Denise Cloonan Cortez de Andersen is an Associate Professor of Spanish at Northeastern Illinois University. She currently teaches Applied Spanish Linguistics and Methods of Teaching Foreign Languages.. She earned a Ph.D. in Applied Linguistics from the University of Delaware. Professor Cloonan Cortez de Andersen is a heritage speaker of Spanish and has lived in Chile and Spain. She has published articles and book reviews and serves on the Editorial Review Board for two journals published by the International Reading Association.