María Emilce López
María Emilce López has Master of Arts degrees in both ESL and Hispanic Linguistics. A native of Jujuy, Argentina, she studied English and public translation and taught in her home country for 10 years. She has taught at the collegiate level in the United States for nine years and has developed language materials for classroom and technology-enhanced learning experiences. She currently is teaching a multimedia course, Medical Spanish. In 2001-02, she participated in the University of Minnesota/Bush Foundation Innovative Teaching and Technology Strategies initiative; in 2002, she received funds from the International Title V and the Western European Title VI grants programs; and in 2003, she received a P & A Outstanding Service Award from the College of Liberal Arts. She is currently a teaching specialist in the University of Minnesota Department of Spanish and Portuguese Studies.
Teaching Activities
Interests
López is interested in the following teaching topics:
- Spanish language and culture
- Spanish for special purposes
- technology-enhanced courses
- Latin American and Spanish literature and culture
University Courses
López has taught the following University of Minnesota courses:
- Port 1101-06: Beginning-Intermediate Portguese
- Span 1001-04: Beginning-Intermediate Spanish
- Span 3015: Spanish Composition and Communication
- Span 1044: Medical Spanish
- Span 144: Medical Spanish (no credit)
Research Activities
Interests
López is interested in conducting research in the following areas:
- topics related to teaching and learning languages and cultures in the 21st century
- teaching courses for special purposes
- teaching technology-enhanced courses
- diversity and multiculturalism
TEL Publications and Presentations
Her publications and presentations about technology-enhanced learning (TEL) topics include:
López, María Emilce. "Diversity in the Classroom." Orientation workshop for new teaching assistants in the Department of Spanish and Portuguese Studies at the University of Minnesota, Minneapolis, Minnesota, August, 2002.
-----. "Medical Spanish (multimedia project)." Presentation to Span and Port 5999 students at the University of Minnesota, Minneapolis, Minnesota, October 2001.
-----. "Medical Spanish (multimedia project)." Presentation to the Bush Foundation Innovative Teaching and Technology Strategies grant recipients at at the University of Minnesota, Minneapolis, Minnesota, May 2003.
-----. "Medical Spanish (multimedia project)." Presentation at the CARLA Summer Institute Maximizing Study Abroad session at the University of Minnesota, Minneapolis, Minnesota, Summer 2003.
-----. "SHOW (Spanish Help Online for Writers)." Training for writing consultants in the Department of Spanish and Portuguese Studies at the University of Minnesota, Minneapolis, Minnesota, August 2001.
-----. "Tutor Lab: SpanGram and E-mail Services." Orientation workshop for new teaching assistants in the Department of Spanish and Portuguese Studies at the University of Minnesota, Minneapolis, Minnesota, August 2001.
Fellowship Project
During fall 2003, López plans to create new technology components for her Medical Spanish 1044 class such as course assignments, quizzes, and listening tasks. In the past, the existing technology components have been used mainly as a resource, so she plans to use different tools to add interactive, audio, and possibly video activities to the WebCT course site. She also intends to use the site as a template for an Advanced Medical Spanish (Span 3044) site that would include audio and video components and case studies.
Eventually, she would like to be able to use these tools to create an online and/or interactive TV version of the Medical Spanish course. The Chicano/Latino population has grown in Minnesota and some health care providers have said they need to take such a course but are not able to travel to the Twin Cities. She does not know of any other courses in Medical Spanish at the advanced level, so the course may attract participants from greater Minnesota and even other states.
Students in her Intermediate and Advanced Medical Spanish courses explore language and culture from both global and local perspectives through interviews with Spanish-speaking immigrants and professionals who live in the Twin Cities and through traditional in-class and online out-of-class activities. López also intends to incorporate students' projects into an online environment.
Consultation Areas
López is available to consult with faculty members about the following TEL topics:
- how to customize the templates from her Medical Spanish project for use in other courses;
- how instructors in language departments can start developing TEL tools in WebCT;
- how to use Dreamweaver, Photoshop, and WebCT tools; and
- streaming audio development processes.
Contact Information
To schedule a consultation appointment, contact López.
- Office: 5B Folwell Hall
- Telephone: (612) 872-9006
- E-mail: lopez008@umn.edu
