María José de la Fuente

Dr. María J. de la Fuente is a Professor of Spanish and Applied Linguistics. Her general area of research is Instructed (classroom) Second Language Acquisition (ISLA), in particular the role of pedagogical tasks in second language learning, and the role of the first language in the development of a second. She is also involved in the field of Scholarship of Teaching and Learning (SoTL), in particular exploring the role of collaborative tasks in the language classroom, and the impact of case studies in advanced language learning. Some of her research has also focused on how emerging technologies can facilitate certain language learning processes. The results of her research in these areas have appeared in refereed journals such as Studies in Second Language Acquisition, Computer Assisted Language Learning (CALL), or Language Teaching Research. She is the author of two Spanish textbooks: Gente (Pearson) a widely-used textbook in college Spanish language programs, and Puntos de encuentro: a cross-cultural approach to Advanced Spanish (Cognella Publishers). She was the recipient of a 2008 Bender Teaching Award and she is a founding member of the GW Academy of Distinguished Teachers.