Keynote speakers
Ana Piquer
University of Extremadura
Ana Mª Piquer-Píriz is a senior lecturer at the Faculty of Education and Psychology (University of Extremadura, Spain). Her research interests concern: 1) EFL learning and teaching, 2) L2 vocabulary acquisition, 3) figurative language and, 4) Content and Language Integrated Learning (CLIL). Her work has appeared in journals such as the Journal of Pragmatics, System, Language, Culture and Curriculum, Language Teaching Research, Review of Cognitive Linguistics, Metaphor and the Social World or VIAL. She has recently published the book E-learning in English Medium Instruction (EMI): Academic language for university students (2023, Peter Lang). She has co-edited three volumes: Metaphor in Foreign Language Instruction (2020, Mouton de Gruyter), Applying Cognitive Linguistics: Figurative language in use, constructions and typology (2018, John Benjamins) and Metaphor in Use: Context, culture, and communication 2012, John Benjamins) as well as several book chapters with John Benjamins, Mouton de Gruyter, Routledge and Springer. She has taken part in research projects at European (Interdisciplinary collaborative approaches to learning and teaching (INCOLLAB - 2019-1-CZ01-KA203-061163; CLIL for young European citizens (CLIL4YEC - 2019-1-IT02-KA201-063222), national (Metaphor in Academic Talk: L2 metaphor production in Higher Education CLIL discussion Seminars - METCLIL: EuroCoAT Second phase, FFI2017-86320-R; Metaphor use in one-to-one academic consultations in English: Implications for Spanish student mobility in Europe- EuroCoAT FFI2011-22809) and regional levels. She was the PI of the regionally-funded project, Developing virtual collaborative learning environments for content and language integrated learning (CLIL) in Higher Education adapted to the University of Extremadura (ICLUEx IB18055), and is currently also PI of the nationally-funded project, Exploring the EFL productive vocabulary of L2 and L3 (heritage) learners in a secondary school context: the cognitive dimension (HERCOG PID2022-137337NB-C22), in coordination with the University of La Rioja.
Virginia Vinuesa Benítez
University Rey Juan Carlos, Madrid
Virginia Vinuesa Benítez holds a degree in English Philology from the University of Granada and a PhD from Rey Juan Carlos University. With over 25 years of experience in education, she has worked across all educational levels, from Early Childhood to University Education, in both Spain and the United Kingdom.
She is currently a faculty member at Rey Juan Carlos University in Madrid, where she lectures on language didactics in the Pre-primary and Primary Education degree bilingual programs, as well as in the master’s degree in Secondary Education and the master’s degree in Bilingual Teaching in Primary Education.
She has actively participated in training CLIL (Content and Language Integrated Learning) teachers in bilingual schools throughout the Region of Madrid. She has delivered numerous talks in Spain and the United States, focusing on bilingual education and CLIL methodology.
In addition to her teaching responsibilities, she coordinates the master's program in Bilingual Education at Rey Juan Carlos University. She serves as the Vice President of the Bilingual Teaching Association and is a co-editor of the American NABE Journal of Research and Practice.