Dr Jose Tejero López

AECID Teaching Fellow in Spanish

  • Spanish, Portuguese and Latin American Studies
  • Department of European Languages and Cultures
  • School of Literatures, Languages and Cultures

Contact details

Address

Street

Room 2.31
50 George Square

City
Edinburgh
Post code
EH8 9LH

Availability

  • My drop-in office hours for students are on Tuesdays from 2.00 PM to 3.30 PM. Outside of this time, please email me to arrange a meeting.

Biography

Background

Dr Jose Tejero López is an AECID Teaching Fellow in Spanish Language at the School of Literatures, Languages and Cultures. Jose is a scholar in Spanish Language Education and Applied Linguistics with more than 7 years of international teaching and research experience across Egypt, Peru, Slovenia, Spain, the UK and the United States. His research and teaching interests lie at the intersection of language and society: language education with a particular focus on Spanish, and the pedagogical integration of AI, as well as the role of languages as a tool for integration in vulnerable contexts such as migration and refugee settings, diasporic and heritage communities, or confinement. 

Jose has a longstanding passion and commitment to innovative approaches to teach Spanish Language and Culture in diverse contexts. He is the recipient of the first AECID fellowship awarded in the UK, a prestigious scheme for early-career specialist in Hispanic Studies funded by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, European Union and Cooperation in Spain. Combining teaching and research, he also fulfil AECID cultural and scientific responsibilities collaborating with the Spanish Office for Cultural and Scientific Affairs in London, Consulate of Spain in Edinburgh, Cervantes Chair and Instituto Cervantes in Manchester.

He has led curriculum transformation as Spanish lecturer, being course organiser, supervising undergraduate and MSc dissertations, and driving decolonisation of the Spanish curriculum. Jose is also a certified Spanish Teacher by the Instituto Cervantes, holding qualifications as a DELE examiner for all levels, SIELE instructor, AVE Global tutor, and he owns the recent DADIC certificate.  

Qualifications

  • PhD in Education Language Teaching, Universidad Camilo José Cela, Spain
  • MSc in Teaching Spanish as a Foreign Language and Other Modern Languages, Universidad de Sevilla, Spain
  • Undergraduate degree in Education, Universidad de Sevilla, Spain

Responsibilities & affiliations

  • Treasurer (Board of Trustees), Society of Spanish Researchers in the United Kingdom (SRUK/CERU)
  • External appointments as Visiting Lecturer and PG Supervisor, Universidad Camilo Jose Cela University, Universidad Alfonso X El Sabio, Universidad Internacional de Valencia (Spain)
  • DELE and SIELE examiner, Instituto Cervantes 

 

Undergraduate teaching

  • Foundation Spanish Language 1 – Course Organiser
  • Foundation Spanish Language 4 – Course Organiser 
  • Spanish 1B: Written Language
  • Spanish 1B: Oral Language 
  • Spanish Language 2: Grammar and Written Language 
  • Spanish Year Abroad Online Language Learning Course
  • MEL Dissertation completion

Open to PhD supervision enquiries?

Yes

Areas of interest for supervision

  • Spanish as a Foreign Language
  • Sociolinguistics
  • Teaching Languages
  • Linguistics  
  • Languages and Cultures
  • Languages learning in migratory contexts 
  • Bilingualism and multilingualism 
  • Language and policy
  • Social justice

Research summary

His PhD in Language Education (cum laude with International Mention, 2024) plus over 10 peer-reviewed articles and more than 20 international presentations, demonstrate a commitment and originality through his novel framework linking language policy, social justice, and pedagogy. His publications and track record already show that he is on steep trajectory towards career progression in his field.

Current research interests

His current research addresses language use in diasporic communities, with a particular focus on how languages are maintained across generations. To develop this work, he is deepening his partnerships with key agencies and institutions in the UK and Europe, including SRUK, CONNECTS-UK, Native Scientists and RAICEX. These initiatives underpin his current project, which examines the role of language maintenance in diasporic and heritage settings by focusing on UK-based European academic diasporas within the CONNECTS-UK network. Building on the collaborations he has developed with the networks mentioned above, he was elected Treasurer of SRUK in June 2025. In parallel, his research explores the pedagogical integration of artificial intelligence in Spanish language teaching in UK higher education. He is currently examining how university Spanish lecturers incorporate AI tools into their teaching practices, as well as their perceptions, beliefs and concerns regarding the impact of AI on language learning and digital pedagogy.

Affiliated research centres

Project activity

  • CONNECTS-UK: CONNecting European Communities Through Science in UK, supported by European Commission (Dates: 2024-2026). CONNECTS-UK is a collaborative platform created in 2022 by the scientific diasporas of Finland, France, Italy, Poland, Portugal, Netherlands, and Spain in the UK, together with Native Scientists. With financial support from the European Commission, Connects-UK aims to establish itself as a modern hub for science diplomacy. We are building on strong traditions of our member associations, who have been supporting EU-UK scientific relations for over 15 years and have forged connections with major organisations, such as the Embassies of EU Member States in the UK, and EU research institutions.
  • Digital Teaching Profile (DTP) of university Spanish Language Teachers (SLT) in the United Kingdom (UK), supported by The University of Edinburgh and University of Bristol (Dates: 2025-2027). As a PI, DTP project examines the practices of hundreds of university Spanish language teachers across the UK, with a special focus on the role and impact of Artificial Intelligence tools in their teaching practices. Supported by both universities, this research aims to advance academic knowledge and support the professional development of Spanish language educators across the UK.
  • Emotional aspects of teaching Spanish in prisons, supported by General Secretary of Penitentiary Institutions (SGIP) in Madrid (Dates: 2025-2027). This study explores the emotional dimensions of teaching Spanish in prisons, exploring teacher experiences, challenges, and methodologies in this unique context. Supported by Spain's Ministry of the Interior and the General Secretariat of Penitentiary Institutions (SGIP) in Madrid, data collection has provided pioneering results in the field, offering deeper insights into teaching practices.

Current project grants

AECID Fellowship (2025-2027). The University of Edinburgh – Granted by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, European Union and Cooperation in Spain (AECID)

Past project grants

Santander Universities Mobility Scholarship (2025). The Open University (United Kingdom) – Granted by Santander Universities
Erasmus+ Staff Mobility for Teaching Fellowship (2024). University of Ljubljana (Slovenia) – Granted by European Union
Research Mobility Fellowship "On the Move" (2023). The University of Edinburgh (United Kingdom) – Granted by Spanish Researchers in the United Kingdom (SRUK/CERU) and Conference of Deans of Spanish Universities (CRUE)
AECID Fellowship (2021-2022). Cairo University (Egypt) – Granted by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, European Union and Cooperation in Spain (AECID)
Research Mobility Grant "Santander Research" (2021). Instituto Cervantes in Cairo (Egypt) – Granted by Santander Foundation
Research Mobility Grant "INCHIPE" (2018). University of Piura (Peru) – Granted by European Commission “INCHIPE Project”
Teaching Mobility Grant "FARO programme" (2017). Instituto Cervantes in Albuquerque (United States) – Granted by Ministry of Education, Culture and Sport of Spain

Conference details

Jose has participated as a speaker in more than 20 international conferences in the last years. Selected presentations include:

  • 2025. Digital profile of University Spanish Teachers in the UK. ELEUK 2025, The Open University (United Kingdom)
  • 2024. Spanish as a language of integration in contexts of immigration: critical discourse analysis. I International Nebrija Conference of Young Researchers in Applied Linguistics, Nebrija University (Spain)
  • 2024. Spanish teacher discourse and phraseological expressions with immigrant students. liLETRAD2024, San José State University (United States)
  • 2023. Spanish Language for immigrants’ linguistic integration: critical discourse analysis. XIII EPPELE 2023. Instituto Cervantes from New Delhi and Cairo (India & Egypt)
  • 2023. Spanish for specific purposes: perspectives of future professional in teaching Spanish as a foreign language. XXVII International conference AEPE. Bratislava University (Slovakia)
  • 2022. Spanish Students needs at Instituto Cervantes Cervantes in Cairo. AHSA Conference. Spanish language in Africa South area. Pretoria University (South Africa)
  • 2022. Spanish, reception language: teaching for migrants and refugees. International Seminars. Instituto Cervantes in New Delhi (India)
  • 2021. Teaching Spanish for immigrants in Public School for Languages. VI Conference of Spanish for specific purposes. Education Ministry & HEPL (Belgium)

Organiser

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