Annie R. Abbott

I coordinate the Spanish community service-learning (CSL) program at the University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign. Up to 100 Spanish students per semester work in the local community with about a dozen community partners, proving that Spanish CSL can be instituted almost anywhere in the US. CSL can also be used to teach almost any subject; in fact, my book, "Comunidades: Mas alla del aula" (Pearson/Prentice Hall) has been used as a supplement to teach subjects as varied as social entrepreneurship, business Spanish, social media and journalism.

I love teaching with Spanish CSL because the community partners tell me that they appreciate the students' work, and I can see that the students learn about the world, not just Spanish. But when I started using Spanish CSL in 2004, I could not find textbooks that gave students the information they needed to actually be effective in the community. That's why I wrote "Comunidades." I hope it will help other instructors to take the plunge and incorporate Spanish CSL in their teaching.

This profile picture was taken at my desk at home. That's where I write. Every day I write something: book projects, teaching materials, research articles, my blog (http://spanishandillinois.blogspot.com)and updates on Facebook and Twitter. I'm one of those lucky people whose job and passion are one and the same.