Ph.D. in Linguistics (1991) U North Carolina-Chapel Hill
M.A. in Linguistics (1987) U North Carolina-Chapel Hill
B.A. in Spanish (1983) U Southern Mississippi

I began my study of Spanish in high school, and a study abroad scholarship in college took me to Madrid, Spain, where my life-long passion for Iberian culture began. Since that first trip in 1981, I have studied or worked in Salamanca, Seville, Segovia, Granada, and Huelva (also Marseille, France, and Rome, Italy), and I have travelled to every corner of the Iberian peninsula. I speak Spanish and French and continue to learn Portuguese, Catalan, and Italian.

After completing a BA in Spanish literature, I studied linguistics at the graduate level, and here at UO I teach Spanish and Romance linguistics courses. My position as Director of Language Instruction led me to work on issues in language program direction, teaching methodologies, and teacher training, and my research since coming to UO has centered on content-based instruction, using technology in L2 teaching, teaching culture, and second-language assessment. I have co-authored several textbooks used nationally for beginning and advanced language study, as well as articles in the research areas above.

From 2009 to 2014, I was the director of the Middlebury at Mills Spanish School (at Mills College, Oakland CA), a language immersion program of the Middlebury Language Schools.

SPAN 150 The Spanish-speaking World
SPAN 238 Spanish Around the World
SPAN 322 Introduction to Hispanic Linguistics
SPAN 324 Spanish Phonetics
SPAN 420/520* Spanish Dialectology
SPAN 420/520* Advanced Grammar of Spanish
SPAN 420/520* The Languages of Iberia
SPAN 420/520* El léxico del español
SPAN 424/524* History of Spanish Language
RL 407/507* Romance Linguistics
RL 636 Teaching and Learning Romance Languages

*These graduate courses may count for any period of the M.A. degree, depending on the topic of the final project, and with the advisor's approval.

Books / Instructional materials

• Mar, A., R.L. Davis, M. Sloan, and G. Watson-López (first edition 2016, second edition 2026) EntreCulturas: Communicate, Explore, and Connect Across Cultures (Book 1). Freeport ME: Wayside Publishing.
• Ramos, A. and R.L. Davis (2008) Portafolio. McGraw Hill.
• Curland, D., R. L. Davis, and L. Verano (2005) Hispanidades: España, La primera hispanidad. McGraw Hill.
• Curland, D., R. L. Davis, F. Lomelí (2005) Hispanidades: Latinoamérica y los Estados Unidos. McGraw Hill.
• Davis, R. L., J. Siskin and A. Ramos (2000, second edition 2004) Entrevistas: An Introduction to Language and Culture. San Francisco: McGraw Hill.
• Davis, R. L. (1996) Testing Program for Fuentes, Intermediate Spanish Program. Boston: Houghton Mifflin and Co.
• Davis, R. L. and M. Losada (1995, second edition 2001) Tertulia: Advanced Conversation Skills in Spanish. Heinle and Heinle (Cengage).

Articles/Chapters

• Holguín Mendoza, Claudia, R.L. Davis, J. Weise (2018) La pedagogía crítica y las ciencias sociales: Estrategias para empoderar a estudiantes de español como lengua de herencia y de segunda lengua. Hispania 101 (3), 368-380.
• Hardwick, S. and R.L. Davis (2009) Content-Based Language Instruction: A New Window of Opportunity in Geography Education. Journal of Geography 108 (4-5):163-173.
• Davis, R. L. (2007) MOSAIC: Content-based Instruction in Spanish. In C. Falsgraf (ed.), NETS•S Curriculum Series: Second Language Units for Grades 9–12. Eugene, OR: International Society for Technology in Education, pp. 61-105.
• Davis, R. L. (1997) Group Work is NOT Busy Work: Maximizing Success in Group and Pair Activities in the L2 Classroom. Foreign Language Annals 30 (2), 265-279.
• Siskin, J., M. Knowles and R. L. Davis (1996) “Le français est mort; vive le français!” Rethinking the function of French. 35-69 in J. Liskin-Gasparro (ed.), Patterns and Policies: The Changing Demographics of Foreign Language Instruction, American Association of University Supervisors and Coordinators (AAUSC) Issues in Language Program Direction, A Series of Annual Volumes. Boston: Heinle & Heinle.
• Siskin, J. and R. L. Davis (1996) Authentic Documents Revisited: Teaching for Cross-cultural understanding. 1-18 in E. Spinelli (ed.), Creating Opportunities for Excellence Through Language Teaching, Report of Central States Conference. Lincolnwood IL: National Textbook Company.
• Davis, R. L. and J. Siskin (1994) “I Can’t Get Them to Talk”: Task Content and Sequencing in the Advanced Conversation Class. 39-53 in G. Crouse (ed.), Meeting New Challenges in the Foreign Language Classroom, Report of Central States Conference. Lincolnwood IL: National Textbook Company.
• Davis, R. L. and J. Turner (1993) After the Classroom Visit: A Model for the Training of Peer Supervisors. 201-222 in D. Benseler (ed.), The Dynamics of Language Program Direction, American Association of University Supervisors and Coordinators (AAUSC) Issues in Language Program Direction, A Series of Annual Volumes. Boston: Heinle & Heinle.

Technology

• Davis, R. L. (2005) (editor and project co-director) MOSAIC: Linking Languages and Content.http://casls.uoregon.edu/mosaic.
• Davis, R. L., (ed.) (2003) Classpak: On-line tools for teachers of Spanish. (http://teacher.classpak.net). Eugene, OR: Language Learning Solutions.
• Davis, R. L. (2003) Reading Lesson Builder (in ClassPak, http://teacher.classpak.net). Eugene, OR: Language Learning Solutions.
• Davis, R. L., J. Siskin and A. Ramos (2000) Interactive CD-ROM to accompany Entrevistas: Introduction to Culture and Language in Spanish. San Francisco: McGraw Hill.

Ray Verzasconi Award for Contribution to the Profession (2007), Confederation in Oregon for Language Teaching (COFLT)
Williams Fellow, University of Oregon (2006-2007)
Exemplary TA training program (with H. Jay Siskin, UO Romance Languages). A description of our TA training program appeared in a volume entitled Preparing Graduate Students for Teaching, American Association of Higher Education (1993)