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Areas of expertise
Biography
I have been a doctoral researcher at the Department of Education at the University of Turku since 2020. I have a lifelong interest in language learning, starting from learning languages as a child, to teaching languages during my 20s, to now researching about how language learning is part of processes of identity negotiation.
As an early career researcher I have a long way before I can consider myself an expert in any field so I am eager to learn, network, and work to develop my expertise.
Teaching
I do not have any teaching responsibilities at University at the moment, nor have I had the opportunity to teach in this setting yet.
However, I have taught English mostly to children. I was a class teacher in Mexico for 2 years in a Spanish-English bilingual private school and an English preschool teacher for one year.
I have also taught classical ballet to children, teenagers, young adults, and adults.
Research
My research focuses on how adult immigrants negotiate their identities through Finnish language learning, especially as part of language integration courses. Learning a language from a sociocultural perspective means we learn with and from others, including peers, other learners, and fluent users of a language. Power relations in these interactions affects the way we learn and the way we think about our selves (identity).
This is of special interest to me as a researcher but also as an adult immigrant.