Dr Ernesto Vargas Gil, PhD (Warwick)
Lecturer in Academic and Professional Communication
Email: e.vargasgil@qmul.ac.uk
Room Number: Bancroft Building 1.29
Profile
Ernesto is a Lecturer in Academic and Professional Communication in the School of Languages, Linguistics and Film at QMUL. He holds a PhD in Applied Linguistics from the University of Warwick, UK. He is an Associate Fellow of the Higher Education Academy in the UK. He is also a Cambridge Delta-qualified teacher and, throughout his career, has worked in different EFL/ESP/EAP and SLTE contexts. In the UK, he has taught at various universities, including the University of Birmingham, the University of Bristol, Aston University, and Imperial College London, where he still collaborates as an Academic Visiting Teaching Lecturer. He is the current IATEFL Research Special Interest Group (ReSIG) Coordinator.
Qualifications
- PhD
- MA
- PG Cert
- BA
Cambridge Teaching Qualifications
- DELTA
- ICELT
- CELTA
Teaching
At Queen Mary University of London, Dr Ernesto Vargas supervises PhD and MA students. He also teaches Master’s, Foundations, and In-sessional courses:
Postgraduate courses
- Description of Language (Convener)
- Applied Linguistics: Critical Reflection (Convener)
- Dissertation in English Language Teaching (Convener)
- Approaches and Methods in English Language Teaching
Foundation and In-sessional courses
- Intercultural Communication for the Global Workplace
- Economics and Finance in Action
- Communication in Science and Technology
Research
Research Interests:
His main areas of research interest are Language Teacher Education, with a focus on Continuing Professional Development practices in the Global South, particularly from an epistemological decolonisation perspective; Language Teacher Research, and Research Methodology, particularly concerning in-depth qualitative inquiry approaches in educational settings.
Current research & scholarship projects
Research Project: ‘Education Research in Conflict and Protracted Crisis (ERICC)’ – An Education in Emergencies (EiE) research programme funded by the British Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office (FCDO) (2023-2024) - As GEI Fellow – Education Researcher.
Research Project: ‘Teacher-Research Postdoctoral Auto-Ethnography (Academics from 10 universities in Mexico)’ – Research project supported by IATEFL Research Special Interest Group, UK. (2023-2024) – As Co-Lead.
Scholarship Project: ‘Get Spotted! A podcast series and a masterclass on communicative practices’ – A scholarship project funded by President and Principal’s Fund for Educational Excellence Queen Mary University of London (2023-2024) – As Collaborator (2023-2024).
IATEFL ReSIG
In my role as the Coordinator of the IATEFL Research Special Group (ReSIG), I chair or co-chair the following annual events:
- The ‘MA ELT/TESOL Quickfire Dissertation Presentation’ Event, co-organised with the Centre for Applied Linguistics of the University of Warwick, UK - A platform for postgraduate students in the final stages of their dissertations to share their research findings with peers from across the UK.
- The ‘Teacher-Research International Online Conference’ – An annual conference with inspiring and lively presentations by teacher research mentors/mentees from around the world.
- The ReSIG Pre-Conference Event (PCE) & ReSIG Showcase Day, organised both as part of the celebration of the IATEFL International Conference and Exhibition.
In addition to other initiatives organised by the Research SIG. See here
Publications
Articles
- Focus on the SIGs: Research SIG. IATEFL Voices, Issue 285 March/April 2022. Faversham: IATEFL.
- Presentation of the new issue of IATEFL ELT Research: ‘From the Coordinator’. IATEFL ELT Research, Issue 36 (February 2022), vi-x.
- A report on the IATEFL joint ReSIG LASIG pre-conference event, Brighton 2018: ‘Learner autonomy and practitioner research’. IATEFL ELT Research, Issue 34 (February 2019), 39-41.
Book Chapters
- With Ramírez-Romero J.L. (2019) Mexico’s Politics, Policies and Practices for Bilingual Education and English as a Foreign Language in Primary Public Schools. In: Johannessen B. (eds) Bilingualism and Bilingual Education: Politics, Policies and Practices in a Globalized Society. Cham, Switzerland: Springer
Translations
Books
- Musto, M. (2012) Tras los Pasos de un Fantasma. Mexico: Siglo XXI Editores
- Anton, A. & Schmitt, R. (2011). Hacia un Nuevo Socialismo. Madrid: Montesinos Editor
Articles
- Kramer K. R. (2013). ‘Jeans’: Karen Ruoff Kramer. Historich-Kritisches wörterbuch des marxismus. Berlin: INKRIT
- Petras, J. (1999) ‘Capitalism and Democracy’. Dialéctica N. 32. Mexico: Universidad Autónoma de Puebla.
- Haug, F. W. (1998). ‘After the Fall of Fordist Marxism’. Dialéctica N. 31 (Mexico: Universidad Autónoma de Puebla.
- Haug, F. (1997). ‘Marxism and Feminism’. Dialéctica N. 30. Mexico: Universidad Autónoma de Puebla
- Singer, D. (1996). ‘Beyond Capital’. Memoria N.88. Mexico: CEMOS.
Editorial Work
Reviewer for international journals
- Language and Education (Q1 Education)
- Education Policy Analysis Archives (Q2 Education)
Public Engagement
Invited Talks, Colloquia, Workshops and Conference Papers
2024
- Conference Chair: IATEFL ReSIG Showcase Day at the 57th International Conference & Exhibition for English language teaching professional – IATEFL Brighton 2024.Brighton, U.K. – Tuesday 16 April 2024.
- Conference Co-Chair: Learning Technologies Special Interest Group (LTSIG) and Research Special Interest Group (ReSIG) Joint Pre-Conference Event Day at the 57th International Conference & Exhibition for English Language Teaching Professionals – IATEFL Brighton 2024. Brighton, U.K. – Monday 15 April 2024.
- Conference Co-Chair: ‘Teachers Research! Online Conference 2024’ organised by IATEFL ReSIG (Online) 9-10 March 2024.
- Conference Co-Chair: XI Language Centre Learning & Teaching Conference 2024 – Queen Mary University of London, UK (Hybrid event) – Friday 8 March 2024.
2023
FEATURED TALKS
- Panel Discussant: ‘Decolonising English Language Education Conference: Exploring bidirectional opportunities’ – organised by the University of Yaoundé (Cameroon), the University of Education Karlsruhe (Germany) and the Cameroon English Language and Literature Teachers Association (CAMELTA) (Hybrid event) – Wednesday 22nd November 2023.
- ‘Welcome’ and ‘Closing Remarks’ of the Online Conference: ‘Stories of Mentoring Teacher- Research Conference organised by IATEFL ReSIG (Online) 17 Jun 2023.
- ‘Welcome’ and ‘Final reflections and round- up’ (with Richard Smith and Asli Saglam) at the Online Conference: ‘Teachers Research! Online 2023’ organised by IATEFL ReSIG (Online) 17- 18 March 2023.
- Guest Speaker Talk: 'Teacher Research Webinars Series 1' organised by the Cameroon Teacher Research Group – Online - 12 February 2023.
CONFERENCE PRESENTATIONS
- ‘Contextualising the Marketisation of English Language Teacher Training in the Global South: An Ethnographic Study on Epistemological and Methodological Appropriacy’ at the Georg Arnhold International Summer Conference on “Educational Justice and Sustainable Peace: Access, Participation and Technology” - Leibniz Institute for Educational Media | Georg Eckert Institute, Braunschweig, Germany – 29 Jun 2023.
- ‘How To…’ session: How to reflect on research talks at the conference at the 56th International Conference & Exhibition for English language teaching professionals – IATEFL Harrogate 2023. Harrogate, U.K. - 19 April 2023.
- ‘Exploring the Cambridge Ethos: a glace into the complexities of professional development for language teachers in the Global South’ at the Language Centre Learning & Teaching Conference 2023 – Queen Mary University of London – 10 March 2023.
CONFERENCE CHAIR/CO-CHAIR
- W/ ReSIG MEXICO: ‘1st National Conference on English Language Educational Research Mexico 2023’ (Online event) - Friday 1st December 2023.
- W/IATEFL GISIG/HANDS UP: ‘Researching the impact of weekly intercultural Zoom link-ups on children's enjoyment of studying English in large classes in Governmental schools in Gaza’ (Online) Monday 20th November 2023).
- W/CAMELTA: ‘3rd Sub-Saharan Africa Teacher Research Online Conference: Exploring the value of teacher research in learning and professional development in ELT (Online) Saturday 16th September 2023.
- W/WARWICK UNIVERSITY: Conference Co-Chair: ‘MA in ELT Quick Fire Presentation Event 2023’ (Hybrid Event) - 7 August 2023.
- ‘IATEFL ReSIG Showcase Day’ - the 56th International Conference & Exhibition for English language teaching professionals – IATEFL Harrogate 2023. Harrogate, U.K. - 20 April 2023.
- ‘IATEFL ReSIG Pre-Conference Event’ - the 56th International Conference & Exhibition for English language teaching professional – IATEFL Harrogate 2023. Harrogate, U.K. - 17 April 2023.