Instituto Cervantes Manchester and Leeds presents a new lecture series: “Acquiring a Second Language: Why do we find it so difficult?”, coordinated by Idoia Elola (Texas Tech University) y Ana Oskoz (University of Maryland, Baltimore County (UMBC), a forum aimed at teachers, language students, parents and the general public, which will consider how we learn a second, or a heritage language.

Presenters will discuss various elements and difficulties that come with second-language acquisition including: myths and realities surrounding language acquisition and age, the effect of explicit knowledge and how it can affect learning, the use of language according to the context in which it is spoken, and the effect of education on our ability to learn a second language.

Fourth talk: “Is the Metaverse the future of language teaching?”, by Kristi Jauregi-Ondarra (Utrecht University)

The Metaverse is very much in vogue nowadays. The press, television, social networks and radio programmes devote sections of their broadcasts to the Metaverse: the virtual world that exists parallel to the physical world and allows us to interact with other people, work, shop, stroll, have fun and even study through virtual reality glasses connected to the Internet. Scientists and teachers are experimenting with these new technologies, and how they might impact upon human development and advancement, and the results seem promising, but what is the truth of it all? In this presentation, we will talk about the Metaverse, its origins, myths and facts regarding what we might expect of it in the future, and the possible contributions and challenges of its use in language teaching/learning.

Kristi Jauregi Ondarra is a lecturer and researcher at Utrecht University (the Netherlands) and a member of the research group “Languages and Teaching” at the University’s Institute of Language Sciences. Her main area of research revolves around Computer-Assisted Language Learning (ELAO). In particular, she studies how the meaningful implementation of Virtual Exchanges, or Telecollaboration projects, can play a decisive role in the process of intercultural language learning. She also analyses how these projects can transform teachers’ didactic approaches and pedagogical performance. Her latest research analyses the impact that the latest technologies, such as immersive virtual and augmented reality, as well as digital games have on intercultural language learning processes. Since 2005 Jauregi Ondarra has initiated and coordinated several European pedagogical innovation projects (E-LIVE, TeCoLa, TILA & NIFLAR) and has published extensively on issues related to intercultural language teaching and learning through new technologies.