NJ: Lawrence Earlbaum Associates, Inc. Critical Inquiry in Language Studies (vol. 1, no. 3, 2004).
Rodríguez, S. (2003). Programa de conversación a nivel elemental: metas, métodos y maestro-estudiantes [Elementary conversation program: goals, methods, and peer teachers]. Actas selectas del octavo congreso de didáctica del español (pp. 1-7).
Rodríguez, S. (2001). Actividades para la enseñanza de pragmática en español como L2: el caso de los actos de habla [Activities for the teaching of Pragmatics in Spanish as an L2]. Actas selectas del sexto congreso de didáctica del español (pp. 1-12).
Rodríguez, S. (2001). Review of Turell, M. Teresa (Ed.). (2001). Multilingualism in Spain: Sociolinguistic and psycholinguistic aspects of linguistic minority groups. Clevedon, United Kingdom: Multilingual Matters. Linguist Network April 16, 2001).
Selected Talks
Incorporating sustainability in your course. TLTCon, College of Charleston. May 14-15, 2020.
Global connections: cross-cultural encounters and transfer. Department of Classics Theodore B. Guérard Lecture Series: Translatio: Carrying Ideas Across Cultures. College of Charleston. March 10, 2020.
Meaningful interpersonal communication, challenges, and viable solutions for learning Spanish as an L2 online. American Association of Teachers of Spanish and Portuguese (AATSP). San Diego, CA. July 11,2019.
Food for thought: building socially conscious writers through eating practices and sustainability. American Association of Teachers of Spanish and Portuguese (AATSP). San Diego, CA. July 8-11, 2019.
Exploring the wild West of online education: lessons learned from the pioneers. TLTCon, College of Charleston. May 15-16, 2019 (panelist).
Students only scratching the surface of a text? Going beyond reading comprehension and moving towards critical thinking. TLTCon, College of Charleston. May 15-16, 2019 (co-presenter).
Interpersonal communication challenges and viable solutions for online L2 learning and teaching. Hispanic Studies Teaching Discussion Series: Innovations and Challenges in Second Language Teaching. College of Charleston. 2018.
Interpersonal communication challenges and (possible) solutions for online learning. TLTCon, College of Charleston. 2018.
Postcards from Mexico: A creative tool to address culture. American Association of Teachers of Spanish and Portuguese-South Carolina (AATSPSC). Winthrop University, Rock Hill, SC. 2017. (With J. Weyers).
Applying the ACTFL guidelines everyday in the classroom. Southern Conference on Language Teaching (SCOLT). Charlotte, NC. 2016. (With C. Moran).
Beyond Mexico and Spain: cultural diversity in Spanish college textbooks. Linguistics Discussion Series. College of Charleston. 2015.
Cross-cultural awareness activities in Spanish college textbooks. American Council on the Teaching of Foreign Languages (ACTFL) Conference in San Antonio. 2014.
Create, collaborate, and communicate in a second language: digital literacies in a distance education Spanish course. Digital literacies in and beyond the L2 classroom: a hybrid symposium on research and practice. University of Arizona. 2014. (With L. Plotts).
Representations of indigenous cultures in Spanish L2 textbooks. Fourth International Conference on the Development and Assessment of Intercultural Communication. University of Arizona. 2014.
A critical analysis of Spanish L2 textbooks as sources of cultural information. 2013 Conference of the International Society for Language Studies. San Juan, Puerto Rico. 2013.
L2 perceptions of intercultural competence in a service learning Spanish course. Linguistics Discussion Series. College of Charleston. 2012.
Service learning and intercultural competence in the L2 classroom. 2nd International Conference on the Development and Assessment of Intercultural Communication. University of Arizona. 2010.
Cambio de código en la prensa en castellano de Barcelona [Code switching in the Spanish press of Barcelona]. 2nd Biennial Meeting of the International Association for the Study of Spanish in Society. Swansea, Wales, United Kingdom. 2008.
Code switching in the Spanish press of Barcelona. Linguistics Series. College of Charleston. 2008.
An overview of Linguistics for Medical Interpreting. The National Medical Interpreter Project for Children’s Hospitals. Web Conference. 2007.
Strangers in a foreign land: Hispanics in South Carolina. National Association of Hispanic and Latino Studies. Houston, TX. 2005 (With A. Grove).
To be or to be: the acquisition of ser and estar in second language learners of Spanish. 120th Modern Language Association Convention (MLA). Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. 2004. (With E. Martínez-Gibson).
Visual learning in L2 in the interpretive and presentational modes: the use of graphic organizers. The South Carolina Foreign Language Teachers’ Association (SCFLTA). Columbia, SC. 2004.
The use of technology in foreign language program supervision. Mountain Interstate Foreign Language Conference (MIFLIC). Charleston, SC. 2003.
Programa de conversación a nivel elemental: metas, métodos y maestro-estudiantes [Elementary conversation program: goals, methods, and peer teachers]. Octavo Congreso de Didáctica del Español. Indiana University-Purdue University Indianapolis, IN. 2003.
Students teaching students: a peer teaching program in Spanish as an L2. The International Society for Language Studies 2003 Conference. St. Thomas, Virgin Islands. 2003.
Actividades para la enseñanza de pragmática en español como L2: el caso de los actos de habla [Activities for the teaching of Pragmatics in Spanish as an L2: the case of speech acts]. Sexto Congreso de Didáctica del Español. Indiana University-Purdue University Indianapolis, IN. 2001.
“They’re more direct here”: instances of pragmatic awareness and definitions of pragmatic concepts by L2 learners of Spanish in the study abroad context. The 54th Kentucky Foreign Language Conference. University of Kentucky, Lexington, KY. 2001.
Writing in L2 Spanish: input comes first. Philological Association of the Carolinas. College of Charleston, Charleston, SC. 2001.
Language learning environment and the pragmatic acquisition of requests in Spanish as a L2. Fourth Hispanic Linguistic Symposium. Indiana University, Bloomington, IN. 2000
Selected workshops
Integrated Performance Assessment Workshop Series, LCWA, College of Charleston. 2019-2020 (co-presenter)
Assessing Language Performance for Measuring Student Progress, Professional Learning Club, College of Charleston. 2019-2020 (co-facilitator)
Implementing IPAs in the L2 classroom, Professional Learning Club, College of Charleston. 2018-2019 (co-facilitator)
Selected service activities
Associate Editor, Hispania. 2020-present
Distance Education Steering Committee. 2020-present
Academic Planning for Fall 2020 Taskforce. Spring/Summer 2020
Resilient Teaching Subcommittee. Spring/Summer 2020
Strategic Planning Committee. 2019-220
HISP Distance Education Committee Chair/member. 2017-present
Basic Language Steering Committee. 2014-2020
Director, M.Ed in Languages Program. 2015-2018
Nominations and Elections Committee. 2012-2013
Committee on Graduate and Continuing Education. 2009-2012; Chair 2010-2012
Senator. 2005-2006 and 2011-2014
Graduate Council. 2003-2005; 2010-2012; 2015-2018
Basic Language Program Coordinator. 2009-June 2011
Hispanic Studies Teaching Discussion Series: Innovations and Challenges in Second Language Teaching 2015-present
Global Scholars Program. 2010-present
External panel member in the Department of German and Slavic Studies. 2011, 2012, 2018
Reviewer for tenure and promotion cases: University of Ohio. 2007; Montclair State University. 2007
Faculty search committees (2013-2014, Chair; 2010-2011, Chair; 2009-2010; 2006-2007; 2005-2006; 2004-2005)
Search committees: Director of Assessment. 2019; LCWA TLT liaison. 2018; Assistant to the Graduate Dean position. 2013.
Casa Hispana Advisor. 2011-2014.
Sigma Delta Pi committee member. 2009; 2012- 2018 (graduate advisor).
Mentorship: New Faculty 2014-present; Distance Education Readiness Course mentor 2015, 2020.
Interpreting: MUSC CARES Physical Therapy Clinic, Charleston. 2012-2013; Harvest Free Medical Clinic. North Charleston. 2009-2011; Midland Park Elementary School, North Charleston. 2005.
Translation: children’s books from Spanish to English. Nube 8, Spain. 2015; Sight Translation of Women’s soccer contract (Catalan to English). 2012; Dept. of Teacher Education on indigenous Amazonian students and their cultural understandings of science. 2011; Barceló Abogados web contents (Spanish to English) Barcelona, Spain 2011.
Consulting: Linguistics trainer for the National Medical Interpreter Project for Children’s Hospitals. 2006-2007. The College of New Jersey’s Spanish Conversation Program. 2006.
Journal reviewer: Critical Inquiry in Language Studies, Hispania, L2 Journal, Foreign Language Annals, Pragmatics and Language Learning, Language Learning, Proceedings of the 4th Hispanic Linguistic Symposium.
Textbook reviewer: Aula (McGraw-Hill), Arriba (McGraw-Hill), Ambientes (McGraw-Hill), Escalas globales (Cengage). Voces (McGraw-Hill), Puentes (Heinle/Cengage Learning), Introducción a la Lingüística Hispánica (Cambridge), ¿Sabías que ...? (McGraw-Hill).
Honors and Awards
Featured faculty member in Hispanic Studies Faculty Focus. August 2018.
Nominated for Service Learning Award. South Carolina Commission on Higher Education Service Learning Competition. 2017.
Nominated for the Multicultural ExCEL Award “Faculty of the Year.” 2008, 2013, 2014, 2015.
Nominated for the Languages, Cultures, and World Affairs Faculty of the Year Award. 2012.
Global Scholar. 2009
Certificate of Appreciation in Recognition of Initiatives Promoting Undergraduate Research in the Department of Hispanic Studies. 2002.