Birmingham, Alabama, native Tiffany Robayna received her BS degree in Spanish Education from Anderson University.  She then taught high school Spanish for 13 years in Virginia, Indiana, Alabama and Florida. While she was in Alabama, she earned a master’s degree in Teaching Languages with a dual emphasis in Spanish and ESL from the University of Southern Mississippi. She earned a PhD in Spanish Linguistics and Second Language Acquisition from Florida State University. She taught there and at Auburn University before coming to Samford. Her research interests include Second Language Acquisition, Computer Assisted Language Learning, Processing Instruction, Code-switching and Bilingualism.

Robayna has also spent time on the mission field.  She was a church planter in Madrid, Spain, working with the ESL ministry there and teaching ESL in an after-school program for elementary and middle school aged children. She has traveled to Ecuador on medical mission trips, Costa Rica to partner with and assist churches, Honduras to provide hurricane relief to schools, and  The Dominican Republic, where she taught ESL for several months, Hungary to serve in sports mission camps and Venezuela to visit family. She is involved with Hispanic ministries across the state of Alabama. She and her husband have planted several Hispanic churches and started Hispanic ministries during their time together. They are currently raising their two children, Senia and Eli, to be bilingual and to have a passion for the Lord. The family loves to travel the world and learn from other cultures.

Degrees

PhD, Spanish Linguistics, Florida State University
MA, Teaching Languages, University of Southern Mississippi
BS, Spanish Education, Anderson University