Dr Carmen Herrero

Principal Lecturer in Spanish Studies / Section lead- Languages / Director of FLAME (Research Group for Film, Languages and Media in Education)

My profile

Biography

I teach Spanish and Latin America cultures at undergraduate level. I supervise and examine doctoral students on a range of topics, including Hispanic cinemas, film pedagogy and language education, new technologies and education and Spanish literature. 

I believe that good teaching is about facilitating the learning experience by supporting, advising and guiding. Learning a language supports the growing need for international, intercultural and critical skills in today’s world. My doctoral thesis (and first book) was on avant-garde theatre through a semiotic analysis. Since then I have moved from literature to cinema as my primary area of specialism. I am particularly interested in contemporary Hispanic cinema. At the same time, I have developed my interest in pedagogical research through applications of film and media to language and culture learning. I am leading the Resarch Group Film, Languages and Media in Education (FLAME). I am actively involved in film and language education through workshops for students and language teachers. I am the co-founder and co-director of FILTA (Film in Language Teaching Association). I collaborate with HOME (Manchester)  in the Education Events for schools. I regularly offer teacher training sessions on the use of film for language teaching and learning at Manchester Metropolitan University, and in collaboration with other institutions in the UK and Europe. I am very enthusiastic about what I do and I hope that students find they can come and talk to me or ask for help at all times. 

Words of wisdom

If you intend to take Spanish, I would say make sure you see learning the language as a creative and life-enhancing experience. You must also consider from the first year how you are going to maximise your career prospects using Spanish.

Academic and professional qualifications

BA (Hons) Hispanic Philology, Universidad de Valladolid (Spain) [1988]

BA (Hons) in English Philology, Universidad de Valladolid (Spain) [1995]

Cursos de doctorado (equivalent to MA Spanish Language and   Literature), Universidad de Valladolid (Spain) [1990]

 PhD in Spanish Studies, Universidad de Valladolid (Spain) [1992]

Other academic service (administration and management)

From September 2011 to December 2012 she was the Acting Head of the Department of Languages, Information and Communications.

Languages

Spanish

Former External examiner roles

  • The University of Central Lancashire (Spanish at UG level)
  • The University of Coventry (Spanish at UG level)
  • Westminster University -Postgraduate International Liaison and Communications (Spanish) (since 2017).

Consultancy and advisory roles

I collaborate with HOME Manchester (the Education Events and the Viva! Spanish and Latin American Film Festival.

I have been consulted in the following areas:

  • Seminar presentations, workshops, INSETS and CPDs for film and language education.
  • Teaching training and language teaching. 
  • Languages and creative industries.
  • Teaching materials (film and language teaching). 

Community, charity and NGO links

Cornerhouse  and Routes into Languages (Languages Education events):

  • AS/A2 Study Day: El orfanato Wed 25 Sep 2013. This session is open only to young people aged 14 – 19 years old, accompanied by their teachers. Part ofProjector 2013/2014, Projector Modern Foreign Languages.
  • GCSE Study Day: March 2014, part of the VIVA Spanish and Latin American Film Festival
  • AS/A2 Study Day: March 2014, part of the VIVA Spanish and Latin American Film Festival
  • Adult learner Study Day: March 2014, part of the VIVA Spanish and Latin American Film Festival

Workshop: Using film in the Transition year (Spanish) at the AGM of the Association of Teachers of Spanish of Ireland (Dublin, 5th October 2013).

Government and industry links

Winner of the Innovation in Teaching Award -  Students’ Union Teaching Awards at Manchester Metropolitan University (2018).

Socia de Honor del Grupo Comunicar (Spain).

Visiting and honorary positions

Summer course Fundación Ortega Gasset-Maroñón (Madrid), El uso del cine en la clase de español.

Summer course: Recursos audiovisuales en el aula de ELE, Universidad International Menéndez Pelayo.

Editorial Board membership

Membership of professional associations

  • Co-founder and co-director of Film in Language Teaching Association (FILTA) [http://www.filta.org.uk] [over 5200 members from 100 countries]
  • Member of the Association of Hispanists of Great Britain and Ireland 
  • Member of the Association for Language Learning
  • Member of the British Association of Film, Television and Screen Studies and Founding Member for the Film/making Education SIG.
  • Member of the Canadian Association for Latin American and Caribbean Studies (CALACS)
  • Member of the Canadian Association of Hispanists
  • UNESCO Open Educational Practice Fellow (since 2017)

Get in touch

0161 247 3920
5.02 Grosvenor East Building
By appointment

Projects

I am actively involved in film and language education through workshops for students and language teachers. I am the co-founder and co-director of FILTA (Film in Language Teaching Association www.filta.org.uk).

My doctoral thesis (and first book) was on avant-garde theatre through a semiotic analysis. Since then I have moved from literature to cinema as my primary area of specialism. I am particularly interested in contemporary Hispanic cinema. At the same time, I have developed my interest in pedagogical research through applications of film and media to language and culture learning. I am currently working on a monograph dedicated to the study of the representation of motherhood in contemporary documentaries and feature films.

Teaching

Why do I teach?

I think Languages are critical to our education. Working in MMU has provided me with the opportunity to share my passion for Spanish and make studying at MMU a truly international experience. My cinema and culture classes include a range of multimodal activities which I hope will develop students’ critical thinking.

Subject areas

Spanish

Supervision

I supervise and examine doctoral students on a range of topics, including Hispanic cinemas, film pedagogy and language education, new technologies and education and Spanish literature. I have supervised PhDs on contemporary Spanish Theatre; contemporary Spanish Literature; and Basque and Catalan cinemas; Audiovisual Translation applied to language teaching.

You can find more information here: https://www.mmu.ac.uk/languages/flame/

Current PhD student supervisor as Director of Studies

Laura Jenkins: An Analysis of Methodologies, Motivations and Personalization Techniques in Adult Foreign Language Acquisition (PhD from April 2022

Completed PhD student supervision as Director of Studies:

1. Alicia Sánchez Requena (2018). Audiovisual Translation applied to Foreign Teaching Languages: the use of direct dubbing to improve fluency and pronunciation in spontaneous conversation [AHRC NWCDTP Studentship grant]

2. Emma Leather (2009). Time, Memory and the Human Gaze in the Films of José Luis Guerin and Marc Recha.

 3. Philip Morris (2007). The Cinema of Julio Medem: Region and Nation in Contemporary Spanish [AHRC Studentship grant] 

 4. Stephen Pearson (2005). Literary and Cinematic Narrative in Fin-de-Siècle Spain: Sociological Paradigms.

5. Susana Lorenzo (2001). Teatro español de autoría femenina en el umbral del nuevo milenio: identidad individual, genérica y colectiva en la dramaturgia de Yolanda Pallín.

PhD Supervision as First supervisor:

Rebecca Wynne-Walsh (submitted in 2022): Basque Gothic Cinema (1990-2020): A Regionalist Challenge to the Spanish Model of National Cinema Production and Cultural Identity.

Master by Research Supervison as DoS (completed):

Clare Moley (2013): Female Madness and Cultural Consumption: the Representation and Objectification of Juana la Loca in Film and Fiction.

Principal Lecturer in Spanish Studies

Research outputs

Career history

2021-current

Subject Lead- Languages- at Manchester Metropolitan University

2002-2020

Subject Lead-Spanish Section- at Manchester Metropolitan University

2013-current

Director of the research group Film, Languages and Media in Education (FLAME)

2011-2013

Acting Head of the Department of Languages, Information and Communications at Manchester Metropolitan University

2002-Present

Principal Lecturer in Spanish Studies, Department of Languages, Manchester Metropolitan University. 

1995-2002

Lecturer in Spanish Studies, Department of Languages, Manchester Metropolitan University.

1993-1995

Spanish Language Tutor, Universidad de Valladolid (Spain).

1992-1993

Lecturer in Spanish, University of Ulster at Coleraine, Northern Ireland.

1989-1991

Language Assistant, Department of Hispanic Studies, University of Edinburgh, Scotland.

Press and media

  • Rada, J. (2021). “Y la clase de ELE se convirtió en La casa de papel’, Archiletras (February).
  • Suarez, M. (2019) “An Interview with Dr Carmen Herrero, an Expert in Film and Language Education”, Bellaterra Journal of Teaching & Learning Language & Literature, Barcelona: Universidad Autónoma de Barcelona, pp. 113-118. https://doi.org/10.5565/rev/jtl3.837
  • Santos, C. (2018): “Tecla Projecto: FILTA”, Revista TECLA 1/2018, London: Consejería de Educación de España, pp. 10-14.  Link
  • Interview on Spanish Radio 3 (2018): “Trends in Education, Audiovisual Culture, Accessibility and Media” (9/5/2018).Link
  • On-line chat on “The Role of Film in the Schools”, The Guardian (12/11/2014). Link
  • Interview on the VIVA Spanish and Latin American Film Festival for The Culture Show, BBC2 Television (3/3/2012).