Faculty
Donna Clementi is the director of education and research at Concordia Language Villages. She is a long-time staff member of the Concordia Language Villages which includes providing instruction for the teacher workshops and the graduate course in Second Language Methodologies. She also collaborates annually with the University of Minnesota’s summer assessment course for language teachers. She teaches a foreign language methods class at Lawrence University in Appleton, Wisconsin. She is a recognized expert in world language performance assessment. Clementi has received the Florence Steiner Award for K-12 language leadership given by the American Council on the Teaching of Foreign Languages (ACTFL). She has also received the National District Supervisor of Foreign Languages Award given by the National Association of District Supervisors of Foreign Languages (NADSFL). She was recognized by the Wisconsin Association for Foreign Languages (WAFLT) as Wisconsin’s Distinguished Foreign Language Educator. Ms. Clementi is currently enrolled in a Ph.D. program and anticipates completion in 2008.
Dr. Tove Dahl, dean of the Norwegian Language Village, is a frequent presenter in the graduate course in Second Language Methodologies. As an education psychologist, she has done extensive work in how the brain processes and remembers language. She is also currently engaged in research at Concordia Language Villages related to the peace-mindedness of past participants in the Norwegian Language Village program.
Dr. Heidi Hamilton, senior researcher for Concordia Language Villages, is also a frequent presenter in the graduate course in Second Language Methodologies. Dr. Hamilton has done and continues to do research to identify successful teaching strategies used at Concordia Language Villages.
Dr. Paul Hoff is a Professor of Spanish and Foreign Language Education and Director of the University Honors Program at the University of Wisconsin-Eau Claire. He obtained his Doctor of Arts degree in Spanish and Education from Syracuse University and his M.A. in Hispanic Civilization from New York University. He has worked extensively with the Concordia Language Villages, most recently teaching a course in its new Masters Program in World Language Instruction. Paul has collaborated on four Spanish textbook series (Navegando, Somos así, Poco a poco, Para empezar) and was a member of the task force that developed Wisconsin’s Planning Curriculum for Learning World Languages. Since 1996 he has been an ACTFL Oral Proficiency Tester of Spanish, conducting academic and commercial OPIs for Language Testing International. He also is a frequent presenter at professional conferences.
Dr. Bernard Mambo is currently the chair of the foreign language department and instructor of French & ESL at St John’s Catholic Preparatory School in Frederick, Maryland. He has earned his doctorate degree in Curriculum and Instruction with a specialization in educational computing, design and online learning at Kansas State University. In the past he has coordinated the four-week high school credit program at Lac du Bois. He has participated in several technology integration projects in language learning settings, including a language immersion program. His areas of academic interest include technology integration, language education, constructivist approach in teaching, computer assisted language learning, project-based learning, and impact of technology integration on language and literacy practices.
Dr. Viann Pederson de Castaneda is an associate professor in the Spanish department who has directed international programs through the Spanish and Business departments at Concordia College. She has taught Spanish and English as a second language in K-12 schools in the United States and in Mexico. Having lived in Mexico, she is a consultant for U.S. firms doing business in Latin America and assists in planning meetings in the region for legislators and corporate officials from Spanish-speaking countries.
Dr. Gay Rawson is an Assistant Professor in the Department of French and Russian at Concordia. She is also involved in the First-Year Experience, Global Studies, Women's Studies Programs, and directs the International Business program in France. She has led numerous study abroad programs in France, Germany, Switzerland, and most recently Cameroon. She is a certified expert in translation and interpretation and pursuing ACTFL OPI tester certification as well. She has presented internationally on subjects from foreign language pedagogy, study abroad programs, to relationships between literature / medicine.
Faculty
