Student Spotlight: Janaína Streisky de Quadros

Our very own MSLT student Janaína Streisky de Quadros moved to the US 5 years ago and has been working in a DLI school since then. She has taught Portuguese, Science, Social Studies and Culture and media in DLI. Speaking about her teaching and the experiences as MSLT student, Jana says, "Now, I understand that having a natural ability to teach is an advantage, but not enough to be a qualified teacher. The master’s program has helped me understand the importance of keeping updated with the different theories of L2 teaching and the new research that is constantly published."

She has kept true to her words. She recently presented at the UFLA conference on "Fostering understanding about other cultures through computer assisted language learning." She also led a workshop on a professional development day in her district titled "Oral and written corrective feedback." In 2023, she will present at the southwest conference on L2 teaching and the spring student symposium here, at USU.

One of teaching beliefs Jana holds is about having a student-centered classroom. In her own words, "I constantly strive to build a student-centered class by being aware of those three dimensions. I believe my strengths include learning about my students’ lives, caring about them, and showing that they matter to me, not only their grades. I like to know about my students' activities outside of school and their families, and I try to follow what they are doing by asking about their routines, interests, and experiences in life."

Besides being an excellent full-time educator and graduate student, Jana is a loving mother of three children and a wife. She hopes her experiences can encourage and inspire other working mothers to pursue their educational and professional dreams and aspirations.
Overall, as a department, we feel lucky to meet students like Jana and wish her very best in her future endeavors.

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