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Faculty of Education and Language Studies > People Profiles > Concha Furnborough

Concha Furnborough

Lecturer (Spanish)

The Open University Faculty of Education and Language Studies Department of Languages

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Profile

I am a Lecturer in Spanish in the Department of Languages in the Open University. I joined the department in 2001. I have worked extensively in teaching languages at all levels and education sectors in Spain and Great Britain. I have developed a particular interest in teaching adults and in distance teaching and learning. Central to my interests in this area are the study of effective teaching and learning strategies that foster motivation maintenance in the distance language learner, learner autonomy and assessment feedback.

Teaching Interests

My main teaching interests lie in the development, implementation and maintenance of new distance language courses using innovative media. Since I joined the Open University I have been engaged in the development and production of Spanish courses at all levels, chairing the Beginner Spanish course Portales and the Upper intermediate Viento en Popa. I have also been actively involved in the Department of Languages VLE group.

Current Research

I am currently working in the e-Feedback Evaluation Project (eFEP): An

evaluation of spoken and written e-feedback on language assignments as standard practice. This is an externally funded project within the JISC Assessment and Feedback Programme. For more detail about this project please go to www.efep.weebly.com

My research interests focus primarily on adult beginner distance language learners:

  • Motivation and motivation maintenance
  • Development of learner autonomy
  • Development of self regulatory strategies (learning, goal setting, motivation maintenance)
  • Sources of affirmation and support
  • Tutor role in motivation maintenance

I am continuing my work in themes associated with motivation maintenance and autonomy as part of a larger Department of Languages Beginners Study.

This work is based on analysis of quantitative and qualitative data obtained from pre-course and post-course questionnaires completed by students of Spanish, German and French, mid-course telephone interviews with a smaller sample of students of the three languages, parallel interviews with some tutors on those courses, and follow-up interviews with students proceeding to the next level.

Publications

Book Chapter
Furnborough, Concha (2010). The motivational challenge facing beginner learners of Spanish at a distance. In: Torreblanca López, María del Mar; Abello Contesse, Christián; Chacón Beltrán, Rubén and López Jiménez, María Dolores eds. The Impact of Affective Variables in L2 Teaching and Learning. Lingüística (37). Sevilla, Spain: Secretariado de Publicaciones de la Universidad de Sevilla, pp. 79–96.
Nicolson, Margaret; Adams, Helga; Furnborough, Concha; Adinolfi, Lina and Truman, Mike (2005). Becoming an effective learner. In: Hurd, Stella and Murphy, Linda eds. Success with Languages. London: Routledge, pp. 35–59.
Furnborough, Concha; Duensing, Annette and Truman, Mike (2005). Assessment. In: Hurd, Stella and Murphy, Linda eds. Success with Languages. London: Routledge, pp. 185–213.
Nicolson, Margaret; Adams, Helga; Furnborough, Concha; Adinolfi, Lina and Truman, Mike (2005). Becoming an effective learner. In: Not Set ed. Success with Languages. Routledge Study Guides. Abingdon, UK: Routledge, pp. 35–59.
Conference Item
Fernández-Toro, María and Furnborough, Concha (2013). Eliciting students’ voices through screencast assisted ‘feedback on feedback’. In: The Joy of Learning – EDEN Annual Conference Proceedings, 2013, Oslo, 12-15 June 2013, University of Oslo, Oslo, Norway.
Journal Article
Heiser, Sarah; Stickler, Ursula and Furnborough, Concha (2013). Student training in the use of an online synchronous conferencing tool. CALICO Journal (In press).
Furnborough, Concha (2012). Making the most of others: autonomous interdependence in adult beginner distance language learners. Distance Education, 33(1), pp. 99–116.
Coleman, James A. and Furnborough, Concha (2010). Learner characteristics and learning outcomes on a distance Spanish course for beginners. System, 38(1), pp. 14–29.
Furnborough, Concha and Truman, Michael (2009). Adult beginner distance language learner perceptions and use of assignment feedback. Distance Education, 30(3), pp. 399–418.