Biography

Alyssa graduated from The University of Montana in 2004, earning Bachelors of Arts degrees in Spanish (with honors) and journalism, as well as a certificate in teaching ESL. She completed three one-year teaching contracts in South Korea between 2006 and 2010. In 2012, she returned to school to earn an M.A.Ed in TESOL from Seattle University, graduating in 2015. Her graduate research project focused on the benefits of first language use in second language acquisition. She joined the English department at Yachay Tech in April, 2016.

Research interests

Second language acquisition (specifically, benefits of native/first language use)

Attitudes toward language use

Sociolinguistics