María Muradás-Taylor
Lecturer in Spanish

Profile

Biography

María Muradás-Taylor is a highly qualified and experienced Spanish language teacher, who has taught a variety of courses and a wide ability range of students. Through her many years of experience, she has acquired a strong understanding of the learning process and needs of Spanish learners. Having lived in Mexico, Spain and the United States has helped her in her knowledge of the language variations of Spanish both from Spain and Latin America, as well as the Spanish from the United States. 

She has strong passions for language and the study of society and culture. These passions have given her the curiosity and the knowledge to create and set up innovative courses that will help her students challenge themselves and their knowledge of Spanish, using a wide range of materials. My particular areas of interest are the role of collective memories and historical memories in the Spanish speaking world, the cultural identity of Latinos in the USA, and the continental identity of Latin America. 

She joined the Department of Language and Linguistic Science in 2007.

Education

• San Francisco State University, San Francisco, CA
  Master of Arts - Spanish
• San Francisco State University, San Francisco, CA
  Bachelors of Arts - Spanish (Major); Latin American Studies (Minor)
• Cabrillo College, Aptos, CA
  Associate of Arts

Career

• University of York, York, UK
  Department of Language and Linguistic Science
  Lecturer in Spanish
• University of York, York, UK
  Languages for All
  Tutor
• Instituto Cervantes, Leeds, UK
  Spanish Collaborator
• University of San Francisco, San Francisco, CA. USA
  Adjunct Professor
• University of California Berkeley Extension, CA. USA
  Spanish Instructor
• City College San Francisco, CA. USA
  Spanish Instructor

Departmental roles

• Admission tutor
• LLS Library Rep
• Language Teaching Forum (co-organizer)

Previous roles:

• Programme Leader for Undergraduate Language Programmes
• Teaching Committee
• Spanish Year Abroad Coordinator
• LFA Spanish Coordinator

Teaching

Undergraduate

• Intensive Spanish Language and Cultures: Beginner
• Spanish Language and Cultures: Proficient
• Understanding Spanish-speaking Cultures and Societies (ab initio)
• Historical memory in the Spanish-speaking world
• Latinos in the USA

External activities

Memberships

Language Teaching Forum @ York (Co-organiser)

Invited talks and conferences

Presentations at conferences and workshops:

• Diversity and mixed ability at modular and programme level: Supporting Ab Initio students’ transition. University of York Learning and Teaching Conference 2015, 10 June 2015. In collaboration with Cinzia Bacilieri, Nadine Saupe, Thomas Jochum-Critchley.

• Integrating literature in the content based language Spanish class. 'Transgressing the Borders of Literary Theory‘.   LALSA (Latin American Literary Studies Association), York St John University, 12-13 November 2015.

• Enhancing the learning experience through collaborative learning.  UK LINGUA 2016 – Multilingual Language Learning and Teaching Colloquium Durham University, 23-24 of April 2016

Invited talks:

• Folclore y Rituales del Mundo Hispano – Galicia Terra de Meigas, 23 November, 2013

• Galicia; su identidad cultural. York St John Cultural Series.  York St John University. 6 November, 2015

• Negotiating meaning in the mixed-ability language classroom.  MiLL Network: ‘Engaging with meaning in language learning’ University of York 24 October, 2015

• Negotiating meaning in the mixed-ability language classroom.   Postgraduate Forum on Applied Linguistics – Mapping the Field York St John  22 January, 2016

• Supporting the post ab-initio student through student centred teaching.   LANGUAGES TEACHING TEAM - Mini-conference. Department of Cultures, Languages and Area Studies, University of Liverpool. 28 January, 2016

Organized events:

• Tertulia – A monthly Spanish Social event to talk about social, historical and political aspescts of the Spanish speaking world through literature and film.
  
• LGBT International Film Screening. Every February
  
• LTF – Language Teaching Forum Co-organizer. Organise a series of workshops to enhance professional development and reflective practice in Language Teaching.