Laura Fielden

I graduated from Appalachian State (Spanish/History and TESL Minor) in 1999 and later finished a Masters in Hispanic Literature at UNC Chapel Hill where I taught Spanish and also began a doctoral program. I'd studied abroad in Ecuador, Mexico and Spain as a student and the travel bug was difficult to shake! I went to Havana, Cuba to direct the UNC-CH semester program there for two years as a graduate student, and also went back to Spain to act as an assistant for UNC-CH students in Seville. I stayed on in Spain when I met my partner there, and began a doctoral program in Applied Linguistics (Fiología Inglesa) which I am finishing now at the University of Extremadura. I've lived in Spain for the past 10 years. I have been fortunate enough to work in a variety of interesting fields that have taught me a tremendous amount, including even being a gender equality agent for the local government and an interpreter for City Hall to the last US Ambassador to Spain.

For the most part, however, I have been teaching and working in study abroad programs throughout this time. I most enjoy teaching, and the ¨aha¨ moment when students suddenly get a new angle on something they couldn't see before. Currently, I teach education majors how to be English teachers at a private university, and co-run a small language academy while I help raise my daughter and finish my doctorate. My research interests include intercultural competence, goal orientations and attribution theories, as well as second language acquisition beliefs. I enjoyed being back on campus this summer and spending some time with ASU language students!

Check out Laura's Interview for a local TV station in Spain (skip ahead to 22:24): http://www.canalextremadura.es/node/81261

Laura in Lanzarote