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Faculty of Education and Language Studies > People Profiles > Maria Fernandez-Toro

Maria Fernandez-Toro

Lecturer (Spanish)

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

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Profile

María Fernández-Toro joined the Open University in April 2007 after seventeen years as a lecturer in Spanish at Newcastle University, where she co-ordinated a university-wide programme offering French, Spanish and German modules for non-language degrees.

Since joining the Open University, she has worked on the development of several OU Spanish courses, contributing as an author to a number of OU Spanish course books, AV materials and and e-learning resources. More recently she has also authored the Hairy Bikers OpenLearn resource on Intercultural Communication, in collaboration with the Open Media Unit and the BBC.

Her main research interests are assessment and feedback in language learning, independent learning and learner motivation. Maria´s publications include the book D.I.Y Techniques for Language learners (London: CILT, 2001; with F.R. Jones), which also illustrates her own approach to teaching and learning.

Teaching Interests

María Fernández-Toro has been working in British Universities since 1989 and has taught Spanish at all levels, both as a core degree subject and as an optional module.

As a member of the Spanish team, she is currently Course Team Chair for the Level 3 Spanish course L314 A Buen Puerto, for which she wrote and coordinated several units as part of the production team for the module´s new online edition. She has also contributed to the production team for the e-leaning editions of L204 Viento en Popa and L194 Portales.

In 2012 she produced an OpenLearn resource on Intercultural Communication, consisting of a collection of online multimedia articles based on the BBC Hairy Bikers series Bakeation.

She is currently a research supervisor for language-learning projects on the EdD and is willing to consider postgraduate research proposals in any of her research areas.

Research Interests

María Fernández-Toro has research interests in the following areas:

  • assessment and feedback in new learning environments
  • independent learning (especially -but not exclusively- in the area of languages)
  • learner motivation
  • distance learning

Maria is currently Project Director for the e-Feedback Evaluation Project (eFeP), an evaluation of spoken and written e-feedback on language assignments. This project is externally funded as part of the JISC Assessment and Feedback Programme.

Publications

Authored Book
Fernandez-Toro, Maria and Jones, Francis R. (2001). DIY techniques for language learners. London, UK: CILT Publications.
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.
Harper, Felicity; Green, Hannelore and Fernandez-Toro, Maria (2012). Evaluating the integration of Jing® screencasts in feedback on written assignments. In: 15th International Conference on Interactive Collaborative Learning , 26-28 September 2012, Villach, Austria.
Fernandez-Toro, Maria and Wilczynski, Andrea (2002). Learner training; from strategy awareness to actual language improvement. In: Setting the agenda: Languages, Linguistics and Area Studies in Higher Education, 24th-26th June 2002, Manchester Conference Centre.
Journal Article
Fernández-Toro, María; Truman, Michael and Walker, Mirabelle (2013). Are the principles of effective feedback transferable across disciplines? A comparative study of written assignment feedback in Languages and Technology. Assessment and Evaluation in Higher Education (In press).
Fernandez-Toro, Maria (2009). What do adult learners make of their own errors? Understanding individual differences in foreign language learning. Reflecting Education, 5(2), pp. 66–84.
Fernandez-Toro, Maria (2005). The role of paired listening in L2 teaching. Language Learning Journal, 31(1), pp. 3–8.