Crafting Captivating Language Learning with Carolina Bailey

In this episode we have a conversation with Carolina Bailey, Ph.D, Spanish faculty member and Area Coordinator in the School of Arts, Humanities, and Social Sciences at Madison College. A seasoned educator, Carolina shares her techniques to crafting captivating learning experiences by harnessing students' prior knowledge and interests.

We also learn about her experience leading students through a course-based research project in a Spanish Five class, a journey that not only challenged students but also honed their Spanish research skills. We talk about Carolina’s research into the campus climate and the vital role of accountability measures, and she shares examples of progress in diversity and inclusion at the college.

Finally, Carolina explains a how she is incorporating virtual reality in her language instruction, offering students immersive cultural experiences while practicing their language skills. Join us as we get to know Carolina Bailey and delve into her innovative approaches to language instruction and crafting engaging learning experiences for students.

Dr. Carolina Bailey is a Spanish instructor as well as Area Coordinator for the School of Art, Humanities, and Social Sciences at Madison Area Technical College. In her current role she supports six departments with instructional-related needs. At the college level, she has actively participated in Equity and Inclusion efforts to help the college move forward with their equity and inclusion journey.

In addition to her academia work, her passion for equity and inclusion led her to be an advisor for Step Up: Equity Matters. This company focuses on helping different industries through assessment, trainings, and coaching to update their processes and policies to be more equitable and inclusive in their practices. She has also supported the City of Madison with its Language Access Program to have Community Connectors in order for the city to have a better out-reach program for the Spanish, Hmong, and Chinese (Mandarin) communities in Madison.

She earned her Ph.D. degrees in Second Language Acquisition as well as in Linguistics from UW-Madison. She earned her Master's in Linguistics at UW-Madison and her Master's in French as a Foreign Language in Montpellier-France. She did her undergraduate studies in her native country, Colombia at Universidad del Valle.

In her free time, she loves spending time with her family and friends, riding her bike when it's sunny and warm, salsa dancing, and taking acrobatic classes.