María Rosa Brea
Clinical Associate Professor; Director, Bilingual Extension Program
Communicative Sciences and Disorders
212-998-5593
María R. Brea, Ph.D., CCC-SLP, is a Clinical Associate Professor and the Director of the Bilingual Extension Program in the Department of Communicative Sciences and Disorders. Dr. Brea joined NYU Steinhardt in Fall 2017. She graduated with an Interdisciplinary Ph.D. in Cognitive Neural Sciences and a minor in Language Science from the University of South Florida’s Department of Psychology. Prior to obtaining her doctorate, she practiced as a bilingual, certified Speech-Language Pathologist in school-based and pediatric settings and was employed as a Clinical Instructor responsible for training and supervising graduate students with varying levels of expertise.
Dr. Brea's dissertation investigated the interactions between Spanish-specific phonotactic patterns and nonword repetition performance in emerging bilingual children. More recent research collaborations have investigated discourse coherence and syntactic complexity in children with dyslexia, dysgraphia, and oral-written language learning disabilities. In general, Dr. Brea enjoys learning about multilingualism, multiliteracies, inclusive and culturally responsive pedagogy.
Dr. Brea has previously taught undergraduate and graduate courses in the domains of language development and disorders, multilingualism, and learning disabilities. Most of her courses involve high-impact practices (HIPs), including service-learning projects. As a result of her dedication to student learning through community service, Dr. Brea was selected as the recipient of the 2015 USF Provost’s Outstanding Community-Engaged Faculty award. In 2017, Dr. Brea was the recipient of Steinhardt's Star Faculty Award, given by the Graduate Student Organization. In 2020, Dr. Brea was awarded NYU's Martin Luther King, Jr. Faculty Award.
Selected Publications
- Dunn Davidson, M. D., & Brea-Spahn, M.R. (in preparation). Literacy in two languages. In B. Goldstein and B. Conboy (Eds.), Bilingual language developments and disorders in Spanish-English speakers (3rd Ed.). Baltimore, MD: Brookes Publishing.
- Brea, M. R., Frisch, S., & Bryant, J. (2020). Wordlikeness and nonword repetition in Spanish-speaking bilingual children. In Li Fangfang, K. Pollock, & R. Gibb, (Eds.), Research in child second language acquisition: Towards an integrated understanding. Amsterdam: John Benjamin Publishing.
- Silliman, E., Wilkinson, L., Brea, M.R. (2018). Writing the science register and multiple levels of language: Implications for English learners. In A. Bailey, C. Maher, & L. Wilkinson (Eds.), Language, Literacy, and Learning in the STEM Disciplines: How language counts for English Learners. Rutledge.
- Brea-Spahn, M., & Levey, S. (2017, 2nd Ed). Language development in middle and late childhood and adolescence. In S. Levey (Ed.), Introduction to language development (pp. 149-175). San Diego, CA: Plural Publishing.
- Brea-Spahn, M.R. (2014). Bilingual Children with Language Learning Disabilities: Convergence in Conceptual, Linguistic, and Cultural Circles of Knowledge. In C. A. Stone, E. R. Silliman, B. J. Ehren, & K. Apel (Eds.), Handbook of language and literacy: Development and disorders (pp. 359-378). (2nd Ed). New York, NY: Guilford.