Dr. Brianna Janssen Sánchez received her Ph.D. in Second Language Acquisition with a specialization in language program direction from the University of Iowa in 2015 where, upon receiving her doctoral degree, she was the director of the Language Media Center for five years and taught graduate and professional development courses in instructional technology for language teaching and learning, assessment and research. Her doctoral dissertation, “The social dynamics of interaction in telecollaborative tandem exchanges” highlights her interest in intercultural and bilingual interactions as well as meaningful language use mediated by technology (asynchronous and synchronous computer mediated interactions) as a sight for cultural and social learning through language. 

She specializes in world language teaching methodology, instructional technology in world language teaching and K-16 teacher education and professional development. Her current research focuses on issues related to pre-service and in-service teacher education and teacher professional development, teachers’ implementations of literacies-based pedagogies, the role of advocacy and community engagement in world language teaching, and action research in the world language classroom. 

Dr. Janssen Sánchez also holds a K–12 Illinois Professional Educator License in World Languages: Spanish with endorsements in Bilingual Education and English as a Second Language.