Overview
Brisa joined the Romance Studies Department at Cornell University as a Senior Lecturer in Fall 2005. She holds an M.A. in Applied Linguistics from Universidad de las Americas-Puebla in Puebla, Mexico, as well as a degree in Engineering from the same institution. Brisa started her professional career teaching Spanish as a Second Language and English as a Foreign Language in Mexico. While in Mexico, she directed the Centro Internacional de Cultura e Idioma which provided academic and cultural programs to students, professionals, and academics from the U.S., Canada, Germany, England, Japan, and Korea living in Mexico. She continued her professional career in the U.S. teaching Spanish as a Foreign Language at all levels at Texas Christian University and the University of Montana, Missoula where she directed study abroad programs in Mexico and was the director of a DELE Examination Centre through which Spain's Ministry of Education issues official accreditation of mastery of the Spanish language. At Cornell, Brisa has taught all levels of Spanish as a Foreign Language, the Methodology of Romance Language Learning and Teaching, and the Foreign Language Teaching Practicum. She trains graduate students in the field of language teaching, coordinates language courses, and supervises Teaching Assistants. She has served as the Associate Chair for Language Instruction in Romance Studies; as a Faculty Fellow on North Campus and, for six years, as Faculty in Residence in the High Rises. Brisa specializes in second language acquisition and language teaching methodologies. Her areas of interest are phonetics and pragmatic competence in foreign language education, second language writing, language learning strategies, curriculum design, and assessment.
Research Focus
- Second Language Teaching
- Use of Advanced Technology in Language Instruction
- Curriculum Design and Development
- Assessment