Bio

Welcome to my homepage! I am a Pennsylvania native and graduate of the Harrisburg Area Community College, Millersville University and the University of Pittsburgh. After a few years at the University of Puerto Rico, I came to NC State in 2002. I have enjoyed teaching a variety of Spanish and teaching methods courses in the department, as well as serving as Spanish Section Coordinator. I am also very active in the American Council on the Teaching of Foreign Languages (ACTFL) as an English and Spanish Oral Proficiency (OPI) tester and mentor for OPI certification candidates. I hope you find my homepage informative. Feel free to reach out if you have any questions or comments!

http://faculty.chass.ncsu.edu/mldarhow

Research Publications

• Darhower, M. & Smith-Sherwood, D. (2025). Co-constructive feedback affordances in Integrated Performance Assessment learner dyads. Foreign Language Annals.
• Ronquest, R., Darhower, M., & Wagner, D. (forthcoming 2025). ¿Les niñes? Teachers’ attitudes towards gender-inclusive language in the L2 Spanish classroom. In Alvord, S. & Thompson, G. (Eds.) Issues in Hispanic and Lusophone Linguistics Series. John Benjamins Press.  
• Darhower, M. (2025). An Integrated Performance Assessment-informed approach to the textbook problem. ALD Bulletin. (in press)
• Dominguez, C. & Darhower, M. (2025). Spanish for specific purposes: An Integrated Performance Assessment-informed approach. Hispanic Studies Review 9(1).
• Smith-Sherwood, D. & Darhower, M. (2023). Transforming the Literature Class with Integrated Performance Assessments. In Troyan, F.; Adair-Hauck, B. & Glisan, E. Twenty Years of Integrated Performance Assessment. American Council on the Teaching of Foreign Languages.
• Darhower, M.A. & Smith-Sherwood, D. (2023). Meeting Them Where They Are: Using Differentiated Integrated Performance Assessments to Build Interpersonal Speaking Skills in the L2 Literature Class. In Echevarría, M. (Ed.), Rehumanizing the Language and Literature Curriculum. Peter Lang.
• Darhower, M.A. & Smith-Sherwood, D. (2021) Addressing the Language-Literature Divide via Integrated Performance Assessments in an Introduction to Hispanic Literature Class. Hispania 104,3. 395-413
• Brooks, F.B. and Darhower, M.A. (2014). It takes a department! A study of the culture of proficiency in three successful foreign language teacher education programs. Foreign Language Annals 47(4). 592-613.
• Darhower, M.A. (2014). Dynamic assessment in synchronous computer-mediated communication: A case study of L2 Spanish past narration. CALICO Journal31(2). 221-243.
• Darhower, M.A. (2014). Literary Discussions and Advanced-Superior Speaking Functions in the Undergraduate Language Program. Hispania 97(3). 396-412
• Darhower, M. (2008). The Role of Linguistic Affordances in Participation in a Bilingual Telecollaboration. CALICO Journal 26,1.
• Darhower, M. (2007). A Tale of Two Communities: Group Dynamics and Community Building in a Spanish – English Telecollaboration. CALICO Journal24,3. 561-590.
• Darhower, M. (2006). Where’s the community? Bilingual Internet chat and the fifth C of the National Standards. Hispania 89,1. 84-98
• Darhower, M. (2004). Dialogue journals as mediators of L2 learning: A sociocultural account. Hispania 87,2. 324-335.
• Darhower, M. (2002). Interactional Features of Synchronous Computer-Mediated Communication: A Sociocultural Case Study. CALICO Journal 19,2. 249-275. (This article won the Outstanding Article of the Year Award presented by Sony, Inc. and the Computer Assisted Language Instruction Consortium (CALICO).

Recent Presentations

• Student anxiety during Integrated Performance Assessments. American Association of Teachers of Spanish and Portuguese Annual Conference. Panama City, Panama. June 29, 2025.
• ACTFL OPI Certification Workshop. Pueblo Unido, Quetzaltenango, Guatemala. June 4-8, 2024.
• ACTFL Writing Proficiency Test Workshop. Princeton University. May 15, 2025.
• ACTFL OPI Certification Workshop. Stanford University. May 2-3, 2025.
• Grading for growth (panel with Troy Cox and Cynthia Martin). ACTFL Annual Convention. November 23, 2024.
• ¿Les niñes? Las actitudes y estrategias de los maestros para tartar el lenguaje inclusive en la clase de español (invited talk). University of Puerto Rico, Río Piedras. October 15, 2024.  
• Integrated Performance Assessments in Spanish classes. SPAN 5042: Language Assessment and Learner Contexts, Saint Louis University (invited by Ander Beristain). October 2, 2024.
• Español para profesiones legales: Desarrollo del curso, uso y perspectivas de los estudiantes de Integrated Performance Assessments (with Carlos Domínguez). American Association of Teachers of Spanish and Portuguese Annual Conference. Portland, OR. July 30, 2024.
• ACTFL OPI Certification Workshop. University of Rhode Island. May 13-16, 2024
• ACTFL Modified OPI Certification Workshop. Stanford University. May 3-4, 2024.
• Spanish for Legal Professions: An IPA-informed Approach (with Carlos Domínguez). SLISE/SLINKI Conference. College of Charleston. February 18, 2024. 
• ¿Les niñes? Teachers’ Attitudes towards Addressing Inclusive Language in the Spanish Classroom. Hispanic Linguistics Symposium. Brigham Young University. October 13, 2023.
• ACTFL OPI Familiarization Workshop. University of Kansas. August 16, 2023.
• ACTFL Writing Proficiency Test Familiarization Workshop. University of Rhode Island. May 8, 2023.
• ACTFL OPI Familiarization Workshop (virtual). Rice University. February 23, 2023.
• ACTFL Modified Oral Proficiency Interview Certification Workshop. Virginia Department of Education, Leesburg, VA. July 28-29, 2022.
• Transform Your Literature Class with ACTFL Integrated Performance Assessments (half-day workshop with Dawn Smith-Sherwood). American Association of Teachers of Spanish and Portuguese Annual Convention, San Juan, Puerto Rico. July 12, 2022.
• Meeting Students Where They Are Using Integrated Performance Assessments (with Dawn Smith-Sherwood). American Association of Teachers of Spanish and Portuguese Annual Convention, San Juan, Puerto Rico. July 9-12, 2022.
• ACTFL Modified Oral Proficiency Interview Certification Workshop (virtual). Alpine School District, American Fork, Utah. May 17-June 5, 2021.
• ACTFL Oral Proficiency Interview Certification Workshop. University of Chicago, Chicago, IL. January 17-20, 2020.
• ACTFL Oral Proficiency Interview Certification Workshop. North Carolina School of Science and Mathematics, Durham, NC. October 8-11, 2019.
• ACTFL Writing Proficiency Test Familiarization Workshop. Arlington School District, Arlington, VA. August 23, 2019.
• ACTFL Oral Proficiency Interview Certification Workshop. Tabor Academy, Marion, MA. July 8-11, 2019.
• ACTFL Modified Oral Proficiency Interview Workshop. Los Angeles Unified School District, Los Angeles, CA. June 11-12, 2019.
• Integrated Performance Assessments (IPAs) as a Means to Stimulate Continued Oral Proficiency Growth in an Introduction to Hispanic Literature Class. Kentucky Foreign Language Conference, Lexington, KY. April 13, 2019.
• ACTFL Oral Proficiency Interview Certification Workshop. University of Rhode Island. December 17-20, 2018.
• ACTFL Modified Oral Proficiency Interview Workshop. Greensburg-Salem School District, Greensburg, PA. October 8-9, 2018.
• MLA Professors/ACTFL Protocols: Promoting Proficiency in L2 ‘Content’ Courses (respondent). Northeast Modern Language Association 49^th Annual Convention, Pittsburgh, PA. April 13, 2018.

Courses Recently Taught

• WL 507 College Teaching of Foreign Languages
• WLSP 101 Beginning Spanish I
• WLSP 102 Beginning Spanish II
• WLSP 331 Spanish Oral and Written Expression I
• WLSP 400 Methods and Techniques in Spanish Translation and Interpretation
• WLSP 402 Introduction to Spanish Linguistics
• WLSP 503 Spanish Applied Linguistics
• WL 530 Second Language Assessment (Spanish Language Institute, Southern Oregon University)

Professional Memberships and Certifications

• Member of NC State University Faculty Senate (2019-2021)
• Member of American Council on the Teaching of Foreign Languages (ACTFL); American Association of Applied Linguistics (AAAL); American Association of Teachers of Spanish and Portuguese (AATSP); Computer Assisted Language Instruction Consortium (CALICO)
• ACTFL Certified Superior oral proficiency in Spanish and English.
• ACTFL Certified Oral Proficiency Tester and Certification Mentor (Spanish and English)
• ACTFL Certified Rater of Oral Proficiency Interview – Computer (OPIc) (Spanish)
• ACTFL Certified Rater of Writing Proficiency Test (Spanish).
• Teaching Certification: Spanish grades 7-12 in Pennsylvania and 9-12 in North Carolina.
• Passed the written North Carolina Court Interpreter Exam and written Federal Court Interpreter Certification Exam
• Passed 2/3 sections of North Carolina Court Interpreter exam

Area(s) of Expertise

Discursive aspects of second language acquisition, ACTFL Proficiency Guidelines, Integrated Performance Assessment, language teaching methodology, multiliteracies, Spanish for special purposes (especially Criminology)