DEPARTMENT OF SPANISH & PORTUGUESE

Mirella Gomes da Silva is a Portuguese lecturer at Northwestern University (NU). She currently teaches Portuguese 115 - Portuguese for Spanish Speakers, Portuguese 201 - Portuguese Reading and Speaking, Portuguese 210 – Icons, Legends, and Myths in Brazil. Her research interests lie in foreign and second language acquisition, technology in and language learning and teaching, bilingualism, and pronunciation.

She holds an MA in British Literature and a PhD in Applied Linguistics. In her PhD research, she analyzed the use of wikis in academic environments, focusing on students’ and instructors’ perceptions of such tools to improve their writing skills.  

Mirella has been teaching languages for over 21 years, and has taught all over the world, including: Brazil, the USA, the UAE and China. She is passionate about language teaching and learning, as well as teacher training.