Esperanza Roman-Mendoza

Director of Graduate Programs

Associate Professor

Spanish: E-learning, Distance Education, Applied Linguistics, Spanish for Heritage Speakers, Globalization, Learning Analytics

Esperanza Román-Mendoza, Ph.D. in Spanish Linguistics and General Linguistics, has been promoted to the rank of Professor at George Mason University in 2020. She has developed interactive Web-based learning materials for language and culture courses, and for teacher training. She has also authored Aprender a aprender en la era digital (Routledge 2018) and two handbooks for courses on social web tools and Web 2.0 pedagogy. She has co-authored several textbooks and published various articles on the instructional use of Web-course management tools and social media services. Her Catalog of Instructional Technologies and Best Practices in Language Teaching (2018) and the database Apps and Resources to Learn Spanish (2020) are two of her latest contributions to the field of technology-enhanced language learning. Esperanza Román-Mendoza collaborates with professional associations, journals, and international publishers such as CALICO, EUROCALL Review, the International Journal of Educational Technology in Higher Education, Edelsa, Edinumen, and Hueber Verlag. In September 2018, she delivered the inaugural speech at the XXIV. Jornadas Hispánicas des Deutschen Spanischlehrerverbandes in Hanover (Germany).

Esperanza Román-Mendoza is also very active in the field of Spanish for heritage speakers and has participated with Professors Rabin and Leeman in several service learning projects with GMU students. In addition, in her role as Associate Chair (2009-2016), Prof. Román-Mendoza led several assessment projects at George Mason University, including the Academic Program Review and the SACS assessment for her department.

Furthermore, she has taught a wide variety of courses at all levels of instruction. She has developed Spanish online courses at the basic and intermediate level, the online version of SPAN 370: Spanish Writing and Stylistics, the required written-intensive course for Spanish majors at GMU, and several online graduate courses, including SPAN480/551: Language, gender and inclusion, and FRLN/SPAN 551: Online & Ubiquitous Foreign Language Learning/Teaching. She has also directed study abroad programs in Ecuador, Spain, Italy, Mexico, Cuba, and Argentina.

During the academic year 2016-2017, she was a visiting professor and scholar at the prestigious Universidad de Salamanca in Spain, where she worked at the Cátedra de Altos Estudios del Español and the Centro Internacional del Español.

Current Research

Research focuses on several topics, including globalization in educational contexts, digital identity, communities of learning, community activism, MOOCs, data mining and learning analytics, critical pedagogy, and service learning.

Selected Publications

Román-Mendoza, E. (2018). Aprender a aprender en la era digital
Tecnopedagogía crítica para la enseñanza del español LE/L2. London: Routledge. Intro chapter available here.
Hernández Muñoz, N. y Román-Mendoza, E. (2018). Aprende conmigo: exigencias de la era digital para las buenas prácticas en la enseñanza de segundas lenguas." Círculo de lingüística aplicada a la comunicación 76, 31-48.
Román-Mendoza, E. (2018). “Tecnologías educativas". En J. Muñoz-Bassols, E. Gironzetti & M. Lacorte (Eds.), The Routledge Handbook of Spanish Language Teaching. Metodologías, contextos y recursos para la enseñanza del español L2. (pp. 547-564). London: Routledge.
Román Mendoza, E. (2016). "Engaging students in curriculum development: the case of an undergraduate course in digital humanities." Proceedings of the Fourth International Conference on Technological Ecosystems for Enhancing Multiculturality, pp. 965-969
Hernández Gil de Lamadrid, C., & Román Mendoza, E. (2015): “A Technology-Enhanced Self-Study of Reversible Mentorship in a Modern Language Program.” In A. Samaras, & K. J. Pithouse-Morgan (Eds.), Polyvocal Professional Development: Enacting dialogic professional learning through self-study. (pp. 93-110). Rotterdam, The Netherlands: SensePublishers.
Román Mendoza, E. (2014). Tecnología y enseñanza del español en los Estados Unidos: hacia un mayor protagonismo del alumno como gestor de su propio aprendizaje. Journal of Spanish Language Teaching, 1(2), 187-204. http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/23247797.2014.970362. Click here to download complete accepted manuscript.
Samaras, A. P., Karczmarczyk, D. Smith, L., Woodville, L., Harmon, L., Nasser, I., Parsons, S., Smith, T., Borne, K., Constantine, L., Roman-Mendoza, E., Suh, J., & Swanson, R. (2014). The Shark in the Vitrine: Experiencing our Practice from the Inside Out with Transdisciplinary Lenses. Journal of Transformative Education, 12(4), 368-388. doi:10.1177/1541344614551637
Román Mendoza, E. (2014). Prólogo. En E. Martín y J. Hernández Ortega (Eds.), Pedagogía audiovisual. Monográfico de experiencias docentes multimedia. Madrid: Universidad Rey Juan Carlos. http://eciencia.urjc.es/handle/10115/12522
Román Mendoza, E. (2013). Los medios sociales en los cursos online abiertos y masivos (MOOC): un camino hacia la innovación a través de la disrupción y la colaboración. En Creus, A., Sánchez-Navarro, J. y Aranda, D. (eds.). Educación, medios digitales y cultura de la participación. (pp. 153-176). Barcelona: UOC Press.
Román Mendoza, E. (2013). Tecnología y aprendizaje de lenguas extranjeras: De dónde venimos y hacia dónde vamos. Boletín Scopeo, 88. Online at http://scopeo.usal.es/tecnologia-y-aprendizaje-de-lenguas-extranjeras-de-donde-venimos-y-hacia-donde-vamos/
Román Mendoza, E. (2012). Tecnología educativa y mentoría reversible: nuevos planteamientos en la formación inicial y permanente del profesorado. In M. Estebanell Miguell, P. Cornellà Canals & D. Codina Regàs (Eds.) XX Jornadas Universitarias de Tecnología Educativa (pp. 267-272). Girona: GreTICE. ISBN: 978-84-8458-409-4. (2012). Also available at www.udg.edu/Portals/9/Publicacions/novetats/2012/JUTE2012.pdf
Samaras, A. P., Smith, L., Harmon, L., Nasser, I., Smith, T., Borne, K., Parsons, S., Woodville,L., Constantine, L., Roman-Mendoza, E., Suh, J., Swanson, R., & Karczmarczyk, D. (2012). Reforming in the first person plural: Explorations of a faculty self-studycollaborative. In J.R. Young, L.B., Erickson & S. Pinnegar (Eds.). Extending inquiry communities: Illuminating teacher education through self-study. Proceedings of the Ninth International Conference on the Self-Study of Teacher Education Practices, East Sussex, England (pp.251-255). Provo, UT: Brigham Young University.
"Identity and Social Activism in Critical Heritage Language Education” (with Leeman and Rabin) (2011). Modern Language Journal, 95(4): 481-495.
La web 2.0 al servicio de la comunidad en un programa de español como lengua de herencia en Estados Unidos. (with Leeman and Rabin). Revista TESI, 12(3), pp. 118-140. http://campus.usal.es/~revistas_trabajo/index.php/revistatesi/article/view/8486/8579 2011.
A Critical Service-Learning Program in Spanish Heritage Language Education: Joining Universities, Schools, and Communities.” (with Leeman and Rabin) Heritage Language Journal, 8(3). http://hlj.ucla.edu/?AspxAutoDetectCookieSupport=1 2011.
Román Mendoza, E. (2009). RSS and Social Personalized Pages: Optimizing E-language Learning through Content Syndication, in Lomicka, L. & Lord, G. The Second Generation: Online collaboration and social networking in CALL. CALICO MONOGRAPH SERIES.
Román Mendoza, E. Pedagogía del e-learning. Madrid: Universidad Nacional de Educación a Distancia, 2009 [2nd ed.].
Román Mendoza, E. Tendencias actuales del e-learning. Madrid: Universidad Nacional de Educación a Distancia, 2009 [3rd ed.].
VanPatten, B., Leeser, M., Keating, G. D. and Román-Mendoza, E. Sol y viento. [1^st ed.]. McGraw-Hill. 2005.
Ruipérez, G., Aguirre, B., García, J. C. and Román, E. Primer Plano 4. Madrid: Edelsa, 2003.
Ruipérez, G., Aguirre, B., García, J. C. and Román, E. Primer Plano 3. Madrid: Edelsa, 2002.

Courses Taught

(Click on links to see syllabi)

Undergraduate Courses

SPAN 101: Introductory Spanish I (twice). Revised syllabus. Multimedia materials.

SPAN 201: Intermediate Spanish I (twice). Revised syllabus. Multimedia materials.

SPAN 202: Intermediate Spanish II (once). Revised syllabus. Multimedia materials.

SPAN 209: Intensive Intermediate Spanish (once). Revised syllabus. Multimedia materials.

SPAN 300: Reading Skills Development (five times). Developed new syllabus. WebCT materials.

SPAN 301: Spanish Grammar and Syntax (three times). Revised syllabus. Web-based exercises.

SPAN 302: Reading and Writing Skills Development (twice). New course. WebCT materials.

SPAN 306: Spanish in Context I Blackboard (once).

SPAN 309: Intensive Spanish in Context (twice). Student blogs. Glogster. Blackboard.

SPAN 315: Spanish for Heritage Speakers (once). Developed new syllabus. Blackboard & Pageflakes.

SPAN 321: Introduction to Spanish Culture (once). Developed new syllabus. Web-based materials.

SPAN 335: Community Activism through Social Media (once). Wiki. Twitter. Diigo.

SPAN 336: Topics for Proficiency: Spain as Portrayed in Social Media (twice). Developed new syllabus. Wiki. Online Newspaper. Photo Calendar and VoiceThread.

SPAN 351: Spanish Conversation (twice). Developed new syllabus. WebCT materials, chats.

SPAN 352: Spanish Composition (twice). Developed new syllabus. WebCT materials.

SPAN 385: Introduction to Spanish Linguistics (once). Blackboard materials.

SPAN 451: Advanced Spanish Conversation (once). Developed new syllabus. WebCT materials.

SPAN 452: Advanced Written Spanish (four times). Developed new syllabus. WebCT/Blackboard. Wiki.

SPAN 476: Teaching Spanish in the US (once). Revised new syllabus. WebCT/Blackboard. E-portfolio.

SPAN 490: Internship at Arlington Traditional School. (once). Developed new online materials. Wiki.

SPAN 461: Spanish Civilization and Culture (nine times). Developed new syllabus. WebCT/Blackboard materials.

HNRS 130: Concepts of the Self (twice). Developed new syllabus. Blogs and WebCT materials.

Graduate Courses

SPAN 502: Applied Spanish Grammar (once). Blackboard.

SPAN 505: Applied Spanish Stylistics (six times). Developed new syllabus. Blogs and WebCT/Blackboard materials. E-portfolio.

SPAN 551: Integrating Technology into Language Learning (once). New course. WebCT materials.

SPAN 551: Colloquial Spanish (once). New course. WebCT materials.

SPAN 551: Integrating Literature and Culture in the Language Classroom (once). New course. WebCT materials.

SPAN 551: Social Media for Research and Education (once). Wiki. Twitter. Diigo. Collaborate.

FRLN/SPAN 551: Online & Ubiquitous Foreign Language Learning/Teaching (once). Wiki. Twitter. GoogleDocs. BB Collaborate.

FRLN 572: Integrating Technology into Language Learning (once). New course. Web-based materials.

SPAN 694: Instructional Technologies in the Language Classroom (twice). Middlebury College. Vermont. New course. Web-based materials.

SPAN 698: Integrating Literature and Culture in the Language Classroom (once). Middlebury College. Vermont. New course. Web-based materials.

Online Courses

SPAN 101: Basic Spanish I. Summer 2014. George Mason University.

SPAN 115: Review of Elementary Spanish. Spring 2012, Fall 2012. Spring 2013. George Mason University.

SPAN 210: Intermediate Spanish. Spring 2012, Summer 2012. Summer 2013. George Mason University.

SPAN 370: Spanish Writing and Stylistics. Spring and Fall 2014, Fall 2015, Spring 2016, Spring and Fall 2018. George Mason University.

SPAN 480/SPAN 551: Language, Gender and Inclusion. Blackboard, Twitter.

FRLN/SPAN 551: Online & Ubiquitous Foreign Language Learning/Teaching (once). Wiki. Twitter. GoogleDocs. BB Collaborate.

Pedagogía del E-learning. Universidad Nacional de Educación a Distancia, Spain. (2007-2010). New course. Printed materials. E-ducativa-based materials. Wiki. Blog.

Nuevas tendencias del e-learning. Universidad Nacional de Educación a Distancia, Spain. (2006-2010). New course. Printed materials. E-ducativa-based and WebCT materials. Wiki. Blog.

Recent Presentations

Learning Analytics, Social Media Trends, Digital Identity and Digital Storytelling, Corporate E-Learning

Aprendizaje de lenguas, estereotipos e identidad. TEDxLeon 2017.

Tendencias emergentes en eLearning en Estados Unidos. Expocampus 2014. November 2014.

Minería de datos y analítica del aprendizaje al servicio de la formación. Expoelearning. Madrid. March 2014

Interaction in Online Learning Environments. Hybrid Course Design and Teaching. Faculty Learning Community. George Mason University. February 2013.

Tendencias emergentes en eLearning en Estados Unidos. Expocampus 2012. Madrid. November 2012.

¿Cómo lo haces tú? El relato digital como herramienta en la formación del profesorado. International Conference on Digital Storytelling. Universitá de Valencia. March 2012. Vídeo recording available.

Empresa 2.0 y aprendizaje 2.0. Universidad Católica de Chile. Santiago de Chile. November 2011.

Innovación y e-learning en Estados Unidos. Expocampus 2010. Madrid. October 2010.

I have a voice. Do I want to use it online. Innovations in Teaching and Learning. GMU. October 2010.

Personalized instruction, open source tools, self-study of teaching.

Sabiduría colectiva en la red y aprendizaje de lenguas: ¿De quién nos podemos fiar? XXXIII Congreso Internacional AESLA. Universidad Politécnica de Madrid. Spain. April 2015.

Writing á la Carte: The Use of Blackboard Tools and Social Media to Provide Individualized Feedback in an Online Writing Course. Innovations in Teaching and Learning. George Mason University. Fairfax, VA. September 2014.

Alternancia de lenguas y alternancia de código comunicativo en el profesorado de español como segunda lengua (L2) / lengua extranjera (LE) en los medios sociales. XXXII Congreso Internacional AESLA. Universidad Pablo Olavide. Sevilla, Spain. April 2014.

Aplicaciones informáticas de código abierto para la enseñanza. Presented at Educación personalizada mediante recursos tecnológicos. Universidad Internacional Menéndez Pelayo. Valencia, Spain, September 2013.

La educación personalizada en EE.UU. Presented at Educación personalizada mediante recursos tecnológicos. Universidad Internacional Menéndez Pelayo. Valencia, Spain, September 2013.

Aprendizaje formal e informal. Más allá de los entornos virtuales de aprendizaje. MoodleMoot Euskadi. Vitoria, Spain. October 2011.

How much is enough? A Self-Study of Teaching Practices Using Social Media. Lilly Conference 2011. Bethesda, MD. June 2011.

Una imagen vale más con mil palabras, June 2010. Video recording available.

Communities of Learning and Activism. Community Service Learning

Edmodo y otras herramientas 2.0 para la educación. Museo MARTE. San Salvador, El Salvador. February 2012.

With Profs. Leeman and Rabin, presentation at MAALT-SEALT, March 2010

Social media and professional training

Enseñanza online de ELE: personalización, reputación digital y confianza. Seminar. Máster de Español como Lengua Extranjera. Universidad de Salamanca, Spain. April 2014.

Estrategias y recursos para la implementación y evaluación de la tecnología educativa. Seminar. Máster de Español como Lengua Extranjera. Universidad de Salamanca. March 2014

ELE 2.0: las redes sociales al servicio del aprendizaje del español como lengua extranjera. III Congreso Internacional del Español. Salamanca. June 2013.

Estrategias y recursos para la implementación y evaluación de cursos online. Seminario para el Máster de Español como Lengua Extranjera. Universidad de Salamanca. May 2013.

Casos prácticos de la utilización de las redes sociales en el aprendizaje de lenguas modernas. Taller para el Centro Superior de Idiomas Modernos. Universidad Complutense de Madrid. November 2012.

El papel del profesorado en la didáctica 2.0. Taller para el Centro Superior de Idiomas Modernos. Universidad Complutense de Madrid. November 2012.

Best Practices in Modern Language Learning through Social Media.” Teacher Training Workshop. Centro Superior de Idiomas Modernos. Universidad Complutense de Madrid. November 2012.

Teaching in the Web 2.0 Era. Teacher Training Workshop. Centro Superior de Idiomas Modernos. Universidad Complutense de Madrid. November 2012.

El uso de las redes sociales en la enseñanza universitaria. Seminario Permanente IUCE-UNAM sobre Innovación en Educación. Universidad Autónoma de Madrid. November 2012.

Meeting Student, Faculty and Institutional Needs through Social Media. New Faculty Orientation. Geroge Mason University. August 2012.

“Desarrollo de materiales para el e-Learning.” Curso de Guion de Productos Multimedia. Centro de Innovación y Formación Ocupacional de l'Hospitalet de Llobregat. May 2012.

Tecnología educativa y mentoría reversible: Nuevos planteamientos para la formación inicial y permanente del profesorado. JUTE 2012. Universitat de Girona. June 2012

"La Web 2.0 al servicio de la salud". Universidad Católica de Chile. December 2011.

“La web social: Oportunidades y retos para la colaboración y la comunicación en clase de ELE.” TODO ELE Series 2011. June 2011. PowerPoint and complete talk.

Twitter: Canal de la comunicación para la formación. Forem. Galicia. November 2010. Video recording available.

Guest speaker at II Jornadas de Educación con TIC. Torreon, Mexico. February 2010. The viderecordings of the talks on social media and collaboration are available online.

One-day workshop facilitator at Riverdale Country School, New York. February 2010

Critical Pedagogy, Service Learning, Spanish Teaching and Spanish Heritage Language Education

Yo escribo si tú escribes. ForoELE. Universitá de Valencia. March 2014

With Profs. Leeman and Rabin. Presentations at AAAL (March 7, 2010) and the International Conference on Heritage Languages at UCLA (February 19, 2010)

In the Media

Interviews and Roundtables:

Pensar en la educación como proceso personalizable, participativo y adaptable. March 2015

The future of textbooks. May 2014

On Data Mining and Learning Analytics. February 2014.

What are Google Helpouts. November 2013.

YouTube Video Channel. Playlist "Interviews", includes among others:

Miniinterview with Professor Santiago Ortigosa. MOOCs.
Interview with Professor Barry Pennock-Speck. Digital Story Telling. March 2012.
Interview with Instructor Pedro Lonbide. Mahara. Moodle Moot Euskadi. October 2011
Spanish Public TV. La 2 de TVE. Elearning in the US and Spain. October 2010.
Spanish Public TV. La 2 de TVE. Elearning as strategic tool. October 2009.
Spanish Public TV, La 2 de TVE. Web 2.0. October 2008.