Sara Sáez-Fajardo holds a PhD in Hispanic Linguistics with a focus on Second Language Acquisition and Teacher Education (SLATE) from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign (2023) and a Master's in Teaching Spanish as a Foreign Language from the Universidad de Salamanca (2017).
She has taught and coordinated Spanish language and linguistics courses at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign (2018-2023) and taught Spanish courses at Brown University (2017-2018). Additionally, she has developed tests for DELE and SIELE and recently created proficiency tests in English and Spanish for a state-funded program for Illinois public school interpreters.
Her research interests include language teaching and assessment for heritage and second language learners, focusing on equitable practices for both groups. She has conducted studies on proficiency testing and the language learning strategies of multilinguals, and plans to pursue research on task-based language teaching and computer-assisted language learning.