Christina Isabelli, PhD

Associate Provost for Global Engagement

Senior International Office and Professor of Spanish Applied Linguistics
Mailing address: Gonzaga University, 502 E. Boone Ave, AD 41, Spokane, WA, USA 99258

Dr. Christina "Tina" Isabelli serves as the Associate Provost for Global Engagement. In this role, she leads internationalization at Gonzaga, providing leadership for the university’s globalization strategies, and leadership and administration for the Center for Global Engagement personnel and programs, the International Student & Scholar Services, Study Abroad, and the English
Language Center (ESL program). She works closely with the Dean of Gonzaga in Florence, Gonzaga’s academic deans, associate and vice provosts, and Gonzaga Global. In addition, she facilitates and oversees the work of the International Education Council and the International Leadership Committee. The Associate Provost for Global Engagement leads the university’s effort to cultivate, develop, deliver, and assess global education as a fundamental institutional goal as part of Gonzaga’s Jesuit, Catholic, and humanistic identity.


She also holds the position of Professor of Spanish in the Department of Modern Languages and Literature (PhD, University of Texas at Austin). She is the author of two books, Motivation and Extended Interaction in the Study Abroad Context (Edwin Mellen) and Researching Second Language Acquisition in the Study Abroad Learning Environment (Palgrave) and has published a variety of articles on second language acquisition in the study abroad and domestic immersions contexts, identifying processes of forming social networks abroad and how they function as contexts for language learning.


Christina serves as a 
Program Reviewer for the American Council on the Teaching of Foreign Languages/Council for Accreditation of Educator Preparation (CAEP/ACTFL) in which she evaluates university program reports submitted yearly by U.S. institutions seeking CAEP recognition of their world language teacher certification programs. 

·      Google Scholar Profile  

·      Comunidad de Investigadores del Español

·      LinkedIn


Education
Ph.D. University of Texas - Austin, Ibero-Romance Philology and Linguistics
M.A. University of Iowa, Spanish Literature and Linguistics
B.A. Illinois State University, Spanish and Mathematics 

Academic Positions
2017present   Professor, Gonzaga University (GU), Dept. of Modern Languages and Literature, Spokane, WA
1999
2017      Professor, Illinois Wesleyan University (IWU), Dept. of Hispanic Studies, Bloomington, IL
2010
2020      Visiting Professor, Middlebury Summer School of Spanish Graduate Program, Middlebury, VT
2015 Summer  Visiting Professor, IES Abroad - Madrid, Spain, teaching grant
2009 Summer  Visiting Professor, Universidad Internacional, Cuernavaca, Mexico

Administrative Positions
2023–present  Associate Provost for Global Engagement & Senior International Officer, GU
2022–2023     Academic Director, Center for Global Engagement, GU
2017–2023     Chair, Department of Modern Languages and Literature, GU
2020–2025     Faculty Coordinator, Gonzaga College in the High School
2015–2017     Founder & Director, Illinois Wesleyan University (IWU) Language School for Kids
2011–2017     Chair, Department of Hispanic Studies, IWU
2010  Fall       Resident Director of the IWU London Program
2007  Spring  Resident Director of the IWU Spain Program 

Recent National Service
2015
present   CAEP/ACTFL Program Reviewer - examine the reports and data submitted by US institutions 
                        seeking CAEP recognition of their foreign language teacher education certification programs
                        through ACTFL.

2021–2023      Washington Office of Superintendent of Public Instruction - World Advocacy Committee.

2020–2023      AAUSC Board of Directors - responsible for coordinating language sections and promoting
                        membership in the American Association of University Supervisors and Coordinators of
                        Language Programs.

2015–2022     ALD-MLA Language Program Consultant (formerly ADFL) - advise language departments
                      on a variety of issues such as curriculum design, faculty governance, and strategic planning.

Research and Professional Interests
1. International education 

2. Second language acquisition during study abroad and domestic immersion
3. Social networks and second language acquisition
4. World language program articulation

Published Books:
Isabelli-García, C., & Isabelli, C. A. (2020). Researching second language acquisition in the study
abroad learning environment. 
Palgrave MacMillan.

Isabelli-García, C. (2004). A case study of the factors in the development of Spanish linguistic accuracy and
oral communication skills: Motivation and extended interaction in the study abroad context.
Edwin Mellen Press.


Recent Published Articles and Chapters:
Isabelli-García, C., Brown, A., & Lord, G. (forthcoming). Spanish language program design and
administration: Fundamental considerations
. In M. Lacorte (Ed.), The Routledge handbook of Hispanic
applied linguistics,
2nd edition.
Routledge. 

Isabelli-García, C., Bown, J., Plews, J.L., & Dewey, D.P. (2018). Language learning and study abroad.
Language Teaching, 51(4), 439-484.

Isabelli-García, C. (2017). Key concepts in applied linguistics: Second language acquisition and study abroad
learning environments. Estudios de Lingüística Inglesa Aplicada17, 273–282.

Isabelli-García, C., & Lacorte, M. (2016). Language learners' characteristics, target language use, and
linguistic development in a domestic immersion context. Foreign Language Annals49(3), 544–556. 

Lord, G., & Isabelli-García, C. (2014). Program articulation and management. In M. Lacorte (Ed.),
The Routledge handbook of Hispanic applied linguistics (pp. 150–167). Routledge. 

Isabelli-García, C., Pan, Y., & Lubkemann, S. (2012). Observing census enumeration of non-English-speaking
households in 2010 U.S. Census: Spanish report. Research and Methodology Directorate, Center for Survey
Measurement Research Report Series (Survey Methodology #2012-06). U.S. Census Bureau.
https://www.census.gov/library/working-papers/2012/adrm/rsm2012-06.html

Hartweg, D., Isabelli-García, C., McEwen, M., & Piper, R. (2012). Being physically active: Perceptions
of Mexican immigrant women in the Arizona-Mexico border. Hispanic Health Care International
10(3), 127–136.

Isabelli-García, C., & Slough, R. (2012). Acquisition of the non-generic definite article by Spanish learners
of English as a foreign language. Onomázein: Revista de Lingüística, Filología y Traducción, 25, 95–105.

Isabelli-García, C. (2010). Acquisition of Spanish gender agreement in two learning contexts: Study abroad
and at home. Foreign Language Annals, 43(2), 289–303.

Hartweg, D., & Isabelli-García, C. (2007). Health perceptions of low-income, immigrant Spanish-speaking
Latinas in the United States. Hispanic Healthcare International, 5(2), 7–17.

Isabelli-García, C. (2006). Study abroad social networks, motivation and attitudes: Implications for second
language acquisition. In E. Churchill & M. DuFon (Eds.), Language learners in study abroad contexts 
(pp. 231–258). Multilingual Matters. 

Zeiss, E., & Isabelli-García, C. (2005). The benefits of asynchronous computer-mediated communication in
enhancing cultural acquisition. Computer Assisted Language Learning, 18(3), 151–169.

Isabelli-García, C. (2003). Development of oral communication skills abroad. Frontiers: The
Interdisciplinary Journal of Study Abroad
, 9, 149–173.

Recent Invited Presentations
June 2024. So, you're thinking about being an administrator? Panel. American Association of Teachers
of Spanish and Portuguese Annual Conference
. Portland, Oregon

March 2024. Education abroad: Language, learners, and communities. Georgetown University Round
Table Annual Conference.


April 2023. Understanding US assessment of student learning outcomes. American Council for International
Education
, workshop.

October 2022. Creating an institutional policy/procedure for engaging transformational international
partnerships: Process, Buy-in, Rubric. Association of International Education Administrators, webinar.

March 2022. Contexts of co-constructions. Research and Teaching Symposium in Celebration of Dale
A. Koike.
With J. Liskin-Gasparro. University of Texas at Austin.

Recent Organized Workshops
August 2023. College in the High School Professional Development/Engagement Workshop. Spokane, WA.

November 2022. Challenges and opportunities in language program coordination. Organized/moderated
with L. Nájera, A. Schumacher, and F. Roncal Ramírez. American Association of University Supervisors
and Coordinators (AAUSC), virtual.

June 2021. Data and advocacy: MAPS leadership institute - Why humanities now. Moderated workshop
with B. Nichols. Association of Language Departments (previously ADFL), virtual.