Overview
Brisa joined the Department of Romance Studies at Cornell University as a Senior Lecturer in Fall 2005. She holds an M.A. in Applied Linguistics and a degree in Engineering from Universidad de las Américas–Puebla, Mexico. Her career began in Mexico, where she taught Spanish as a Second Language and English as a Foreign Language and served as Director of the Centro Internacional de Cultura e Idioma, which offered academic and cultural programs for students, professionals, and scholars from the United States, Canada, Germany, England, Japan, and Korea.
After moving to the United States, she continued teaching Spanish at all levels at Texas Christian University and the University of Montana, Missoula, where she also directed study abroad programs in Mexico and served as Director of a DELE Examination Centre, through which Spain’s Ministry of Education grants official certification of Spanish language proficiency.
At Cornell, Brisa has taught all levels of Spanish as a Foreign Language, as well as specialized courses such as Spanish for the Medical and Health Professions, Spanish Pragmatics, Spanish Phonetics, Methodology of Romance Language Learning and Teaching, and the Foreign Language Teaching Practicum. She trains graduate students in language pedagogy, coordinates language courses, and supervises Teaching Assistants. She has also served as 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’s work focuses on second language acquisition and language teaching methodologies. Her academic interests include pragmatics, cultural competence, and phonetics in language education, second language writing, learning strategies, curriculum design, and assessment. Her true passion lies in Spanish for the Medical and Health Professions, where she prepares students linguistically and culturally to communicate effectively and empathetically with Spanish-speaking patients in healthcare settings.
Research Focus
Brisa’s research explores the intersection of language, culture, and professional communication in second language contexts. She examines how pragmatic and intercultural competence develop in advanced language learners, particularly in professional domains such as healthcare. Her work investigates effective pedagogical approaches to fostering empathy, cultural sensitivity, and communicative precision in bilingual medical interactions. She is also interested in the design of curricular models that integrate experiential learning, community engagement, and assessment of intercultural communication in the language classroom.
Brisa is currently exploring the use of artificial intelligence to help students develop the linguistic, cultural, and empathetic competencies necessary to conduct medical interviews effectively in Spanish.