Keynote Speakers

Javier Muñoz-Basols is a Beatriz Galindo Distinguished Senior Researcher at the University of Seville (Spain), funded by the Spanish Ministry of Science, Innovation and Universities through a competitive international talent attraction programme. He is also an Honorary Faculty Research Fellow at the University of Oxford (UK), where he spent 15 years as Lecturer, Senior Lecturer in Spanish, and Co-ordinator of Spanish.

His research interests focus on the connections between language contact and multilingualism, the integration of technology—including Artificial Intelligence (AI)—in language learning, and the impact of institutional contexts on language teaching. His work has been featured in prominent Spanish and international media outlets such as El País, France 24, Radio France Internationale, La Vanguardia, and RNE Radio Exterior. He has delivered keynote addresses at international conferences and events in Argentina, Belgium, Brazil, Canada, Hong Kong, Italy, Japan, Luxembourg, Mexico, Morocco, the Netherlands, Peru, Portugal, Spain, Tunisia, and the UK.

Dr. Muñoz-Basols has an extensive publication portfolio that includes 18 books and edited volumes with leading international publishers. He has published in top academic journals such as Applied Linguistics, International Journal of Multilingualism, and Computer Assisted Language Learning. His latest book, Technology-Mediated Language Teaching: From Social Justice to Artificial Intelligence (AI) (Multilingual Matters, 2025), explores innovative research and teaching strategies for integrating technology into language education. He is also the co-founder and Editor-in-Chief of the Journal of Spanish Language Teaching (Routledge). Dr. Muñoz-Basols’ societal contributions include serving as President of the Asociación para la Enseñanza del Español como Lengua Extranjera (Association for the Teaching of Spanish as a Foreign Language) (ASELE), Trustee of the Instituto Cervantes, and corresponding member of the Academia Norteamericana de la Lengua Española (North American Academy of the Spanish Language) (ANLE).

Leonel Morgado is Full Professor at Universidade Aberta (UAb), lecturing on research methods, immersive environments, and programming. Senior Researcher at the INESC TEC independent laboratory, and Coordinator of the INESC TEC Nucleus at UAb. Member of the Unit for Development of the Local Learning Centres (UMCLA). Standards Liaison of the IEEE Education Society Technical Committee for Immersive Learning Environments, and Steering Committee & Circle of Scholars member at the Immersive Learning Research Network. Does research on immersive environments since 2000, with emphasis on supporting teaching and learning. He authored over 200 papers. Before his academic career, he was business and technical manager of a hardware import, distribution, and retail company, terminologist for the localization teams of MS Office 97 and Oracle InterOffice, language quality specialist for IBM/Lotus, and a coordinator of Web-development and software deployment teams. He was also a manager of a cooperative extension team fighting the digital divide in rural villages.

Antonio Chenoll is a researcher and lecturer specialising in the teaching of foreign languages, digital educational technologies and online learning. He is currently an integrated member of the LE@D (Distance Learning & eLearning Laboratory) at Universidade Aberta (Portugal), where, in addition to teaching, he coordinates the EL@N group within the same laboratory. His research focuses on foreign-language acquisition as a cognitive process through online and multimedia texts, as well as on the production, perception and acquisition of spoken language. He also investigates the use of web technologies, gamification and digital learning in the language-classroom.

Recently retired, but still active, Joseph Hopkins is a language teacher/teacher trainer and is the former Director of the Centre for Modern Languages at the Universitat Oberta de Catalunya, a totally online institution. He is also a team member of the project ICT-REV, an teacher development initiative financed by the European Centre for Modern Languages (ECML) and the European Commission. His research interests are technology-enhanced language teaching and learning, language teaching management, and ICT training for language teachers.

Pilar Rodríguez-Arancón works at the Department of Foreign Philologies and their Linguistics, National Distance Education University (UNED). Her research interests focus on Intercultural Communication and the didactic use of Audiovisual Translation. Her current projects is Green GECKO, which aims to improve Asian engineers’ green skills through online learning modules. She is a member of the TRADIT Research Group which specializes in three main research areas: audiovisual translation, media accessibility, and language learning. Pilar has managed UNED’s Language Centre for the past six years.

Ursula Stickler is Professor of Online Language Teaching at the Open University, UK, a distance teaching institution. Her research deals with technology enhanced language learning, teacher training, and qualitative research design. Across Europe and beyond she has worked with language teachers on integrating technology into their language teaching practice. She is co-editor of the Castledown book series “Developing online language pedagogies” and the “Bloomsbury Handbook of Language Learning and Technology”; and has co-edited numerous special issues and book projects.