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Mónica Rodríguez-Castro
Associate Professor, Spanish and Translation Studies

Overview

Mónica Rodríguez-Castro, Ph.D, is an Associate Professor in the Department of Languages and Culture Studies at The University of North Carolina at Charlotte. Prior to joining UNC-Charlotte, Dr. Rodríguez-Castro was an Assistant Professor at University of Louisville (KY). She teaches specialized translation practice (Scientific, Technical, Medical, Legal Translation), computer-assisted-translation tools and project management. She has also taught courses on language for specific purposes, Hispanic linguistics as well as Spanish cultural studies. Her primary research interests include empirical studies in translator satisfaction, translation pedagogy, corpus linguistics, text-based linguistics and English<>Spanish contrastive linguistics. She has been awarded an internal faculty grant at UNC-Charlotte to pursue research studies in machine translation and post-editing. She is involved in multiple community projects involving the Latino community in the US and attempts to enhance an active scholarship of engagement.  She has worked as a professional translator and interpreter and is involved in creating new partnerships that aim at enhancing students’ learning experiences. She has been elected assistant administrator for the Educators Division at the American Translators Association. In 2012, she was awarded the Victor A. Olorunsola Endowed Research Award for Young Scholars at the University of Louisville.

Educational Background

  • Ph.D. 2011 – Kent State University (OH)
  • M.A. 2007 – University of Wisconsin – Milwaukee (WI)
  • B.S. 2004 – Universidade de Vigo (Spain)

Research Interests

  • Empirical research (modeling, experimental design, new research methodologies, etc.)
  • Translator Training (mentoring, curriculum development, task-based approaches to translator training)
  • Corpus linguistics and text-based linguistics
  • Translator Satisfaction (Task, Job and Professional contexts)
  • Post-editing and machine translation
  • Scholarship of engagement – New Latino South

 Teaching Areas

  • Legal, Government & Diplomatic Translation
  • Scientific and Technical translation
  • Medical Translation
  • Computer-Assisted-Translation Tools
  • Post-editing
  • Translation Project Management
  • Spanish for Health Care Professionals
  • Cultural and Literary Perspectives on Modern Spain
  • Spanish for the Workplace and the Community
  • Spanish for Business Professionals
  • Advanced Communication Skills (Oral, Written)

Courses Taught

Undergraduate

  • SPAN/TRAN 4442 Practicum in Translating: Legal & Commercial Translation, English<>Spanish
  • SPAN/TRAN 4443 Practicum in Translating: Medical Translation, English<>Spanish
  • SPAN/TRAN 4444 Advanced Practicum in Translating: Consumer-oriented Texts, English<>Spanish

Graduate

  • TRAN 6474 Medical, Scientific and Technical Translation, English<>Spanish
  • TRAN 6472 Diplomatic, Legal & Commercial Translation, English<>Spanish
  • TRAN 6603: Computer-assisted Translating
  • TRAN 6604: Translation Project Management
  • TRAN 6480: Translation Internship

Honors & Awards

  • 2023, Faculty Research Grant, University of North Carolina at Charlotte, PI.
  • 2019-2021, Scholarship of Teaching and Learning (SoTL), University of North Carolina at Charlotte,  Principal Investigator.
  • 2015-2018, Spanish Film Club Grant, University of North Carolina at Charlotte.
  • 2014, Faculty Research Grant, University of North Carolina at Charlotte, Co-PI.
  • 2014, Spanish Film Club Grant, University of North Carolina at Charlotte, Co-PI.
  • 2012, Victor A. Olorunsola Endowed Research Award for Young Scholars, University of Louisville.
  • 2009, Center for Translation Studies (CETRA Alumni), Katholieke Universiteit Leuven, Belgium, August 27.
  • 2004, Certified/Sworn Translator (Traductora jurada) by the Spanish Foreign Affairs Office, Madrid, Spain.

Research Projects

  • 2023-2024, A Corpus-based Discourse Study of Mental Health Representations: Linguistic Choices in Colombian and Spanish News Outlets with Drs. David García León and Javier García León.
  • 2021-present, Job Task Analysis (PI), collaboration with American Association of Translators and Interpreters in Education (AAITE).

Ball, J., Rodríguez-Castro, M., Senatore, H., Siebach, G., Silvestri, H., & Villalobos-Russell, M. (2023, March). What employers are looking for: A nationwide job description analysis for translators and interpreters in educational settings. American Association of Translators and Interpreters in Education (AAITE), 1st edition, 1-49. https://www.aaite.org/

  • 2019-2021, Scholarship of Teaching: Partially Flipped Classroom (PFC) for Online Writing-intensive Courses: Learning Outcomes and Student Perceptions using Direct and Indirect Assessment, Collaborating with Dr. Paloma Fernández Sánchez. 
  • 2014-present, Scholarship of Engagement: Empowering the Latino Community, Collaborating with Dr. Spencer Salas (ADVANCE mentor).
  • 2014-2017, The Effects of Technology on Spanish-English Translation Processes and Products, Collaborating with Dr. Jeff Killman (PI).
  • 2011-present, Empirical and theoretical scholarship on Translator Satisfaction, In-house Translators vs. Freelancers; Novice vs. Expert work behavior.
  • 2013-2021, Modeling language use from corpus-based empirical studies. Currently studying ‘se’ structures in Spanish discourse.
  • 2012-2016, Empirical studies on L2 Spanish articulatory phonetics, Collaborating with Dr. Lisa Wagner (PI), Andre Zampaulo (Co-PI).

Professional Affiliations

  • American Translators Association (ATA)
  • Modern Language Association (MLA)
  • American Translation and Interpreting Studies Association (ATISA)
  • Carolina Association of Translators and Interpreters (CATI)
  • Canadian Association for Translation Studies (CATS)
  • International Association for Translation and Intercultural Studies (IATIS)

Service

  • 2021-present, Elected Vice President, Board, CATI (Carolina Association of Translators and Interpreters).
  • 2022-present, Elected Committee Member, Committees of the Faculty Council: Grievance.
  • 2014-present, faculty mentor, student internships, school, community, legal & health care settings.
  • 2020-2023, Graduate Program Director, Department of Languages and Culture Studies.
  • 2020-2023, Chair, FITSAC (Faculty Information and Technology Services Advisory Committee).
  • 2019-2021, Elected Director (NC), Board, CATI (Carolina Association of Translators and Interpreters).
  • 2014-2019, Elected Assistant Administrator, Educators Division, American Translators Association.
  • 2014-2019, faculty advisor, department liaison for engagement in the Hispanic and Latino community.
  • 2014, Committee Member, CLAS Research Advisory Committee.
  • 2014-present, serving in MA Thesis and Dissertation committees.