2022 Fall IWL Speaker Series
Speaker: Dr. Gabriela C. Zapata, University of Nottingham
Location: Zoom, Passcode: IWL

The objective of this presentation is to explore the opportunities that open, second (L2) and heritage (HL) language textbooks and instructional resources can offer for diversity, equity, and inclusion both in terms of content and students’ identities and lifeworlds, as well as the development of their multiliteracies. The presentation will provide theoretical and practical guidance for the creation of instructional tasks for L2/ HL learners grounded in the tenets of Learning by Design (Kalantzis et al., 2005, 2016; Zapata, 2017, 2022) and the principles of Universal Design for Learning (UDL; Dyjur et al., 2021; Rose & Meyer, 2002). That is, my goal is to offer tools for educators to design personalized, affordable materials for students’ active L2 /HL use in multimodal interpretive, interpersonal, and presentational communication. In the first part of the session, I will discuss the multiliteracies framework of focus, UDL, and open educational practices, and I will establish how they are related to current HL/L2 approaches. In the second part of the presentation, I will provide an overview of the materials development process, offering guidance, examples, and tools for HL/L2 practitioners to develop their own, copyright-free resources.

 Dr. Gabriela C. Zapata was born in Rosario, Argentina. She received her MA in TESOL and PhD in Spanish (Linguistics track) from the Pennsylvania State University. Her research foci are Learning by Design and second (L2) and heritage language (HL) pedagogy, multimodal social semiotics, and teacher education. She is also involved in the development and implementation of inclusive open educational resources. She has published articles on bilingualism, L2 and HL pedagogy, Learning by Design, multimodal social semiotics, and teacher cognition and practice in a variety of journals and edited volumes. Dr. Zapata is the main author of the first Canadian edition of the beginning Spanish textbook Puntos de partida, and of the OER L2 Spanish volumes Trayectos (published digitally by COERLL) and Introducción a la escritura (Pressbooks). Her most recent single-authored book, Learning by Design and L2 Teaching: Theory, Research, and Practice (Routledge), appeared in April 2022. Dr. Zapata received her certification as ACTFL Oral Proficiency Interview Tester in Spanish in 2014. She has also served as an ACTFL mentor and the Vice-Chair, Chair, and Past-Chair of ACTFL's Spanish for Heritage Learners Special Interest Group. In 2019, she was awarded the SGA Open Education Champion Award by the Student Government Association at Texas A&M University. Dr. Zapata is also a CIMER Entering Mentoring Trained Facilitator.

Email: Gabriela.Zapata@nottingham.ac.uk(link sends e-mail); https://www.profgabrielazapata.co.uk/