Verónica Moraga Guerra, a native of Hermosillo, Sonora, Mexico, earned her bachelor's degree from the Instituto Tecnológico y de Estudios Superiores de Monterrey and a master's degree in Social Service Administration from the University of Chicago.
Passionate about language acquisition and intercultural engagement, Verónica is committed to fostering meaningful connections both inside and outside the classroom. She is the founder and director of El Cafecito, a program that promotes cultural exchange between the Latine community and the University of Chicago community. In recognition of her contributions to diversity and inclusion, the University of Chicago honored her with the 2026 Diversity Leadership Award.
Her teaching and research interests center on the design and teaching of Language for Specific Purposes (LSP) courses. She developed Latinx and Spanish Language for Social Workers for the Crown Family School of Social Work, Policy, and Practice, a course designed to equip future social workers with the linguistic and cultural competencies needed to engage effectively with diverse Spanish-speaking communities. She also co-designed Advanced Spanish through Latin American Food Culture, an advanced language course that explores Latin American cultures through food, identity, and social issues.
In addition to her teaching, Verónica is co-organizer of the Feria del Libro en Chicago in collaboration with EL BEISMAN, an independent Spanish-language literary organization dedicated to promoting Hispanic literature and culture in Chicago.
Journal articles:
2021 “Backward Design for LSP: Domain Analysis as a Consistent Research Framework for a Necessarily Decentralized Field”, Global Business Languages Journal, vol. 21, pp. 71-91. Co-author.
https://gbl.digital.library.gwu.edu/articles/volume_21/10_4079_gbl_v21_5.pdf
Recent Courses in RLL
- SPAN 10100 Beginning Elementary Spanish I (Autumn 2020)
- SPAN 10200 Beginning Elementary Spanish II (Autumn 2017, Winter 2021, Winter 2022, Autumn 2022, Winter 2025)
- SPAN 10300 Beginning Elementary Spanish III (Autumn 2016, Winter 2017, Spring 2017, Winter 2018, Winter 2026)
- SPAN 10402 Heritage Spanish: Developing Foundational Skills (Autumn 2023)
- SPAN 12002 Intensive Spanish II (Winter 2021)
- SPAN 12003 Intensive Spanish III (Spring 2023, Spring 2024)
- SPAN 20100 Language, History, and Culture I (Autumn 2016, Spring 2018, Autumn 2018, Autumn 2019)
- SPAN 20102 Language, History, and Culture for Heritage Speakers I (Spring 2021)
- SPAN 20200 Language, History, and Culture II (Spring 2018, Winter 2019, Spring 2019, Winter 2020, Autumn 2021)
- SPAN 20300 Language, History, and Culture III (Winter 2017, Winter 2020, Spring 2020, Spring 2021, Winter 2022, Winter 2023, Winter 2024, Spring 2024, Spring 2025, Autumn 2025, Spring 2026)
- SPAN 20302 Language, History, and Culture for Heritage Speakers II/III (Spring 2019, Spring 2020, Autumn 2021, Autumn 2022, Autumn 2024)
- SPAN 20306 Latinx and Spanish Language for Social Workers (Spring 2025, Spring 2026)
- SPAN 20400 Composición y conversación avanzada I (Autumn 2017, Winter 2018)
- SPAN 20402 Curso de redacción para hablantes nativos (Autumn 2023, Winter 2026)
- SPAN 20702 Advanced Spanish through Latin American Food Culture (Autumn 2024)