Peggy Batty
MA, Spanish, Northern Illinois University
BA, Northern Illinois University, Spanish Business and Translation
Hola. My name is Peggy Batty. My first experience at NIU was when I came to campus in 1980 as an undergraduate student majoring in Spanish Business and Translation. Many years later, I returned to NIU as a student at large to obtain my Illinois Teacher Certification, and a few years later I began coursework to obtain my MA in Spanish. I began teaching Spanish full time here in the fall of 2005, and with each semester I enjoy it even more! During the last few years I have also become involved with our Teacher Certification program, serving as a University Supervisor for Foreign Language Teacher Development, and most recently teaching one of our Methods courses.
I was introduced to Spanish as a freshman in high school, and have been fascinated with it ever since. I can still remember sitting in one of my high school classes, watching the clock and waiting for that class to end, not so I could get out of school but rather so I could hurry off to my Spanish class! I knew then that I wanted to be a Spanish teacher; however, more than twenty years passed before I finally became one. My first teaching job was at Wredling Middle School in St. Charles, IL, where I taught for six years before moving on to college teaching, first part-time at Benedictine University in Lisle, IL, and now at NIU. I love teaching and find it truly gratifying when students learn to love the Spanish language and Hispanic culture.
Aside from teaching at NIU, I do free-lance interpretation and translation for area school districts and government agencies. In early 2012, my NIU colleague Concepción Gliesman and I finished translating a 287-page book into Spanish! Concepción and I have also traveled to the state of Guerrero, Mexico, to serve as volunteer interpreters for a not-for-profit organization called The Mission of Healing Eyes (see link below). Twice a year a group of eye surgeons from the Denver, Colorado, area travel to Mexico to perform free cataract surgery for those who otherwise could not afford it. I consider myself truly lucky and blessed to be able to use my language skills to help others be able to see.
In addition, I am a member of the advisory board of Cuenta Conmigo, a part of Fox Valley Volunteer Hospice, which provides hospice services for the Spanish-speaking community of Fox Valley. Finally, I travel to Cincinnati, Ohio, each June to grade the College Board’s Advanced Placement Tests.
Recent Publications
10 Basic Units for Middle School Spanish. Teacher's Discovery, Inc., 2005.
Spanish for the Nutrition Professional. American Dietetic Association, 2005.
10 Basic Units for Middle School French. Translated by Becky Iacopetti. Teacher's Discovery, Inc., 2007.
Career Choices (Spanish translation), Academic Innovations, 2012.
Links
E-mail Peggy Batty
Watson Hall 114
(815) 753-6449