Dr. María Barros García

Biography

María Jesús Barros García is a Professor at Northwestern University, serving as the Director of the Spanish Language Program. She earned her Ph.D. in Honors Spanish Linguistics from the University of Granada and completed postdoctoral research at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. Her research interests focus on intercultural pragmatics, politeness theory, and language acquisition. She has authored thirty publications and presented her work at numerous national and international conferences. Professor Barros has extensive teaching experience in both undergraduate and graduate programs, covering diverse topics such as linguistics, literature, culture, border studies, language pedagogy, film, Spanish heritage language, and Spanish for specific purposes. At the graduate level, she teaches on curriculum development, assessment methods, intercultural communication, and pragmatic competence for language learners. At Northwestern, she actively contributes to university life by serving on multiple committees and has coordinated the Spanish 121 course. Additionally, she co-organized the Tacita de Café initiative, which fosters community among Spanish heritage speakers while celebrating their cultural and linguistic heritage. Professor Barros is also an ACTFL OPI Certified Tester and a certified DELE examiner accredited by the Spanish Ministry of Education, playing various professional roles in her field and leadership positions related to Spanish language education.

Research Interests