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Irene Finestrat received her PhD in Hispanic Linguistics, focusing on Language Acquisition and Bilingualism, from the University of Illinois at Chicago (UIC). She is interested in understanding the unique cognitive-linguistic, cultural, and affective backgrounds that learners bring to the classroom, and how acquisition occurs in learners’ home country or a study abroad setting. Her research informs inclusive language teaching pedagogies that leverage students’ strengths to promote effective teaching and learning. Irene has taught Spanish at elementary, intermediate, and advanced levels of proficiency, as well as courses for Spanish bilingual speakers and in Spanish Linguistics and Language Acquisition at various institutions. She is also the coordinator for Spanish 125-0: Accelerated Intermediate Spanish at Northwestern University. Her goal in the classroom is to foster curiosity about languages, cultures, and worldviews in her learners. Irene's dedication to her students has been recognized with the 2021 UIC Teaching and Mentoring Award. Originally from Alicante, Spain, she moved to Chicago in 2014 and is involved in initiatives aimed at promoting bilingualism and raising awareness of language and accent discrimination, topics she is passionate about.
Standard PhD requirements for TGS departments including Chemistry, Physics, and Sociology.