Vânia is a Senior Lecturer and the Undergraduate Portuguese Supervisor at the Department of Spanish and Portuguese at IU. Vânia is a native speaker of Portuguese and fluent in both English and Spanish. This will be Vânia’s first summer teaching with IUHPFL, though she is very familiar with the program. As she describes, “I have been interested in participating in the IUHPFL program since I was a graduate student at IU in Latin American Studies. However, due to family and work commitments, this is the first summer I was able to apply.”
Vânia Castro
At Indiana University, Vânia has been involved in many language-related initiatives including the development of a Portuguese Summer Immersive course as part of the Hamilton Lugar School’s Language Workshop. Vânia and her family have also hosted students in their home from Spain and Italy. Her experience as a parent and host parent gives her a unique perspective this summer. “I believe these experiences have taught me a lot about the challenges teenagers face both within their own families but also as exchange students and will help me to ensure that participants in the program have a safe, rewarding, and transformative experience.”
Vânia is looking forward to this summer. Specifically, she said, “As a teacher of language and culture for the past 25 years, I am most excited to support the students as they gain new cultural experiences, improve their language skills, and become more independent and self-confident.” We are excited to have Vânia’s new and unique perspective as part of the Oviedo team this year!
How would you summarize your IUHPFL experience so far in three words?
Inspiring, challenging, insightful.
What is a goal you have for yourself and the students this summer?
My goal is to ensure that we all have a safe, fun and fulfilling learning experience.