School of Cultures, Languages and Area Studies

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Image of Manuel Lagares

Manuel Lagares

Associate Professor in Spanish, Faculty of Arts

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Biography

I am an Associate Professor of Spanish in the Modern Languages and Cultures department and a Senior Fellow of Advance HE (SFHEA). I serve as Deputy Spanish Language Coordinator at the Spanish, Portuguese and Latin American Studies (SPLAS) section, where I convene the undergraduate degree modules Spanish 1 and Spanish 2-Beginners, taught in Years 1 and 2.

I have organised and participated in numerous national and international conferences and workshops, and regularly present papers at academic events. I also represent the University of Nottingham at summer schools, webinars, open days, and outreach initiatives, including widening participation programmes.

My contributions to teaching have been recognised with several awards: a Student-Led University Award for Outstanding Communication (2023), a commendation at the Staff Oscars for Best All-Rounder Teacher (2019), and two Lord Dearing Award for Teaching and Learning (2017 and 2024 -the latter awarded to the SPLAS Spanish language team).

My HE teaching career began in France in 2004 Lille's École Supérieure of Management the University Paris-Est Créteil. I later taught at the University Toulouse 2-Jean Jaurès before relocating to the UK, where I held teaching positions at the universities of Glasgow and St Andrews. I joined the University of Nottingham in September 2012.

My academic background includes: a MA in Teaching Spanish as a Foreign Language (University of Alcala de Henares); a MPhil in Spanish and Portuguese studies (University Toulouse 2); a BA (Hons) in Humanities (University of Cadiz), after completing a year of studies at the University of Paris Ouest; and a Teacher Training qualification completed in Spain (University of Cadiz).

Teaching Summary

My responsibilities include curriculum design, assessment and feedback, team coordination, day-to-day module management, and teaching delivery. This involves selecting topics, creating content, and… read more

Research Summary

My main research interests are: plurilingualism and multilingual approaches, cognitive grammar, teaching and learning Spanish as a foreign language, learning technologies, and decolonising the… read more

Recent Publications

I am Coordinator of DELE Exams and Chief Examiner since the UoN became DELE examination centre in 2014.

More information about the DELE exams at Nottingham can be found on this link

My responsibilities include curriculum design, assessment and feedback, team coordination, day-to-day module management, and teaching delivery. This involves selecting topics, creating content, and determining suitable teaching, learning, and assessment methods, ensuring they align with best practices and the latest scholarship in the field.

I am the module convenor for the first-year post A-level language degree module Spanish 1 (MLAC1060) and for the second-year ab-initio level degree module Spanish 2-Beginners (MLAC2085). I teach weekly workshops, practicals, and lectures in these two modules.

I have introduced innovative teaching models such as blended learning and action-oriented education into our programmes. Additionally, a substantial aspect of my teaching approach involves integrating technology to enhance learning outcomes. Over the years, I have received specialised training in multiple learning technologies. The Student Union nominated me for the Staff Oscars in the category of Best Use of Technology.

My modules aim to balance language content with intercultural and sociocultural literacy. In addition to mastering the language, students are encouraged to navigate diverse cultural environments and mediate between different cultures. To achieve this, themes such as colonialism, language varieties, indigenous languages and communities, migrations, LGTBIQ+ rights, gender equality and gender-fair language, have been incorporated into the curriculum. These topics not only enrich student learning experiences, but also align with principles of social justice, accessibility, equity, and representativeness.

Currently, I serve as an external examiner at the University of Exeter (since 2023).

Current Research

My main research interests are: plurilingualism and multilingual approaches, cognitive grammar, teaching and learning Spanish as a foreign language, learning technologies, and decolonising the Spanish language curriculum. A selection of my presentations at conferences include:

  • Enseñar en clave plurilingüe: metodologías y propuestas didácticas. 2025. ASELE International Conference. University of Castellon.
  • El estudio del plurilingüismo en la educación superior británica: una herramienta para analizar actitudes y creencias. 2025. Encuentro ELEUK. The Open University.
  • Awakening Plurilingual Awareness to Transform Language Learning. 2025. Invited talk. Nottingham Trent University.
  • Un enfoque contrastivo para enseñar y aprender el modo subjuntivo. 2024. ASELE International Conference. University of Edinburgh.
  • Beyond the Monolingual Perspective: Exploring the Teaching of the Subjunctive Mood from a Multilingual Approach. 2023. Tense, Aspect, Mood in Language 2 Conference, University of Edinburgh.
  • Una explicación del verbo "gustar" mediante imágenes. 2023. Encuentro ELEUK. University of Leeds.
  • A Cognitive-Operative Approach to Teaching the Spanish Subjunctive in the University Classroom. 2023. Annual Conference of the Association of Hispanists of Great Britain and Ireland. Dublin.
  • La (no) declaración. Una aplicación empírica del contraste modal español para el aula universitaria británica. 2022. VI Conference of Linguistics and Literature. University of Cantabria.
  • Reflections on a Blended Approach for Teaching Spanish. 2022. AULC Conference. University of Nottingham.
  • The Life Cycle of an Open Course for Spanish Language and Culture. 2020. e-Learning Symposium. University of Southampton.
  • An Open Course for Spanish Language and Culture - Lessons Learnt. 2019. international conference "MOOCS, language learning and mobility". The Open University.
  • Fostering Collaboration and Interaction: from Audio-Visual Projects to Clicker Technology. 2017. Invited talk. University of Strathclyde.
  • Rotating Poster Presentations. 2016. Innoconf Conference. University of York.
  • Uso del foro de Moodle para potenciar la motivación, la creatividad y el sentido crítico. 2016. Encuentro ELEUK. University of Reading.
  • Un MOOC para aprender español. 2015. Encuentro ELEUK. University of Nottingham.
  • ¿Puede ser interactiva una clase magistral? 2013. Meeting of Teachers of SFL in HE in the North of England. University of Manchester.

Within and outside my institution, I have actively participated in multiple initiatives aimed at collaborating with colleagues, creating environments that foster professional discussion, and enhancing the overall quality of language teaching and learning.

I have been a member of the British Association for the Teaching of Spanish in Higher Education (ELEUK) since its foundation in 2014, and I served on its steering committee from 2019 to 2023. Within ELEUK, I am a member of the Special Interest Groups "Desco_ELEUK", which focuses on decolonising the curriculum of the Spanish as a Foreign Language discipline, and "LUKGOC", dedicated to implementing a cognitive-operative approach to grammar teaching and learning.

School of Cultures, Languages and Area Studies

University Park
Nottingham, NG7 2RD

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