Angelina Craig-Flórez
Originally from Madrid, Spain, Professor Angelina Craig-Flórez completed her B.A. at Fordham University with a double major in English and Comparative Literature before earning her Ph.D. in Spanish Medieval Literature and Cultural Studies from Columbia University (2002). She has served as Director of the Language Program at the Department of Latin American and Iberian Cultures from 2002-2007 and as co-Director from 2015-2019.
As an educator, her enduring passion is to bridge literary and cultural studies with the most innovative approaches to foreign language pedagogy and blended learning. Her specific research interests delve into multiliteracies, content- and project-based learning, process writing, and active digital environments. Driven by a deep love for Spanish Art, she also regularly guides students through a memorable journey of Spanish Art in its historical context in her advanced content-in-language course: Spain in its Art.
Her pedagogical innovations have been consistently recognized by the Office of the Provost and the Language Resource Center at Columbia University through multiple grants. These successful initiatives—which focus on moving "beyond the textbook" to design highly interactive, blended-learning environments—have been featured in several Center for Teaching and Learning Faculty Spotlight articles and serve as institutional models for transforming traditional advanced coursework into student-authored, digital collaborative projects.
At the heart of Professor Craig-Flórez’s research is a vital question: How do we meaningfully bring critical digital literacy into the modern language classroom? She embraces language and cultural education as the absolute core of the humanities experience. Her work champions the philosophy that while emerging technologies can support the mechanical learning process, it is our deliberate engagement with humanistic content—listening to silenced voices, contemplating diverse perspectives, and building real-world empathy—that truly drives a student’s intellectual and emotional growth. Exploring how authentic multimedia and student-generated projects like digital storytelling or collaborative e-books spark genuine motivation, her research illustrates how to balance human agency with emerging educational tools to unlock advanced proficiency.
Beyond her classroom teaching and curriculum development, she is a dedicated leader and mentor within the language technology community. Having served as President of the North East Association for Language Learning Technology (NEALLT), she frequently collaborates on digital initiatives and public scholarship. In this capacity, she takes great pride in championing regional and professional networks that support graduate students and early-career language professionals as they try out new ideas, take pedagogical risks, and build their own professional footprints.
Academic Statement
My teaching philosophy is grounded in both affective and effective principles.
On the affective side, I am driven by a deep passion for what I do: sharing my love of the Spanish language and cultures in a welcoming, inclusive, and respectful environment that fosters a love for learning among my students. On the effective side, I strive to employ proven pedagogical approaches and engaging materials, often supported by the latest technologies, designed to transform students from language learners into autonomous cultural explorers.
Affective factors: Core motivation
My inspiration and continuous motivation still come entirely from my students. The feeling I get when I am able to reach that one student who at first seems lost, but then slowly begins to find their voice and engage with the class, is irreplaceable.
Nothing is more rewarding than when, at the end of a semester, students share with me that they have decided to pursue Spanish beyond the requirement, that they are heading to study abroad to immerse themselves further, or that they have begun volunteering in immigration organizations because they were inspired by our classroom discussions. In an era increasingly dominated by automated technologies, these moments reinforce my conviction that the Humanities remain a crucial discipline. Now more than ever, we must foster classrooms that prioritize human expression, ethical inquiry, and deep cultural connection. That profound sense of making a lasting, uniquely human impact on my students' lives is precisely why I love what I do.
Effective factors: Blending theory and practice
Throughout my career, I have witnessed profound paradigm shifts in the field of Second Language Acquisition (SLA). Experience has shown me that the best outcomes are rarely achieved by clinging to a single approach, but rather through a skillful, deliberate combination of several. To maximize student engagement and instructional efficiency, my courses seamlessly weave together:
- Humanistic Core in the Digital Age: Recognizing that while emerging technologies can assist in the mechanics of the language learning process, the humanistic content we choose remains the vital driver of our students' intellectual and personal maturity. I treat the teaching of a foreign language and its cultures as the very heart of the humanities experience. By carefully selecting content that prompts students to contemplate diverse perspectives, listen to silenced voices, and engage with complex cultural narratives, I ensure that our technology-enhanced classroom remains a deeply human space that actively fosters empathy, compassion, and critical global awareness.
- Multiliteracies & Content-Based Approaches: Helping students develop critical strategies to decode and deeply comprehend authentic multimodal texts.
- Project-Based Learning: Anchoring language acquisition in real-world tasks, such as our collaborative digital book and media projects.
- Active Learning (Flipped Classroom): Encouraging student agency, independent problem-solving, and communicative autonomy.
- Blended Learning & Digital Integration: Utilizing current, relevant multimedia materials and digital tools for streamlined content presentation, interactive practice, and targeted self-assessment.
I strongly believe that the unique affordances of these approaches must be structured using an intentional backwards design process. Whether building a full curriculum, a specific course, or a single daily lesson plan, the key lies in establishing clear, concise learning objectives, continuously assessing if outcomes meet those targets, and remaining flexible enough to adapt seamlessly to my students' evolving needs.
Selected Publications & Public Scholarship
Peer-Reviewed Articles
Craig-Flórez, A., & Ewald, L. (2023). Versatility and value: A student-generated collaborative digital book. 2023. Second Language Research & Practice, 4(1), 1-16. https://hdl.handle.net/10125/69876
Public Scholarship & Media
Craig-Flórez, Angelina. (2019). Faculty Spotlight: Using Authentic Materials to Enhance Language Learning. Center for Teaching and Learning (CTL) Columbia University, Faculty News.
CTL: https://ctl.columbia.edu/announcements/faculty-spotlight-angelina-craig-florez/
Youtube: https://youtu.be/thAYVG7Cs4I?si=r9xw5o8PSuE_sF8Q
Craig-Flórez, Angelina. (2015). Faculty Spotlight: In-Conversation: Transforming a Research Paper Assignment into a Student-Generated Project. Center for Teaching and Learning (CTL) Columbia University, Faculty News.
Youtube: https://youtu.be/YjwoVlG_GeA?si=qJxuu9FWc6W0Lv27
Said & Done: Columbia University LRC Podcast. (2023, July 6). "What is NEALLT?"
Featured speakers: Angelina Craig-Flórez of Columbia University, Ann Warner-Ault of the College of New Jersey, and Mike Jones of Swarthmore College discussing the role of regional professional organizations in supporting graduate students and the integration of technology in language pedagogy.
Host: Christopher Kaiser, Language Resource Center, Columbia University
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=q09EGrxBx7I
Grants & Fellowships
Implementation Grant ( (2026–2027). Co-Grant recipient with Aaron Boalick for the project: “Theme-driven Spanish Intermediate II course: Human Rights, Memory, and Film.” Department of Latin American and Iberian Cultures (LAIC), Columbia University.
Consortium for Language Teaching and Learning (2006–2009). Co-Grant recipient for the development of a website: TEACH for foreign language teachers to share materials and exchange ideas. The project was an inter-institutional project with members from Columbia, Princeton, Yale and UPenn.
Provost Hybrid Learning Course Redesign and Delivery (2018–2020). Project title: “Beyond the textbook: A Hybrid redesign for Spanish Intermediate II.”
Provost Hybrid Learning Course Redesign and Delivery (2015–2016). Project title: “Student-generated iBooks as final projects and the Incorporation of Mobile technologies in the Face-to-face Classroom.”
Curricular Innovation
Curriculum Development
AI-Assisted Multiliteracies and Digital Storytelling (2023–Present): Designed a process-oriented writing framework leveraging Generative AI as a collaborative partner to foster student autonomy; focus on integrating AI-driven feedback into iterative self-editing cycles to deepen student recognition and resolution of linguistic errors.
Derechos Humanos, Memoria y Cine (Human Rights, Memory and Film) (Projected for Spring 2027): Led the creation of a new Intermediate II theme-driven course exploring human rights through film. The course puts film in dialogue with other multimodal materials as a framework to explore human rights, historical memory, and social change in the Spanish-speaking world. Students develop linguistic skills while engaging in critical analysis of topics such as migration, dictatorship, and gender, and the intersections of the former with the arts and politics. Developed in collaboration with Professor Aaron Boalick.
España a través de su Arte (Spain in its Art) (2008–Present): Created this advanced language-in-content course to engage students in the exploration of Spanish artists and artistic movements within their historical contexts while developing high-level academic linguistic skills. In 2015, I transitioned the curriculum from traditional final research papers to innovative digital storytelling through collaborative digital publishing projects, including student-generated e-books and websites, to foster multimodal literacy and creative engagement.
Explorando Comunidades Hispano-Hablantes (Exploring Spanish-Speaking Communities) (2019–present): Led the redesign of the program’s first theme-based intermediate course and its web-based learning environment. The authentic material curated for this project can be used as a stand-alone-course or as supplements to accompany intermediate level Spanish curriculum.