Maria Shahid

Author Maria served the Butte Community College for thirty-four years and sixteen years at the University of CSU-Chico as a Spanish Instructor for the Foreign Language Dept., working directly with students. She has a Master of Arts degree in Spanish, Masters in Information and Communication Studies, Masters in Journalism, and a minor in Italian from Instituto Pro-Educación de Latinoamérica. She has also lived in Chico since 1983 and has been a community volunteer since then. In this position, Maria felt great rewards. She has enhanced students’ listening comprehension, writing, and speaking skills while taking her classes. Maria believes that by bringing her culture and native experience into her classes, the students learn to respect and appreciate the Hispanic culture.

Currently, Author Maria Shahid published her first book, “Quiero Aprender! I Want To Learn.” This book is her work of 32 years of teaching Spanish in an institution in California. Even though Maria continues teaching, she wanted to write a book that can be a tool for those searching for a book that has been written by a native speaker who had to come to the United States and also as they had to go through the learning process by learning English as a second language.

By learning a foreign language, Maria believes anyone can sharpen their critical thinking and broaden their perspectives about the world. The book “Quiero Aprender! I Want To Learn” opens one’s mind to new cultures and ways of thinking. It gives you a chance to consider foreign cultures against their own values and traditions and gives them a more profound respect for their multi-faceted world.

Through language learning, people are exposed to different aesthetics, cuisines, philosophies, politics, histories, and traditions. This has been Author Maria Shahid’s case. All this classroom learning naturally becomes the catalyst for anyone to travel and study abroad to further enhance their international education through seeing and experiencing foreign cultures.