Biography

Maria Teresa Valdez holds an MA in Portuguese Language and Culture (Portuguese as a Foreign Language/Portuguese as a Second Language) from the University of Lisbon in Portugal and a PhD in Luso-Afro-Brazilian Studies and Theory (Acquisition of Portuguese as a Heritage Language and Development of Learning Materials) from the University of Massachusetts Dartmouth.

Research Overview

Research Interests

• Portuguese language instruction
• foreign-language pedagogy
• second- and foreign-language acquisition and development
• heritage-language acquisition and development
• teaching and learning methodologies for foreign, second, and heritage languages
• second- and heritage-language learning materials
• online language instruction

Courses Offered (subject to change)

• CLT 592:  Language Learning and Teaching (Fall)
• POR 101:  Elementary Portuguese I (Fall)
• POR 102:  Elementary Portuguese II (Spring)
• POR 151:  Intermediate Portuguese I (Fall)
• POR 152:  Intermediate Portuguese II (Spring)

Selected Publications

• "A representação da cultura de uma língua minoritária: manuais de português na França." Teaching and Learning Portuguese as a Heritage Language. Spec. issue of Portuguese Language Journal, vol. 5, Fall 2011, www.ensinoportugues.org/wp-content/uploads/2011/05/Valdez.pdf.

Selected Conference Presentations

• With Gláucia Silva. "Anaphoric Direct Objects in European Portuguese as a Heritage Language: A Case of Incomplete Acquisition?" Second International Conference on Heritage/Community Languages (NHLRC), 7-8 Mar. 2014, UCLA, Los Angeles.
• "To Teach or Not to Teach? Choices for Teaching Grammar and Writing to Heritage Learners of Portuguese." Portuguese Linguistics in the United States, 14-16 Nov. 2013, U of Georgia, Athens.
• "Aula online o ensino da língua portuguesa – lições de um curso universitário de português avançado." Tenth Annual Conference on Portuguese Language Education, 27 Sep. 2013, U of Massachusetts Dartmouth.
• With Gláucia Silva. "Addressing Others in Portuguese: Heritage Language and Sociopragmatic Choices." Eighth International Conference of the American Portuguese Studies Association (APSA), 4-6 Oct. 2012, U of Iowa, Iowa City.
• With Gláucia Silva. "Tu or o senhor? Forms of Address Among Heritage Learners of European Portuguese." Kentucky Foreign Language Conference, 19-21 Apr. 2012, U of Kentucky, Lexington.
• "A representação da cultura de uma língua minoritária – a língua portuguesa e os falantes de herança." Encontro Internacional de Línguas e Linguística, 10-12 Oct. 2011, U of Évora.
• "A abordagem comunicativa, o manual e a prática da comunicação." Ninth Annual Conference on Portuguese Language Education, 23 Sep. 2011, U of Massachusetts Dartmouth.
• "Vós na actualidade." II Colóquio de Língua e Cultura Portuguesa, 30-31 May 2003, College of Letters, U of Lisbon.