M. Theresa Centeno Savella

Senior Lecturer

Maria Theresa Savella, an ABD (linguistics at Cornell), teaches all levels of Tagalog/Filipino since 2002.

Co-leader of the Filipino Oral Proficiency Guidelines Projects (OPG) 1 and 2 - funded by a federal grant through the Center for Southeast Asian Studies, University of Wisconsin-Madison, a LUCE Foundation grant through the Southeast Asian Language Council, and in collaboration with other Filipino instructors in nineteen universities in the U.S. The final drafts of these guidelines were completed in 2017 and 2020, respectively. The collaborative nature of the implementation of these projects was given priority to ensure broader acceptance of the Filipino OPG, mainly because of its centrality in assessment and curriculum design.
Course packets of pedagogical materials developed over the years for various levels. These are updated periodically, as needed.
Certified Tester, ACTFL-ILR Tester Certification since February 2013 and ACTFL for SOBl certification since January 2020.
Co-author with John U. Wolff and Der-Hwa Rau: Filipino Through Self-Instruction (1991, revised 2005), a four-volume textbook that contains sufficient teaching materials for four semesters of semi-intensive Tagalog instruction from the beginning to the intermediate level. This is currently used as a grammar reference for first- and second-year courses.
Co-compiler with John U. Wolff: reading materials in a Tagalog/Filipino Reader for the intermediate and advanced levels.