Master Lecturer in Spanish
Above all else Sue Griffin loves teaching and learning and considers the two activities to be inextricably intertwined. The COVID pandemic pushed Sue to explore new teaching techniques while teaching remotely and, in doing so, she had the satisfaction of learning many new skills. Along with her colleague Alison Carberry Gottlieb, Sue served as a Learn from Anywhere (LfA) Coach to guide faculty in Romance Studies and the African Studies Center through the challenges of remote and hi-flex teaching during the pandemic. In May of 2021 Alison and Sue were recognized as coaches whose contributions made a significant impact on the teaching experiences of colleagues in Fall 2020 and/or Spring 2021 and jointly received a LfA Creativity & Spirit Faculty Coach Award.
Sue first encountered Spanish fresh out of high school when, as an exchange student, she spent a year living with a family in A Coruña, Spain. Having fallen in love with both the language and culture, Sue returned to South Africa and continued her studies at the University of KwaZulu Natal, where she earned an MA in Spanish. The experience of living in an entirely Spanish-speaking environment for a year and then later studying the language in a more formal setting has positively informed many of the eclectic approaches Sue employs when teaching.
At BU Sue teaches a variety of Spanish-language courses, from elementary, through intermediate, to more advanced topics courses. These topics include “Other Worlds: from Science Fiction, through Fantasy, to Magic Realism” and “La Road Movie” which examines how films from Hispanic countries portray these quests for change. Students learn to analyze both socio-economic and cinematographic elements of each film. Sue is also part of a team of colleagues who teach the 3-semester pedagogy course to graduate students in Romance Studies who will be teaching French and Spanish for the department.
Sue served as the Overall Coordinator of the Spanish Language Program for many years and currently coordinates first-semester (elementary) Spanish. In addition to these two roles, Sue served as the Overall Coordinator for the Chinese Language Program in academic year 2013/14 (accompanied by a crash course in Mandarin!) More recently Sue has done a stint as Acting Assistant Dean and Director of Language Instruction (Spring 2020) and moving forward will be one of two Language Liaisons, working with CAS Advising and various departments to advise students on their options for meeting the CAS Language Requirement.
Sue was awarded the CAS Neu Award for Excellence in Teaching in 2008. In 2014 she was a finalist for the university-wide Metcalf Award for Teaching. Sue constantly pushes herself to be a better teacher, attending and presenting at regional and national conferences on language teaching and teaching with technology. She is currently creating activities to supersede the need for a commercial textbook or platform in First-Semester Spanish (LS111).
To relax, Sue enjoys gardening and kayaking, both activities that facilitate communing with nature.