RESEARCH TEAM
Our team is made up of researchers based at the University of Extremadura with a background in CLIL, applied metaphor research and discourse analysis. The members of the team seek to contribute to the quality of integrating content and language by developing open educational resources in virtual collaborative learning environments.
RESEARCH TEAM
Laura Fielden Burns
Ana Mª Piquer Píriz
Position: Project Principal Investigator (PI) in ICLUEx. Lecturer at the Faculty of Education at the University of Extremadura (Spain).
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Background: Lecturer in undergraduate courses to teacher trainees and postgraduate courses in the MA programme ‘Master on Bilingual Education at Primary and Secondary Levels’.
Projects: ICLUEx, INCOLLAB, CLIL4YEC, EuroCoAT, METCLIL.
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Research interests: EFL learning and teaching, L2 vocabulary acquisition, figurative language and CLIL.
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Publications: Her work has appeared in journals such as System, Language, Culture and Curriculum, Language
Teaching Research, Review of Cognitive Linguistics, Metaphor and the Social World or VIAL and she has also published three co-edited volumes and several book chapters with John Benjamins and Mouton de Gruyter.
Irene Castellano Risco
Position: Researcher in ICLUEx. Ph.D. candidate and teaching assistant at the University of Extremadura (Spain).
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Background: Graduated in English Primary Education from the University of Extremadura and holds a MA Degree in Bilingual Education and a MA Degree in Humanities Research. Teaching assistant at the Faculty of Education
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Projects: ICLUEx, INCOLLAB, CLIL4YEC, EuroCoAT, METCLIL.
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Research interests: Vocabulary acquisition, Content and Language Integrated Learning (CLIL), EFL learning and teaching and language learning strategies.
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Publications: Her work has appeared in journals such as System and Onomázein.
Rafael Alejo González
Position: Researcher in ICLUEx. Lecturer at the Faculty of Education at the University of Extremadura (Spain).
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Background: Lecturer on Applied Linguistics and Second Language Acquisition at the Faculty of Education and the Faculty of Arts of the UEx. He has extensive experience teaching Business English at the Faculty of Economics.
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Projects: ICLUEx, INCOLLAB, CLIL4YEC, EuroCoAT, METCLIL.
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Research interests: Applied Linguistics, Second Language Acquisition.
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Publications: Several of his articles have appeared in journals such as Cahiers de Lexicology, Ibérica - Journal of the European Association of Languages for Specific Purposes, or the Journal of Pragmatics.
Laura Fielden Burns
Position: Researcher in ICLUEx. Lecturer in the Teaching Training College at the University of Extremadura (Spain).
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Background: MA in literature at the University of North Carolina (United States). Lecturer in undergraduate and postgraduate programs in the Teaching Training College at the University of Extremadura (Spain).
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Projects: ICLUEx, METCLIL.
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Research interests: Motivation in EFL, in particular pertaining to study persistence and student mindsets.
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Publications: Various publications on applied linguistics and education.
Juan de Dios Martínez Agudo
Position: Lecturer at the Faculty of Education of the University of Extremadura (Spain).
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Background: Lecturer on Didactics of the English Language at the Faculty of Education of the University of Extremadura (Spain).
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Projects: ICLUEx, METCLIL.
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Research interests: CLIL, L2 teaching and learning, pedagogical discourse.
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Publications: Publications in journals such as Linguistics and Education, International Journal of Bilingual Education and Bilingualism, The Language Learning Journal, or Porta Linguarum. He has published more than twenty books as author and editor: Teaching and Learning English through Bilingual Education (2012), English as a Foreign Language Teacher Education. Current Perspectives and Challenges (2014), Emotions in Teaching a Second Language. Theory, Research and Teacher Training (2018), and Quality in TESOL and Teacher Training: From a Culture of Results to a Culture of Quality (2020).
Lucía Blázquez López
Position: Researcher in ICLUEx. Research assistant at the Faculty of Education of the University of Extremadura (Spain).
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Background: Specialized in the fields of translation and international relations, she has worked as a delegate researcher from the Autonomous University of Madrid (UAM) in Qatar, and as a researcher assistant at the University of Extremadura. Graduated in Translation and Interpreting UAM). Master’s Degree in International Relations and African Studies (UAM). Master’s Degree in Contemporary Arabic and Islamic Studies (UAM).
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Projects: ICLUEx, INCOLLAB, CLIL4YEC, METCLIL.
Research interests: Linguistics applied to translation, CLIL and EFL language learning, discourse analysis, linguistic and social constructivism, linguistics in international relations.
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Ana Pérez Valenzuela
Position: Researcher in ICLUEx. Research assistant at the Faculty of Education of the University of Extremadura (Spain).
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Background: Specialized in the fields of Early Childhood Education and successful vocabulary acquisition. Master's Degree in Bilingual Teaching for Primary and Secondary Education (UEx).
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Projects: ICLUEx, CLIL4YEC.
Research interests: Content and Language Integrated Learning (CLIL), EFL learning and teaching and language learning strategies.
Marta Martín Gilete
Position: Researcher in ICLUEx. PhD candidate and
associate lecturer at the University of Extremadura (Spain).
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Background: Associate lecturer at Teacher Training College and at the Faculty of Philosophy and Humanities (University of Extremadura), where she teaches undergraduate courses on EFL/ESL instruction, and English Studies. Her PhD research focuses on applied metaphor in the teaching of English as a foreign language.
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Projects: ICLUEx, METCLIL, INCOLLAB, CLIL4YEC.
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Research interests: Cognitive linguistics, applied linguistics, English language learning and teaching, and figurative language.
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Cecilia Calderón Poves
Position: Researcher in ICLUEx. Research assistant at the Faculty of Education of the University of Extremadura (Spain).
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Background: Specialized in the fields of foreign language acquisition and successful performance in the learning context. Master's Degree in Bilingual Teaching for Primary and Secondary Education (UEx).
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Projects: ICLUEx, INCOLLAB, CLIL4YEC, METCLIL.
Research interests: Content and Language Integrated Learning (CLIL), EFL learning and teaching and language learning strategies.