Spanish Professor Nancy Christoph Honored as Oregon's Post-Secondary Language Teacher of the Year

Pacific University Spanish Professor Nancy Christoph was honored as Outstanding Post-Secondary Language Teacher in Oregon for the 2021-22 academic year by the Confederation in Oregon for Language Teaching.

In announcing the award, the confederation told Christoph: "You exhibit outstanding teaching, active participation as a leader within your institution, in addition to extraordinary service and research at the university level."

Christoph teaches Spanish, dual languages and international studies. She holds a PhD in Latin American literature from Cornell University.

The award recognizes language teachers at community colleges, colleges and universities throughout Oregon. It seeks to honor those who not only are excellent educators, but also are involved in the world language community as well as the Pacific community. Christoph has been an active volunteer with Adelante Mujeras in Forest Grove and has written about and taught on poetry by immigrant women.

The award will be conferred at the fall conference of the Oregon and Washington language teaching associations.

Education

PhD in Latin American literature, Cornell University, Ithaca, N.Y., in 1995

Master of arts in Spanish, University of California Berkeley, Berkeley, Calif., in 1990

Bachelor of arts in Spanish, Williams College, Williamstown, Mass., in 1986

Areas of Research & Specialization

My main teaching interests: Mexican literature and culture, Mexican-American lit and culture, 20th century Latin American narrative and community-based learning projects.

Several of my upper-division courses include a community-based or service-learning element wherein students improve their knowledge of Spanish language and Mexican-American culture by working with local organizations who serve Spanish-speaking individuals (e.g. bilingual schools, medical clinics, educational programs).

Course Information

Below I have listed some of the courses that I teach. We are always developing and trying out new classes, so the list may change now and then. 

SPAN 202 | Intermediate Spanish

SPAN 325 | Mexican-American Cultural Explorations

SPAN 355: Hispanic Cultures and Healthcare

Span 406: Special Topics:  Latin American Women Writers

Span 416: Modern Mexican Literature and Culture

Recent Student Capstone Projects I've Supervised

"Una investigación interdisciplinaria sobre los promotores de salud en las escuelas públicas"

"Un paso para subir la montaña Coatepec: el vegetarianismo en México" 

"La formación de los entendimientos méxico-americanos de la virginidad"

Recent Publications

"Learning Through Service: A testimonio on the Pedagogical and Scholarly Benefits of Service Projects Conducted by Teachers of Spanish, " Hispania 98:2 (2015).

"Mexican Immigrant Women's Poetry: Voices from a Community Poetry Class," Pacific Coast Philology, Vol. 49 (2): 222-45. October, 2014.

“Literature Empowering Women”, Lingo, Vol 10, No 2, March 2010.

Recent Conferences

"Social Justice Pedagogy." Pacific Ancient and Modern Language Association (PAMLA), Nov 2018.

"Service-Learning Courses in Spanish: Best Practices for Local and International Community-Based Learning." COFLT Conference, Willamette University, Salem OR, March 7, 2015.

"Integrating Service Learning into a Language Program: A Case Study," COFLT  Conference, Pacific University, Forest Grove OR, March 1, 2014.

"Immersion without a Passport: Service-Learning in a Foreign Language Course,"            Pacific Ancient and Modern Language Association (PAMLA), San Diego, CA November 3, 2013

"Service Learning Conducted by Teachers of Spanish: Why It's Worth Your Time!,"   COFLT Conference, Concordia University, Portland, OR. March 2, 2013.