• Ph.D., University of Arizona, Linguistics, 1996
• M.A., Linguistics, University of Arizona
• Diplomatura, Universidad de Granada, Spain

Dr. Pilar Piñar is an Associate Professor of Spanish and the Spanish Program Coordinator at Gallaudet University's Department of Foreign Languages, Literatures and Cultures.

Dr. Piñar received her Ph. D. in linguistics from the University of Arizona in 1996. She joined the department of Foreign Languages at Gallaudet University in 1997 and is currently associate professor. Her main research interests are second language acquisition (with a focus on deaf learners), language processing and literacy, and gesture and sign language research. She is an affiliated researcher with the Center for Language Science at the Pennsylvania State University http://www.lsrg.psu.edu and the Visual Language and Visual Learning science of learning center at Gallaudet University http://vl2.gallaudet.edu.

She has also developed materials for foreign language teaching, including a textbook/DVD published by Yale University Press, and directs the Gallaudet University Spanish Sign Language study abroad program in Spain.

General linguistics; second language acquisition; gesture and sign language