Core Members · Manchester Metropolitan University

FLAME Research Group at Manchester Metropolitan University:

Core Members, Manchester Metropolitan University

Dr. Carmen Herrero, Director

After completing her doctoral thesis on Ramon Gomez de la Serna and his avant-garde theatre, Dr. Herrero has moved from literature to film studies as her primary area of specialism and in addition, has developed a focus on pedagogical applications of film and media to second language teaching and learning. As Director of the Film, Languages and Media in Education Research Group, Carmen coordinates and oversees the portfolio of all FLAME research and activity. She is also co-founder and co-director of FILTA (Film in Language Teaching Association). Her research interests and expertise are in the areas of film pedagogy and language learning: multimodality and new literacies; the integration of media literacy in language learning; and the role of cultural and intercultural competences through film in teaching training. Dr. Herrero teaches Film Pedagogy: Using Film in the Language Classroom at postgraduate level and is Co-Supervisor for FLAME PhD student Alicia Sanchez. She is Principal Lecturer in Hispanic Studies and Section Leader of Spanish at MMU, teaches Hispanic cinema and culture at undergraduate level and is involved in the TEFL Masters. To find out more about her work, view her Academic Profile.

Media / Digital literacy / Communication in Education:

CoMoViWo: Dr. Herrero is the Manchester Met Project Manager for the European funded project CoMoViWo (Communication in Mobile and Virtual Work) in collaboration with TUAS, Universitat Politècnica de València, the International Language Association (ICC) and Gdansk University of Technology. CoMoViWo prepares students for the challenges of an increasingly international working environment, changing the way we teach to develop the digital communication competences of today’s global citizens. Thus, it is a project that seeks to define communication literacy skills needed by managers and employees to be successful in the virtual and mobile work environment at European level.CoMoViWo modernizes education policies to adhere to the digital agenda for Europe that emphasizes the importance of digital competence and acquisition of appropriate skills and competences when using communication technology in multilingual work contexts. The project develops joint training modules for students and business professionals, establishing a dialogue between Higher Education institutions and enterprises.

Comunicar: She is also the Co-Editor of the international edition of Comunicar a quarterly, bilingual Spanish-English research journal, with Chinese and Portuguese abstracts. The scientific journal specializes in Edu-communication – communication and education, ICT, audiences, new languages and publishes specialist monographs on the most up to date topics related to the edu-communication and informational society. The Portuguese edition is coordinated by the University of Brasilia (Brazil).

FACE Project: She is currently co-leading the FACE project, Film and Creativity on Education. This is an innovative project that involves the co-teaching of workshops at the Manchester Metropolitan and its partner institution in Mexico. The workshops include feedback exchange between the students of both institutions and sessions with live streaming at both sides of the Atlantic. The workshops focus on audio description, subtitling and film literacy. The FACE project team is formed by Dr Carmen Herrero (MMU), Ms Alicia Sánchez Requena (MMU), Mr Tomás Costal Criado (UNED) and Ms Karina valverde Okón (Instituto Tecnológico de Estudios Superiores de Monterrey, Mexico).

Teacher Training: Dr Herrero is the co-lead investigator in a Teacher Training Project that involves the design of resources for teaching film in the language classroom, the organisation of workshops for teachers and educators, the delivery of the training, and the evaluation of results and impact.

FILTA: The Group works closely with the Film in Language Teaching Association (FILTA), an international community of practice and active online forum for language teachers, film educators and researchers. Founded by our core members and now with over 2,750 associates from 100 different countries, this thriving worldwide association initiated the establishment of the FLAME Research Group, which now functions as a vehicle to advance the theory behind existing practice.

(Inter)culturality and languages in the community:

Dr Herrero is the co-organiser of the Beyond Babel Festival, an annual multilingual festival that takes place in Greater Manchester.

Dr. Isabelle Vanderschelden, Co-Founder

Using film in the language classroom is a key area of research for Dr. Vanderschelden in addition to specialist knowledge and publications in Contemporary French cinema, Transnational cinemas, Film production in France, Screenwriting and French screenwriters, (Literary) Translation Studies and Orality and language variation in dialogue and subtitles. Author of critical film study guides Amelie (IB Tauris 2007), Studying French Cinema (Auteur 2013) and multiple articles on different aspects of contemporary French cinema, translation / subtitling and film in language teaching, Isabelle is a core member of the FLAME Research Group and actively involved in developing methodologies for using film in language classes. She regularly leads teacher-training workshops and contributes to the educational programme at HOME. Her specific interest lies in promotion of Francophone films and cultures, and the creation of adapted materials for use in language classes at all levels, thus enhancing the learners’ intercultural awareness and competence. She co-edited with Darren Waldron France at the Flicks: Issues in Popular French Cinema (2007) and is currently working on a monograph on French screenwriters and their work with Sarah Leahy to be published by Manchester University Press. Isabelle is Senior Lecturer and French Section Lead at MMU.

Media / Digital literacy / Communication in Education:

Teacher Training: Dr Vanderschelden is co-investigator alongside Dr Carmen Herreo for the Teacher Training Project. She designs the study guides and workshops for French language, as well as co-designing the non-language specific ones. Dr Vanderschelden lead in 2017 a sub-project to implement My French Film Festival (My FFF) as part of the language classroom. Dr Herrero and Dr Vanderschelden are currently looking for platforms in which this project could be extended to other languages.

FILTA: FLAME Group works closely with the Film in Language Teaching Association (FILTA) an international community of practice and active online forum for language teachers, film educators and researchers. Founded by our core members and now with over 2,750 associates from 100 different countries, this thriving worldwide association initiated the establishment of the FLAME Research Group, which now functions as a vehicle to advance the theory behind existing practice. Continued FLAME / FILTA collaboration aims to demonstrate through knowledge advancement and practical application, an innovative and viable approach to language teaching that is relevant in today’s digital age of learning

(Inter)culturality and languages in the community:

Dr Vanderschelden is the co-organiser of the Beyond Babel Festival, an annual multilingual festival that takes place in Greater Manchester.