Eloísa Monteoliva García

Profile

Biography

I joined the department of Language and Linguistic Science in 2023, having previously worked as an assistant professor of Spanish (Translation and Interpreting) at Heriot-Watt University (Edinburgh) and John Jay College of Criminal Justice (CUNY, New York City). I am currently Director of Professional Language Training at the Language and Linguistic Science Department, a role that includes directing the Institution-Wide Language Provision and leading on the introduction of Translation and Interpreting Studies at the Language and Linguistic Science Department. I have been a guest lecturer at the MA in Conference Interpreting at the University of Granada (Spain) since 2021 and I have worked as a sworn translator and interpreter accredited by the Spanish Ministry for Foreign Affairs since 2008, after I graduated in Translation and Interpreting at the University of Granada. I hold a master’s in Research Applied to Translation and Interpreting (2009); an MA in Teaching Spanish as a Foreign Language (2011); and a PhD in Police Interpreting (2017). In addition to teaching interpreting, translation and Spanish, I work as a consultant for police forces on how to work with interpreters.

I have a passion for teaching and significant experience in teaching Spanish, translation and interpreting at different levels and in different countries. Working in different countries has allowed me to learn through navigating different educational systems and approaches to language learning and teaching, as well as to question, reconsider and improve my own teaching practices to respond to the needs of different contexts and student populations. My teaching is both research-informed and practice-informed and, at the same time, my teaching is a source of inspiration for scholarship and enhances my practice. I have received several teaching awards in recognition of the excellence of my teaching, something which encourages me to continue developing and improving as a lecturer.

My research focuses on interpreting and interpreter-mediated interaction in public service settings. My doctoral thesis entitled ‘The Collaborative and Selective Nature of Stand-by Interpreting in Police Settings’ (2017) explored interactional dynamics in authentic interpreter-mediated received the CIUTI Award to the most outstanding contribution to the field of Interpreting Studies completed at a CIUTI university in the 2017-2020 period. The study drew on authentic interpreter-mediated police interviews and explored interactional dynamics through a multimodal lens as shaped by the intermittent use of interpreting. My current research explores how interpreting practice and pedagogy are shaped by different aspects, including societal change, technological breakthroughs, the interaction between interpreters and other professionals, and specific features of the settings interpreters work in.

Career

• University of York  (since 2023)
  Senior Lecturer and Director of Professional Language Training
• Heriot-Watt University (2019-2023)
  Assistant Professor in Spanish (Translation and Interpreting)
  Director of Postgraduate Taught Programmes (2021-2023)
• University of Granada, Spain (since 2021)
  Guest Lecturer in Conference Interpreting
• John Jay College of Criminal Justice, City University of New York (2017-2019)
  Assistant Professor of Translation and Interpreting (Spanish)
• Heriot-Watt University (2011–2017)
  Spanish Language Assistant (2011-2013 and 2016-2017)
  PhD Candidate (2013-2017)