The programme for the Reading conference is now finalised and registration is open. Registrations close by end-August if possible (payment on arrival). Follow the link below for more information.

This conference takes as its focus the ways in which literature comes into being in the Hispanic world, from composition to reception, past and present. It aims to locate and explore our interest in literature not primarily in the text itself, but in the mechanisms, spaces and processes by which the literary text – in all its diverse representations – reaches the public sphere. Whether mediated by commercial, political, economic, social or other interests, the text reaches us through the complex interventions of a range of actors: author, editor, designer, translator, promoter, publisher, literary critic, journalist, reader.

Making Hispanic Literatures / Creación de las literaturas hispánicas

Do students love technology in the classroom? Can technology replace teaching? What are good tools in the growing pool of educational technology and digital teaching and what can they be used for?

These and more questions were discussed on Wednesday 17 February during a workshop lead by DAAD-Lektor Sascha Stollhans (organized by DAAD-Lektorin Sandra Beer and School TEL Coordinator Enza Siciliano Verruccio) for members of staff and PGR students of the University of Reading as well as for teachers from local schools.

After a theoretical introduction and discussion about questions and concerns, Sascha Stollhans provided us with some inspiring case studies of various tools, social media and web resources to enhance language teaching and learning. The workshop was equally informative as it was engaging, encouraging everyone to try the tools in the workshop.

As more and more institutions expect language tutors to make clever use of technology in their classrooms, we were very happy to have the opportunity to learn more about the effective integration of technology into the language classroom.

Sascha Stollhans is DAAD-Lektor at the University of Nottingham. His main teaching and research areas are German language and linguistics, applied linguistics, second language acquisition and language pedagogy.

Latest publication:

Goria, Cecilia; Speicher, Oranna; Stollhans, Sascha. (Eds). (2016). Innovative language teaching and learning at university: enhancing participation and collaboration. Dublin, Ireland: Research-publishing.net. http://dx.doi.org/10.14705/rpnet.2016.9781908416322

On Wednesday 27 January, staff and students in the Department of Modern Languages and European Studies hosted a 2-hour MFL Teach  Meet on the University of Reading campus. With teachers attending from a range of local and regional schools, including St. Crispin’s School, Leighton Park, The Abbey School, Prospect School, Reading School and Bucks School, the meeting was a great opportunity to exchange ideas about how to work together to promote modern languages, manage the transition from GCSE to A level and from A level to University, and how to deal with some of the challenges facing us all as teachers of Modern Languages.

Topics for discussion included: Diversity in the classroom, the use of digital resources and new technology in the classroom, and how to encourage students to go beyond the curriculum. There was some very lively debate, including some very interesting observations from our own students in MLES, and the event finished with a promise to continue these session on a regular basis.

On 25 November 2015, The Vice-Chancellor’s Office and the Department for Modern Languages and European Studies hosted the official launch of the new BA Spanish, which brought together University colleagues, the first cohort of students on the programme, local community stakeholders and dignitaries (the Ambassadors for Nicaragua and Panamá, and the cultural attachés for Mexico, Panamá and Cuba). The guests enjoyed Spanish tapas and wonderful live music from Charanga del Norte, and the dancing continued into the evening. We look forward to celebrating the achievements of our first graduates of Ba Spanish programmes four years from now! More pictures of the event in https://www.facebook.com/MLESReading/

From left to right: Heather McKeever (RIO), Her Excellency Guisell Morales Echaverry (Ambassador for Nicaragua in the UK), Par Kumaraswami (Spanish, MLES), Claudia Murray (HBS), Marta Simó-Comas (Spanish, MLES)