About me

¡Hola! My name is María Blanco. I work as a Senior Lecturer in Spanish at the University of Westminster (London) and as a Spanish as a Foreign Language teacher at María Blanco Coaching. I also run language learning strategies coaching sessions for students, and language learning strategies workshops for students and teachers.

I am passionate about the work I do. It gives me great satisfaction to see students performing better, gaining self-confidence, and enjoying the process of learning more as a result of the work we do together. 

As a specialist in effective language learning strategies, I have extensive experience of delivering coaching and workshops for Adult and Higher Education students and teachers in the UK and other European countries. I have also worked extensively in designing, delivering, and assessing Spanish as a Foreign Language courses for more than twenty-five years. I have also been involved as a Spanish Development Editor in several graded reader projects for Hodder and Stoughton. 

I have published How to Learn Spanish: A guide to powerful principles and strategies for successful learning and self-empowerment (Hikari Press, 2021)  to empower students by introducing them to key principles and practical techniques that have proved to be very effective for optimising the process of language learning and making it more enjoyable. 

How to Teach Language Learning Strategies: 4 simple steps for successful independent language learning (Lightwork Press, 2021) is written for language teachers. In the book, I share a simple and effective approach that I have successfully used with my students. It is a short and practical book, and the approach is applicable to modern foreign languages in general. 

I gained my BA (Hons) in Education at the Universidad Pontificia de Salamanca (Spain), and completed an MA in Modern Languages in Education at the University College of London Institute of Education.

I am a Neurolanguage Coach®, certified by Efficient Language Coaching and accredited by the International Coaching Federation. I am also a certified EUROLTA Teacher Trainer, International House Spanish Language Teacher and Online Tutor, DELE Examiner, and Fellow of the Higher Education Academy.

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