Elia Lorena López
Lecturer in Spanish

Profile

Biography

Lorena is a Lecturer in Spanish in the Department of Language and Linguistic Science and a Senior Fellow of the Higher Education Academy (HEA). She joined the Department in October 2012 as an Associate Lecturer after completing a PhD in Education at the University of York. She currently teaches across both the Modern Languages programme and the Institution-Wide Language Programme (IWLP).

Earlier in her career at the University of York, she worked in various areas across the University of York, including as a Graduate Teaching Assistant (GTA) in the Department of Education, as IT Services Tutor, and with the Languages for All (LFA) programme. In addition, she served as a College Welfare Tutor for over three years for both Halifax and Langwith Colleges (2008-2011). This experience in student support has been instrumental in shaping her approach to providing effective pastoral care to students.

Prior to coming to the UK, Lorena worked as a programme developer and trainer on gender equality for a government agency in Mexico focused on gender equality and human rights. Her earlier experience also includes teaching Management and Information Technology modules in higher education.

Former roles

• Coordinator of the Languages for All (LFA) Spanish Programme (2012-2017)
• Coordinator of the Spanish Degree Programme (2017-2019)
• Coordinator of the ‘Modern Languages and Intercultural Peer Assisted Learning (PAL)’ scheme (2017-2020)

Education

• University of York
  PhD in Education (2011)
• University of Nottingham
  MA in Information Technology (2002)
• Universidad Mesoamericana
  Bachelor of Business Management (1999)

Certifications

• Senior Fellow of the Higher Education Academy (SFHEA) (2024)
• 2015: Postgraduate Certificate in Academic Practice (PGCAP)
• 2015: Fellow of the Higher Education Academy (FHEA)

Departmental roles

• Teaching and Learning of the Spanish degree programme (2012 – present)
• Year Abroad Coordinator for Spanish and Italian placements (2019 – present)
• Member of the Department’s Equality, Diversity and Inclusion (EDI) Committee (2025 – present)
• Member of the Standing Academic Misconduct Panel (StAMP) (2025 – present)
• Local Safeguarding Officer (LSO) (2023 – present)

University roles

• Elected Faculty of Arts and Humanities Senate member (2024 – 2026)
• Member of the Editorial Board for the York Scholarship of Teaching and Learning (SoTL) Journal (2025 – present)
• Fellow of the Vanbrugh College Council (2022 – present)

Teaching

Undergraduate

• Understanding Spanish-speaking cultures & societies (post A-level route)
• Spanish language and cultures: Advanced (S12I)
• World Cinemas: Representing National & Transnational Societies & Cultures (S111I)
• Hispanic Creative Industries in a Globalised World: Transnational Exchanges and Collaborations (LAN00125M)

Publications

Full publications list

• López, Elia Lorena (2019). Awareness poster campaign for the development of presentation skills in Spanish. In Becerra, Nelson; Biasini, Rosalba; Magedera-Hofhansl, Hanna; Reimão, Ana (Eds), Innovative language teaching and learning at university: a look at new trends (pp. 115-122). Research-publishing.net. https://doi.org/10.14705/rpnet.2019.32.908
• López Ramírez, E. and López Ramírez, E. L. (2017). Intervenciones basadas en evidencia: experiencias y resultados. Revista Electrónica de Investigación Educativa, 19(2), 1-4. Available from http://redie.uabc.mx/redie/article/view/1614

External activities

Overview

External examining

• External Examiner in HEI in the UK for Spanish programmes.

Memberships

• Member of the Editorial Council of the Transdigital Revista Científica (Transdigital Scientific Magazine) (ISSN: 2683-328X)
• Member of the Residence Abroad Network, UK (2019 – present)
• Member of the Yorkshire Language Teaching Research and Scholarship (YLTRS) Network (2025 – present)

Invited talks and conferences

• Poster presentation 'Peer Assisted Learning for Languages at York'. Learning and Teaching Conference. University of York. 2019 (June)

• ‘Awareness poster campaign + slogan + hashtag’ for the development of presentation skills in Spanish’.  Innovative Language Teaching and Learning at University (Innoconf18). University of Liverpool. 2018 (June).

• ‘Improving Spanish students’ formal writing skills through online exercises based on common grammatical errors’. LLAS 11th annual E-Learning Symposium 2016. University of Southampton. 2016 (January).

•  ‘Leeds-York project: using Padlet for collaborative learning and peer review (CEFR B1-B2 Levels)’. LLAS 11th annual E-Learning Symposium 2016. University of Southampton (with Ricardo Michue-Bendezú). 2016 (January).

• ‘Reflection as a key learning tool in Ab initio language delivery’. Reshaping Languages in Higher Education Conference 2014. Southampton. 2014 (July).

• Poster presentation ‘Engaging Students and Promoting Dynamic Learning through Technological Tools: The case of LFA’. Higher E-Learning Conference. York St John University (with Ella Tennant). 2012 (April).