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Department of World Languages and Literatures College of Arts and Sciences

Krista Chambless

Associate Professor of French and Spanish kristachambless@uab.edu
University Hall 3123
(205) 934-4652

Research and Teaching Interests: Spanish, French, Foreign cultures, Foreign language pedagogy, Foreign language methods (classroom instruction), Teacher development, Technology in the foreign language classroom

Office Hours: By appointment

Education:

  • BS, University of Alabama, Secondary Education
  • MA, University of Alabama, Romance Languages
  • PhD, University of Alabama, Foreign Language Education

Get to know Krista Chambless Opens an external link.

UAB Scholars Profile Opens an external link.

I am a native Alabamian, having grown up in Huntsville, and now live in Tuscaloosa with my family. My passion is teaching. I come from a long line of teachers beginning with my great-grandmother who taught in a one room schoolhouse in rural Alabama. Since then, there have been teachers in every generation of my family. Growing up I knew I was destined to be a teacher; I understood the powerful influence that teachers can have on their students. I became a world language teacher because of a wonderful French teacher I had in high school. I fell in love with language learning and became inspired to learn not only the language but the culture. It has always been my mission to help students fall in love with other languages and cultures. I have taught languages at all levels from preschool through graduate school. At UAB I teach both French and Spanish language courses, as well as world language methodologies to pre-service teachers. Most recently I created a first-year experience course for the new Blazer Core Curriculum which focuses on how students can leverage their language skills to provide more career opportunities. Currently, I am the coordinator for the Introductory Spanish program (SPA 101,102, 201). In this position, I have been able to create a proficiency-based program in which students demonstrate what they can do with language. I feel very blessed to be able to share my love of languages and cultures with my students.

My research focuses on the teaching of world languages, specifically the use of the target language (i.e. the language being taught) in the classroom. I have published several articles on teacher language proficiency as well as a book chapter entitled Target Language Comprehensibility in the Language Classroom in the edited volume The Handbook of Research on World Language Instruction. Tied to my research on language proficiency is my work of the Alabama State Seal of Biliteracy and the Global Seal of Biliteracy. These programs provide a credential that verifies one’s language skills in two or more languages. UAB was the first university in the state to award the Global Seal of Biliteracy in 2020. Since then, I worked to launch a testing site at UAB for anyone in the state of Alabama which launched in 2024.

As a language teacher, I understand the importance of maintaining my language skills and learning about/experiencing new cultures. Thus, I have traveled extensively to Spain, France, Mexico, Panama and Quebec. I also take students to study abroad whenever I have the opportunity.

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