Dora Alvarez
Biography
Professor Alvarez, Senior Spanish lecturer, started working at UMass Boston in 2011. She has taught all courses of the Spanish introductory and Intermediate levels. She has also taught SPAN316-Advanced Grammar and SPAN 230- Span Composition and Conversation, which are required courses for the Spanish Language Minor and for LAIS Major in Language, Culture and Society and Translation Studies Tracks.
Area of Expertise
Curriculum design
Instructional material designing
Spanish grammar teaching
Spanish writing & oral skills development
Degrees
MA in English Teaching, Pontificia Bolivariana University, Colombia, 2001
Diplomatura en Gramática Española, Pontificia Bolivariana University, 2006
B.A. in Foreign Languages, Antioquia University, Colombia, 1989
Professional Publications & Contributions
Textbook
Chiquito, A. B., Alvarez, D., Naranjo, J., Gómez, R., Restrepo, (2012/2013). Maravillas del español (Vol. I to IV) (978-958-720-107-9) Medellin: Fondo Editorial Universidad EAFIT
Additional Information
Professor Alvarez completed a BA in Foreign Languages at Antioquia university, Colombia, where she contributed as an instructor in the ESP Program. Subsequently, she accomplished a Master’s degree in English Teaching and a “Diplomatura” (Specialization) in Spanish Grammar at Pontificia Bolivariana University in Colombia. She is a certified DELE, SIELE, and TEFL instructor and holds OEA certification as an online course designer.
She co-authored a multi-volume Spanish language and culture textbook series titled "Maravillas del Español," an innovative method for teaching Spanish as a foreign language. This project was led by EAFIT University in Colombia and Bergen University in Norway. Professor Alvarez participated in the project titled "Linguistic Identity and Attitudes in the Spanish-Speaking World" for the Department of Foreign Languages at Bergen University, Norway. This project sought to examine attitudes towards Latin-American Spanish and their impact on the linguistic identity of its speakers. In her capacity within this project, she was tasked with conducting 800 structured interviews with Spanish-speaking residents of Boston and New York City. She also authored grammar activities for the advanced Spanish grammar textbook Spansk Referansegrammatikk, 2nd edition published in October 2017 by Fagbokforlaget (Bergen, Norway).
She held the role of Language Program Co-coordinator in the Department from 2015 to 2020. In 2013, she served as a member of a task force responsible for selecting Spanish textbooks for Elementary and Intermediate Spanish Language courses. Additionally, in 2017, she actively contributed to a curriculum reform for Elementary and Intermediate Spanish language courses.