Dr. Janice Dowd is a foreign language consultant who has worked in many countries around the world. She started her career as a French, Spanish, and ESL teacher and was later promoted to the position of Executive Supervisor for Instructional Programs in the Teaneck, New Jersey, Public Schools. She earned a Bachelor of Arts degree in Spanish and French from Marietta College, Marietta, Ohio; a Master of Arts Degree in Spanish from Columbia University; a Master of Education Degree in TESOL and Applied Linguistics from Columbia University; and a Doctorate in TESOL and Applied Linguistics from Columbia University. She has taught graduate courses at Queens College, CUNY, in New York City and at Teachers College, Columbia University, New York. Dr. Dowd’s research interests are in the field of second language acquisition and foreign language pedagogy. She is presently the director of the Glastonbury STARTALK program for Chinese and Russian teachers in Glastonbury, Connecticut, and has held that position since the inception of the program in 2007. From 2010-2012 she was the head writer and Project Coordinator of the Montclair Public Schools Chinese FLAP (Foreign Language Assistance Program) Grant, a competitive grant from the US Department of Education. Over the past 20 years, Dr. Dowd has worked closely with teachers of Chinese and has served as a curriculum consultant for the Chinese Language Association for Secondary-Elementary Schools (CLASS). In addition to writing numerous articles, Dr. Dowd has co-authored three books on the teaching of Chinese for American students entitled Step Up with Chinese. She has worked extensively with teachers at Beijing Language and Culture University and presented workshops at many conferences in the United States, China, Mexico, France, Greece, and the Netherlands.