Francisca Aguiló Mora

I joined the Department of Latin American and Iberian Cultures in 2016. I hold a Ph.D. in Romance Studies from the University of Miami, with concentrations in Cultural (Latinx) Studies, Sociolinguistics, and Second Language Acquisition. Originally from Mallorca (Spain), I majored in English Studies at the Universitat de Barcelona and studied abroad at the University of Southampton. I earned a Diploma of Advanced Studies (DEA) with Honors in Comparative Literature from the Universitat de les Illes Balears.

My research focuses on three principal areas:

• Climate humanities and language teaching/learning;
• The sociolinguistic, literary, and ideological aspects of Spanish in the U.S. and heritage language teaching;
• Spanish second language acquisition from the perspective of sociocultural theory.

I am deeply committed to teacher training and to fostering an inclusive classroom environment—a safe space where diverse perspectives are welcomed and serve to promote critical thinking and intellectual engagement.

Academic Statement

The classroom is my creative and intellectual space, where I feel most at home—away from home. As a Senior Lecturer in Spanish, I see myself as a lifelong learner. Every class I teach is a learning experience and an opportunity for personal and professional growth. I aim to keep students highly motivated by emphasizing the affective dimensions of learning and incorporating strategies that foster critical thinking, peer critique, reflection, process writing, and collaborative projects. I frequently introduce materials that explore discourse and style, language ideologies, and ethnolinguistic identities to challenge students to read between the lines and understand deeper meanings, intertextuality, and cultural framing in an increasingly interconnected world.

I also design concept-based pedagogies for both second language and heritage language learners. By documenting teaching and learning processes, I integrate research with teaching practice. For both L2 and heritage learners, I use a conceptual engagement approach to better explain complex communicative issues—pragmatic, textual, and grammatical—through the creation of verbal and graphic representations as thinking tools.

Most importantly, my teaching philosophy is grounded in contextualization and critical pedagogy. I cannot conceive of language(s) as detached from their social, historical, or ideological contexts. From a descriptive perspective, my primary goal is for students to learn the language and its cultures in all their varieties, while becoming aware of the ideological nuances behind different language uses and registers. At various levels, I contextualize language by addressing the colonial history and ongoing impact of Spanish and its regional varieties, ensuring that languages in contact with Spanish—as well as other non-standard voices—are actively included in the conversation. Removing language from its social and cultural context to create and/or teach standardized forms of communication can lead to academic and institutional environments that exclude diverse voices, reinforce inequities, and diminish inclusivity. Moreover, a decontextualized approach can contribute to environmentally unsustainable practices.

By the end of the semester, students leave the class having critically reflected on how Spanish-speaking cultures and societies shape the use of language. Through a meaningful language-learning experience, my ultimate goal is for students to enjoy the process, develop a genuine love for the language, and make connections between what they’ve learned in class, their other courses, and the world beyond the classroom.