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Solange Lira

Professor Emerita

Faculty Solange Lira

Until her retirement in 2015, Solange de Azambuja Lira was director of English Language Learning programs in the Graduate School of Education, and oversaw the development of Lesley University TESOL and Bilingual Education programs. Her teaching at Lesley was focused on the education of bilingual learners and how to how to teach English as a new language with the understanding that the maintenance and development of the first language is essential to the students’ achievement and well being. A teacher educator for more than thirty years in Brazil and the USA, she is also an expert on professional development for K-12 teachers and has provided professional development for many Massachusetts school districts. Professor Lira is a native speaker of Brazilian Portuguese and proficient in Spanish and French.

Education

BA, Federal University of Rio de Janeiro
MA, University of Delaware
PhD, University of Pennsylvania 

Selected Publications

  • Ribeiro, B. T., Lira, S.A. and Jouët-Pastré, C. (2012). Found in interpretation: The role of Brazilian medical interpreters in mediated medical encounters. Publicação das Atas do Simpósio Internacional sobre Direitos Humanos e Qualidade de Vida nas Comunidades falantes de português nos EUA e Canadá.
  • Lira, S with Serpa, M.L. (2011). Portuguese as heritage language in public and private K- 12 schools in Massachusetts. The Portuguese Language Journal. Volume 5, Fall.
  • Ribeiro, B., C. Jouët-Pastré, M. Guimaraes and S. de A. Lira. (2008). Brazilian immigrant women: The concept of time and conflicting expectations in clinical settings In Jouët-Pastré and Braga (eds), Becoming Brazuca: Brazilian immigration to the US. Harvard University Press (DRCLAS Series).

Selected Presentations

  • 2013. Latino Narratives of Health and Illness: the interlace of three voices from the Brazilian Community with Dr. Branca Telles Ribeiro. 24th Portuguese Language and Cultures Conference. Lesley University. April 2013.
  • 2013. Sheltered English Immersion in Your Math Class and the Mathematics Achievement Gap in Massachusetts. What it is Now and How it Will Impact You and your Classroom. With Dr. Sharyn Boornazian. Feature Speakers of the Association of Math Teachers of Massachusetts 2013 Winter Conference. Boston College.
  • 2012 Critical Issues in the Assessment of English Language Learners Suspected of Having a Disability. Webinar presented with Professor Maria de Lourdes Serpa, January 31, 2012. Graduate School of Education-Lesley University.
  • 2011 Educating Teachers of Immigrant Children: A Cross-Cultural Study between Boston and Rome. 10th Annual Worldwide Forum on Education and Culture. Rome, Italy. December 01, with Dr. Deana Bardetti
  • 2011 Necessidades educativas especiais. O que as familias precisam saber. (For Portuguese Speaking Families) (Children with Special Needs. What Families Must Know). (with M. Serpa) Federation for Children with Special Needs Conference. Seaport World Trade Center, Boston, MA.
  • 2011 Found in Interpretation: The Role of Brazilian Medical Interpreters in Mediated Medical Encounters with Dr. Branca Telles Ribeiro (Lesley University) International Symposium on Human Rights and Quality of Life in The Portuguese Communities in The United States and Canada November 9-10, 2011. Cambridge, Massachusetts.
  • 2010 An analysis of Communicative Styles of Brazilian Healthcare Providers in US Healthcare Settings. 8th Interdisciplinary Conference on Communication, Medicine and Ethics(COMET) (with B. Ribeiro) at Boston University on June 28, 2010.
  • 2010 Linguistic, Communicative and Cultural Barriers in Narratives of Brazilian Immigrant Women in Healthcare Settings. (with B. Ribeiro)The Sixth International Gender and Language. Association Conference, IGALA 6 in Tokyo, Tsuda College on September 18, 2010.