Dr Miguel Angel Saona-Vallejos
Dr Miguel Angel Saona-Vallejos FHEA
Tutor in Spanish
PhD Ed, FHEA, MA Lit, PGCE, MA Ling, LLB
My profile
Biography
Dr Miguel Angel SAONA-VALLEJOS has been researching Language Learning Social Networking Sites (LLSNS) as complementary tools for learning Spanish as a Foreign Language (SFL) since 2015. He has taught SFL since 1999, eight years in UK Higher Education. He has taught at the Universidad de Piura (Perú); Alcalingua, University of Alcalá de Henares (Spain); the University of Central Lancashire (UCLan), the University of Manchester (UoM); and the Manchester Metropolitan University (MMU). He achieved a Master’s in Applied Linguistics to teach SFL at the Universidad de Jaén (Spain) in 2014. He has also been an Associate Fellow of the UK Higher Education Academy (AFHEA) since February 2019. He was awarded the Post-Graduate Certificate in Education (PGCE in Secondary Education in Spanish and French) at MMU in June 2019 (distinction). In 2023, he finished an online Master’s in Advanced Studies in Spanish and Hispanic-American Literature at the International University of La Rioja, Spain, specialising in Julio Ramón Ribeyro. He achieved a PhD in Education and Linguistics at Liverpool John Moores University (LJMU) in 2022. His thesis was awarded the ASELE-Routledge Prize in 2023 and will become a book monographic book soon. He obtained the FHEA in July 2024.
Words of Wisdom
Dr Saona always tells his students that he is fortunate because he is a man who was born in the 20th century and lives in the 21st century. He makes them realise how “easy” learning a language is, as he applies all the contemporary and avant-garde techniques to ensure they enjoy and become proficient. Learning languages should be seen not only as a tool to be better qualified for future jobs but as the key to knowing people and learning the culture and traditions of all those countries where that language is spoken.
Academic and Professional Qualifications
- Fellowship of the Higher Education Academy
Manchester Metropolitan University | Faculty of Education (July 2024) - Master’s in Advanced Studies in Spanish and Hispanic American Literature (Online)
International University of La Rioja, Spain | School of Arts and Humanities (July 2023) - PhD in Linguistics Education (Part-time)
Liverpool John Moores University | School of Education (July 2022) - Post-Graduate Certificate in Education (PGCE)
Distinction | Manchester Metropolitan University | Faculty of Education (June 2019) - Associate Fellowship of the Higher Education Academy
University of Central Lancashire | Centre for Excellence in Learning & Teaching (July 2018) - Master’s in Applied Linguistics to Teaching Spanish as a Foreign Language (SFL)
University of Jaén, Spain | School of Modern Foreign Languages (December 2014) - Scientific Research Ability Certificate
First-Class. | University of Navarre, Spain. | School of Law (June 1996) - Degree in Law
First-Class. | University of Lima, Peru. | School of Law (December 1992) - Bachelor’s Degree in Law and Political Sciences
2.1 | University of Lima, Peru. | School of Law (December 1989)
Membership of Professional Associations
- AESLA (Spanish Association of Spanish Linguistics), Member
- AHGBI (Association of Hispanists of Great Britain & Ireland), Member.
- ASELE (Association for Teaching Spanish as a Foreign Language, Spain), Member.
- COMUN-ES (Community of Researchers in Spanish), Member.
- ELE-UK (UK Association for Teaching Spanish in Higher and Adult Education), Member.
- EuroSLA (European Second Language Association), Member.
- ITAP (International Association for Teaching Pragmatics), Member.
- UK Higher Education Academy (FHEA). Fellow.
- UNICOLLABORATION (Professional organisation for Telecollaboration and virtual exchange in Higher Education), Member.
Projects
After achieving the Research Award for PhD Thesis ASELE-Routledge 2023, meaning that the thesis will soon become a monographic published by Routledge Languages, Dr Saona has updated his research and focused on Tandem®, the language exchange app. The results were presented at the 34 International Conference of Spanish as a Foreign Language Teachers at the University of Edinburgh from the 16th to the 21st of July 2024.
Teaching
Dr Saona is the module leader and teacher of some units at the faculty undergraduate level, such as “Language, Culture, and Society”, through which first-year students learn to research linguistics in the intersection of those three areas. It is a crucial module as it will help them throughout their studies and future work.
He also co-teaches the continuation of that module, named “Becoming Multilingual”. The students learn the principles of good scholarship, including the formal requirements of academic communication, evaluation of scholarly sources and appropriate citation methods using digital techniques, which will significantly benefit them as they progress through their undergraduate studies.
He is also in charge of the conversation sessions of the faculty first- and second-year students, who put into practice the concepts learnt in their theory lessons. Students are encouraged to speak and debate in Spanish using current-issues realia, such as videos, podcasts, and social media. Furthermore, Dr Saona has supervised some cohorts in their final year oral dissertations, helping them to formulate their research project and questions, decide what methods of research to use, become familiar with the broader research community in their chosen field, use a specific citing and bibliography style to evaluate the results of their research, to ensure their work meets the necessary standards expected by the university, to keep to deadlines, to use feedback to enhance their work, to overcome any problems they might have, to present their work to other students, academics or interested parties, to prepare for the next steps in their career or further study.
Through the UNIWIDE Programme, he teaches Spanish Beginners (MCER, A1), and Threshold 1 and Threshold 2 (MCER, A2), in this last case to level those students who studied Spanish some time ago for their GCSEs and A-Levels, but it may be rusty; to prepare them to get into B1 smooth and easy.