Carmen Villegas Rogers:
Dr. Carmen Villegas Rogers is Associate Professor of French and Spanish in the Department of Languages. She holds a doctoral degree in Romance language pedagogy and methodology from the University of Georgia and a Master of Arts in Teaching from the School for International Training in Brattleboro, Vermont. She has also earned teaching degrees from the Université Paul Valéry in Montpellier, France and from the Universidad Pedagógica Nacional in Bogotá, Colombia. She has extensive teaching experience in other institutions including the University of Tennessee, Louisiana State University and the University of Georgia as well as institutions in Colombia, France and Morocco.  She holds active memberships in the American Council of Teachers of Foreign Languages (ACTFL) the American Association of Teachers of French, the American Association of Teachers of Spanish and Portuguese, the Southern Conference on Language Teaching, and the College Language Association.  She frequently presents papers and is often invited to participate as a panelist and national and regional conferences.

Her research interests include the effects of English on the Spanish spoken in the US, the African heritage in Latin America, and the use of technology in language teaching.  Among her recent scholarly endeavors are a paper analyzing the significant but overlooked African Diasporan cultural presence in Latin America and an article presenting a systematic strategy for improving the visibility of Afro-Latin American culture in the Spanish-language class room.  In recognition of her work on the NEH-funded Department of Languages project, The Garífuna:  A Vibrant Culture Speaks, she has been invited to participate as a featured speaker in a number of panels and programs throughout the New Orleans area.

Dr. Rogers develops extensive pedagogical materials for her French and Spanish courses.  She incorporates Spanish and Hispanic films into the first semester of her Spanish Advanced Conversation class, and has incorporated readings, films, and interactive activities featuring  Afro-Latin American culture into the second semester.  In order to give all members of the Xavier community the opportunity to speak Spanish in an informal setting, she has implemented the Círculo Hispano, a weekly gathering of guests from off-campus, Xavier faculty, and students who have studied abroad or who have an interest in improving their comprehension.