Edna V. Velásquez, Ph.D

Edna Velásquez joined Sam Houston State University in August 2019. She is an Assistant Professor of Spanish and Coordinator of the Spanish Teaching Minor. She earned her PhD in Hispanic Studies from the University of Houston. A former bilingual teacher with Houston Independent School District, Edna has had a broad range of experiences teaching Spanish K-12 as well as in higher education. She has also trained and supervised pre-service teachers at two different independent school districts in Texas. Her main research interests include advanced biliteracy for Heritage Language Learners of Spanish and Spanish teachers’ training. She teaches face-to-face and online courses in Spanish at all levels for Second and Heritage Language Learners. In her spare time, Edna enjoys watching international films, traveling around the world and exploring good restaurants with her family.

Current research interests

  • Spanish as a Heritage Language

  • Bilingual and Heritage Language Education

  • Spanish Teachers’ Training

  • Sociolinguistics

  • Use of multimedia and 2.0 Technologies in language teaching.

Selected Publications/Works/Conferences

Velásquez, E. (2019). The Effect of Discipline-Related Knowledge on Heritage Language Learners’ Reading Comprehension. Athens Journal of Education. Available from https://www.athensjournals.gr/education/2018-2676-AJE-COLEDU-Velasquez.pdf

Velásquez, E. (2019, February). Evaluación de pares: hacia el mejoramiento de la escritura académica de los futuros maestros bilingües. Paper presented at the 6th National Symposium on Spanish as a Heritage Language. McAllen, TX.

Avellaneda, E., Velásquez, E. (2018, May): Vblogging to Foster a Community of Practice, Content Learning and Academic Discourse in Online Classes. Paper presented at the Emerging Trends in Educational Technology conference. Houston, TX.

Velásquez, E. (2016).  Lexical Competence and Reading Comprehension: A Pilot Study with Heritage Language Learners of Spanish. GiST Education and Learning Research Journal 13 (2016). Available from http://www.publicacionesunica.com/gist/index.php/gist/article/view/312

Álvarez, M., Velásquez, E. (2016, April). Welcome to an Advanced Language Course! Integrating Media in Higher Education L2 Advanced Courses. Paper presented at SOCALLT: South Central Association for Language Learning Technology. Houston, TX.

Velásquez, E. (2014, March). El conocimiento previo de la disciplina y la comprensión de lectura en estudiantes de español como lengua de herencia. Paper presented at Texas A&M University’s Fourth Hispanic Studies Annual Graduate Conference: Translating Social Movements. College Station, TX.

Velásquez, E. (2014, February). Competencia léxica y comprensión de lectura en los estudiantes de español como lengua de herencia. Paper presented at the Inaugural National Symposium on Spanish as Heritage Language. Lubbock TX.

Velásquez, E. (2013, July). “Vocabulario y comprensión de lectura: Un estudio con hablantes de español como lengua de herencia. Paper presented at AATSP 95th Conference. San Antonio, TX.

List of courses regularly taught at SHSU

SPAN 1411 Elementary Spanish I

SPAN 1412 Elementary Spanish II

SPAN 5338 Second Language Teaching Methodology