Teaching Interests
TEACHING
My academic background is in the field of Hispanic Studies and applied language teaching and learning combined with substantial experience in language teaching, curriculum design and language study skills development at undergraduate and post-graduate levels. I have taught in Spain and in England at Queen Mary College and King’s College London (University of London) and at London South Bank University.
As a Senior Lecturer in the Department of Languages I supervise post-graduate research students in the Ed.D. programme (Modern Foreign Languages strand) and I am a member of the Spanish Diploma modules teams "L204, Viento en Popa, Upper Intermediate" and "L314 A Buen Puerto" . I am also a member of CREET, the research group in FELS.
As a Staff Tutor in the South East (Kent, Surrey and Sussex), I am responsible for managing, training and supporting the MFL Associate Lecturers team in the region. As the Faculty representative in the South East, I have responsibility for coordinating the delivery of language modules (English, French, German, Italian, Mandarin, Spanish and Welsh) and supporting our students and tutors. I´m also involved in outreach and widening participation initiatives involving schools and FE colleges. In 2006-2008 I coordinated the Aimhigher Kent and Language Project and more recently the partnership with Aimhigher Sussex to develop a language project in secondary schools.
Research Interests
Current research interests are in the filed of applied linguistics and more specifically in the area of language and cultural learning, exploring aspects of teachers´ cultural identity, students´ motivation and reflective learning using online communication tools and resources.
Other areas of research include history of language teaching and sociolinguistics.
Current Research
"Language and Cultural Learning using Online Collaborative Tools".
"Developing Intercultural Competence among Distance Language Learners through blended learning environments: an insight into teachers´ views and practices". As part of the ICC research group in the Department of Languages.
"Integrating LORO into professional development for Associate Lecturers". As part of the research group in the Department of Languages.
Publications
Authored Book
Book Chapter
Gallardo, Matilde; Heiser, Sarah and Nicolson, Margaret (2011).
Teacher development for blended contexts. In: Nicolson, Margaret; Murphy, Linda and Southgate, Margaret eds. Language TEaching in Blended Contexts. Edinburgh, U.K.: Dunedin Academic Press, pp. 219–231.
Gallardo, Matilde; Heiser, Sarah and Nicolson, Margaret (2011).
Practical approaches for teacher development. In: Nicolson, Margaret; Murphy, Linda and Southgate, Margaret eds. Language Teaching in Blended Contexts. Edinburgh, U.K.: Dunedin Academic Press, pp. 232–245.
Conference Item
Journal Article
Other