Holly Hansen-Thomas, Ph.D.

Assistant Professor 
Department of Teacher Education
Program Area:
Bilingual and ESL Education  

Professional Preparation:

Ph.D. Culture, Literacy, and Language
University of Texas at San Antonio

M.A. Bicultural/Bilingual Studies with a concentration in English as a Second Language (ESL)
University of Texas at San Antonio

B.A. Art History
University of Texas at Austin

Profile

Holly Hansen-Thomas is a native Texan who is proud to be serving the students and teachers of her home state. She has taught for nearly 19 years in public schools, private language institutions, colleges, and universities in Texas, New York, and the international community, and holds lifetime Texas teaching certification in English, English as a Second Language (ESL), Spanish, and Bilingual Education. Dr. Hansen-Thomas’ teaching and research has taken her to many interesting places. A former Fulbright Scholar, Dr. Hansen-Thomas taught and studied in Budapest, Hungary, and has also taught English as a Foreign Language (EFL)/ESL in Barcelona, Spain, and Dresden, Germany, in addition to various locations in the U.S.

Dr. Hansen-Thomas’ scholarly work deals with issues of second language learners’ teaching and learning in school. Her record of publishing includes peer-reviewed articles in national and international academic journals, book chapters, and pedagogical writings, among others. She has recently published a book which examines how middle school Latino English Language Learners (ELLs) learn content and language in reform-oriented mathematics classes. Her current research interests examine how adolescent ELLs develop academic language and content knowledge in the content areas, with particular emphasis on math and science. She is dedicated to helping mainstream content-area specialists find the best ways to teach the ELLs in their classrooms. To this end, Dr. Hansen-Thomas enjoys her role as co-director on TWU’s Department of Education/Office of English Language Education grant, ACCELERATE, which serves to train mainstream secondary level teachers to better work with ELLs.

Dr. Hansen-Thomas is an active member of international, national, and local educational organizations including AERA, TESOL, NABE, and TABE. She also serves as co-adviser of TWU’s BESO (Bilingual Education Students Organization), a student organization that has recently experienced tremendous success in growing membership, fostering community relationships, and winning a number of Redbud Awards.