Back to Faculty Listings

Print the Profile

Diplomas / Degrees

Ph.D., Fordham University (1999)
MSED (TESOL), Fordham University (1994)
BS/MS, Instituto de Ensenanza Superior Daguerre, Buenos Aires Argentina (1986)

Recent Courses

Applied Experience In Tesol
Assessment Considerations For E S L And Bilingual Populations
Instruction And Assessment In Spanish Language Education
Methods & Materials In Bilingual Eduucation: Content Area Considerations
Methods Of Teaching Literacy & Native Language Arts In The Bilingual Classroom
Practicum In Tesol For Teachers Certified In Other Areas
School And Society
Sociolinguistic Perspectives In Adolescence Education
Special Methods And Materials Of Spanish Language Instruction
Student Teaching In Tesol: Pre-Certification

Personal Statement

The field of TESOL (Teaching English as a second language) is a fascinating one. It took me a long time to move from a level of ethnocentrism to cultural relativity. I am still learning and I share all the experiences of having lived, worked and studied abroad with my students. My challenging phrase to my students is always: "Lift it off the page and make it work". Theory is important but it needs to be connected with practice as well. I try to create an environment where students feel safe to experiment with new ideas, strategies, and methods.

Teaching Specializations / Interests

My interests revolve around traveling and seeing the world. I am constantly on a plane and immersing myself in a variety of languages (I speak five) and cultures. I gather as much as I can and upon returning to the US, I share it all with the students and my colleagues.

Research Interests

Summer, 2005, Volume I issue five. Putting research to work: Practical strategies for Georgia's Adult educators. "Culture Shock and Language stress of Latina ESL students".

October 2004
Conocimiento y Direccion (C&D) October 2004
“Ajustes Culturales”
Ejecutivo en Viaje (EEUU) (pp.94-97).


2004-2005 (in press). "Promoting Academic Success through Dual Language Programs". Bastos Educational Books.

(2003-2004, Volume 2, Number 1). PERSPECTIVES. The New York Journal of Adult Learning Adult ESL in Higher Education: Balancing Academic Learning, Speech Science and English Language Arts, (p. 4-17).

Winter, 2004, Volume 3, No. 1). Journal of Hispanic Higher Education. Second Language Acquisition, Culture Shock, and Language Stress of Adult Female Latina Students in New York. (p. 21-49).

(Winter, 2004, Volume 2, Number 1). Perspectives: The New York Journal of Adult Learning. "Adult ESL in Higher Education: Balancing Academic Learning, Speech Science and English Language Arts" (p. 4).

(Spring, 2003, Volume 9, No. 2 ) Reflections: Narratives of Professional Helping.
"Integrating Electronic Mail in the Speech Classroom" (p. 50-61)

(Spring, 2003, Volume 33, No. 1). New York State Teachers of English to Speakers of Other Languages.
Idiom. "Motivating Second Language Students" (p. 4-9).


(Winter, 2002, Volume 31, No. 4) New York State Teachers of English to Speakers of Other Languages. Idiom. "Connecting: Integrating Speech in the Electronic Classroom" p. 4.)

(Spring, 2002, Volume 8, No. 1). The Community College Enterprise. A Journal of Research and Practice. "Second Language Learning And Language Arts" p. 81)

(Spring, 2002, Volume 32, No. 1) New York State Teachers of English to Speakers of Other Languages. Idiom. "A Disheartening Label for Female Hispanics: Girls Most Likely to Secede" (p.6)


(Summer 2001, Volume XVII). Community Review
Maintaining an Awareness of Multiculturalism in the Multilingual/Multiethnic Classroom at the College Level

Fall 2001. ENLACE Newsletter. "Female Latina Students Seceding" (p.6)

(Winter 2001, Volume 30, No. 1). New York State Association for Supervision and Curriculum Development (ASCD) Impact for Instructional Improvement
“Preparing Mainstream Teachers to Work with English Language Learners”

(Spring 2001, Volume 11, No. 1). Adult Basic Education . “Understanding Adult ESL Learners: Multiple Dimensions of Learning and Adjustments among Hispanic Women

Spring, 1999, ENLACE Newsletter. “El Castellano: Lengua Preciosa”, (p.3).


(March, 1999). Proceedings of the Pennsylvania Adult and Continuing Education Research Conference. “Cultural, Linguistic and Educational Adjustments of Adult Hispanic ESL Women in New York”. Harrisburg, PA.

Grants / Sponsored Research

PSC CUNY Research Award Program 2001 - 2002. "Cultural, Linguistic and Educational Adjustments of Adult ESL Hispanic Women in New York"

Conference Presentations and Papers

Showing first 5 of 25. View All

Buttaro (02 April 2006). Myths and misconceptions of duallanguage programs. New York State Association for Bilingual Education, Huntington Hilton, 15

Buttaro (23 March 2006). Experiencing the power of dual language as it should be. CSETL (Center for the study of expertise in teaching and learning, Hilton Rye Town, 10

Buttaro (02 December 2005). The State of the world's languages. Fourth Worldwide Forum on education and culture, Universita Giovanni Caboto, Roma Italia, 15

Buttaro (19 November 2005). Promoting academic success through dual language programs. third worldwide forum on education and culture, Universita Giovanni Caboto, Roma Italia, 9

Buttaro (17 November 2005). Enhancing mainstream classrooms for English language learners. TESOL, Yonkers, New York, 14

Other Scholarly / Artistic Work

Academic Pairing for English Language Learning

Honors and Accomplishments

University of New England
Academic Scholars Exchange Program in Asia and Africa
One of ten U.S.A. Delegates to teach at Beijing Union University
Teacher Training
Academic Scholar
May - June 2005

Community and Corporate Leadership

Region I: PS 130

Region II:

IS 191
CS 234
IS 98

Yonkers Public Schools:
Cedar Place
De Hostos Elementary
Dodson Elementary
Emerson Junior High School
Fermi Elementary School
Roosevelt High School
Lincoln High School

Long Island Schools:

Drexel Elementary School
Westbury Middled School
Westbury High School

On site teacher training at the above schools, workshops on ESL/Multiculturalism

Licenses & Certifications

New York State Licence and Certificate in TESOL granted in 1995