Previous editors’ profiles

Pilar Alderete

Lecturer with the Spanish Dept. at National University of Ireland Galway.
Tel: +353 (0) 91 492193

E-mail: pilar.alderetenuigalway.ie

Background:

Licenciatura de Filología Inglesa at the University of Valladolid, Spain

MA Spanish (Translation Studies), National University of Ireland, Galway.

I was bitten by the language teaching bug early in my teens but I started teaching Spain at the Universidade do Sagrado Coracao, Bauru, Brazil at the age of 22. Then I taught Spanish Language, Culture and some Literature since 1999 at Trent University, in Ontario, Canada. After completing my Erasmus year at NUIG (then UCG) in 1997, I knew I was bound to come back to Galway, where I have been teaching Spanish now since 2003.

My job is mainly language teaching from 1st year beginners and advanced & second year language and translation, to Final Year Pragmatics and MA Interpreting and Advanced Oral Presentation Skills. I also teach part of a module on Language Learning Strategies and Modern Children Fiction, since my masters was specialized on the translation of humour and character in Harry Potter. Researchwise, I am currently finishing a Ph.D. on Classroom Research on the Language Classroom, which will be written in Spanish and English for the University of Valladolid, Spain. I love new technologies, creativity -especially theatre (I’ve been involved in plays and acting since i was 11), humour… anything that keeps the teaching and the learning alive and useful. I am a firm believer in Service Learning and even though, I haven’t managed to establish any program linked to the courses that I teach at the moment, I’m currently working on it. I am one of the founders of I.S.I.S. (Irish Spanish Integration Society), which hopefully will provide some of this service learning opportunities to our students, as well as promoting lots of extracurricular activities for language practice and topic exploration.

I am also a bit of a writer (in English and Spanish. I don’t use my birthname though, but a pen name, which for now shall remain a secret.

My main goal for my editing of this blog is to make it lively and get lots of people involved in posting and advertising events or their teaching practice in general. Hope it is useful!

Dr. Isabelle Lemée

Assistant Lecturer in the Department of French in St Patrick’s College, Drumcondra.
Tel: +353 (0) 1 884 2120

E-mail: isabelle.lemeespd.dcu.ie

Background:

Licence ès Lettres (UFR Rouen, France), MA (UCD), PhD (UCD).
Isabelle has been lecturing in Ireland for the past 15 years and has spent a year in the USA where she was coordinating the French Section in the Department of Languages, Literature and Culture in SUNY Albany.

She is currently Treasurer of the Applied French Association. She is also the Secretary of the Association of Canadian Studies in Ireland as well as Publicity officer of the Association for French Language Studies.

Her research interest is in the Acquisition of French by Hiberno-English as well as Canadian learners. She has given papers at numerous international conferences.

Editor from May 2008 – November 2008:

Odette Gabaudan

Head of Department for Applied Languages (Acting) in the School of Languages, DIT.
Tel: +353 (0)1 4024711

E-mail: odette.gabaudandit.ie

Background:

BBS and French (Trinity College Dublin), MSc in Tourism Management (Dublin Institute of Technology).

Odette has over 15 years experience lecturing in French. As the President of the Applied French Association, she plays an active role in the promotion of French education in third-level institutions in Ireland. Her research interest is in the management of arts festivals. She has contributed on this topic to a number of conferences in Ireland.

Editors from March 2008 – end April 2008:

Dr. Riana Walsh

Department of Humanities, Institute of Technology Tallaght

Tel: 01 4042831

E-mail: riana.walsh@ittdublin.ie

Kristin Brogan

School of Business & Social Studies,
ITT (Institute of Technology Tralee)

Tel: 066 7191902

E-mail: kristin.brogan@staff.ittralee.ie
Background:

Lecturer: German, French, Sociolinguistics, Applied Linguistics, and Second Language Acquisition Studies on the BA (Hons) in Applied Languages.

BA in German and French (UCD); H.Dip.Education (TCD)
MA in Austrian Literature; PhD research (applied linguistics): ‘Language
development and the Year Abroad’, German Dept. UCD
Background:

Lecturer in GermanMasters Graduate from National University of Ireland, Maynooth (NUIM)

Registered as a PhD student: research interests include students availing of the Erasmus programme and who are studying abroad in German speaking countries. She is looking at language and intercultural skills acquisition during the residence abroad.
Activities:
  • Co-editor of the CILT/DAAD/Goethe Institut publication ‘Ab initio language learning – a guide to good practice in universities and colleges. The example of German’.
  • Quality Manager on the Leonardo da Vinci EU project VOCAL (Vocational Orientated Culture and Language) which generates on-line language materials to assist learners prepare linguistically and culturally for work placement abroad.
Activities:
  • Involved with EU funded on line Leonardo da Vinci projects in the area of languages: Coordinator of the LdV VOCAL project and quality manager in two other LdV projects and one Lingua 2 project.
  • Co-chair of the Association of Third Level German Teachers in Ireland
  • Member of IAM, IRAAL, member of Business German Ireland and Space Network for Language & Business Studies.
  • Active involvement with the Primary School Sector: Since 1998 she has been teaching German in a Primary School on a weekly basis and is a member of the Modern Languages in Primary Schools Initiative.

Awards:

  • European Language Award for the Problem SOLVE project (2006)
Collaborative Activities

Together Riana and Kristin founded the Language Policy & Planning Network, which has 11 Institutes as its members. The Network provides opportunity to share ideas, identify opportunities for research partnership and CPD and actively promote Modern Languages within each IoT. Outcomes include a guidelines document for internal Language Policies, summary of a questionnaire by network participants, summary of the network’s activity and a video on line.

Editor from January 2008 – end March 2008:

Michelle Tooher

Institution: NUI Galway

Department: Centre of Excellence in Learning and Teaching

Interests: Computer Assisted Language Learning (CALL), Technology in Education, Speech Processing.

Michelle is a Learning Technologist in the Centre of Excellence in Learning and Teaching (CELT) in NUI Galway. She has previously worked in the Phonetics and Speech Laboratory in Trinity College Dublin and studied a B.Sc. in Applied Computational Linguistics and a Ph.D. in Speech Processing at Dublin City University.