Sofia Martinho

Profile

I graduated in 2001 from the University of Coimbra (Portugal) with a degree in Modern Languages and Literatures (Portuguese Studies) and completed an MA in Education with Distinction at the University of Leeds in 2013 with a thesis on Digital Literacies.

Before joining the University of Leeds in 2008, I was the Director of the Camões Centre in Goa (India) and at the University of Newcastle (UK). At Leeds, I am currently the Director of Spanish, Portuguese and Latin American Studies and the Director of the Camões Centre for Portuguese Language, teaching Portuguese Language and Lusophone Literatures and Cultures. In 2013, I launched Fusão, a programme of public academic and cultural events, with the aim of showcasing the culture of all Portuguese-speaking countries in Leeds and the North of England.

My scholarship focuses in the areas of Digital Literacies for Language Learning, Uses and Effectiveness of Technologies in Language Learning and Teaching and Online Autonomous Language Learning, with a particular focus on Modern Languages Speaking Skills.

I also dedicate some of my time doing advocacy work for Language Learning in the UK and I am a member of the Routes into Languages-UCFL Committee. Since 2017, I am the President of TROPO UK the Association of Researchers and Teachers of Portuguese Language in the UK.

Responsibilities

• Director of Spanish, Portuguese and Latin American Studies
• Director of the Camões Centre for Portuguese Language
• Co-lead of Routes into Languages Yorkshire and Humberside

Research interests

My scholarship focuses in the areas of Digital Literacies for Language Learning, Uses and Effectiveness of Technologies in Language Learning and Teaching and Online Autonomous Language Learning. 

I am an active member of the Centre for Excellence in Language Teaching (CELT) and  one of the founding chief-editors of the Language Scholar, an innovative international open-access peer-review journal on Language Pedagogy.

I am currently working on a COIL project  – funded by the UoL International Strategy Fund – that aims to create, in partnership with the University of Goa (India), an open-access interactive online map of Goa, with audio in Portuguese.

 

Research Groups and Institutes:

Language at Leeds

Embracing Linguistic Diversity

Pedagogical Linguistics

The Camões Centre for Portuguese Language

Network for Hispanic and Lusophone Cultural Studies

Routes into Languages

Fusão

 

Editorial Boards:

The Language Scholar

 

Publications

“New Trends in the Learning and Teaching of Second Language Speaking Skills in Higher Education”, Hermoso-Gomez, B., La Sala, C. and Martinho, S. (eds). Cambridge: Cambridge Scholars (2024).

"Evaluating authenticity in spoken discourse: the case of Português XXI 1" (book chapter), in Authenticity in materials development for language learning,. Maley, A. & Tomlinson, B. (eds). Cambridge: Cambridge Scholars (2017).

"Portcast – Portuguese has never sounded this easy", The Language Scholar Journal, 0 (2016).

"Malícias Orientais (Pequenas Histórias Garotas, Alegres e Tristes de Costumes das Novas Conquistas), Índia Portuguesa 1923", with Paul Melo e Castro and Augusto Pinto, Via Atlântica, 19 (2011), pp.179-194.

"Instituto Camões – the Portuguese agency for cultural and educational policy overseas", with Fátima Taborda, Vida Hispánica, Autumn 2011, 44, pp. 8-9.

Plenary and keynote presentations

May 2018 - "TROPO-UK – o caso de uma associação de professores de Português de sucesso: oportunidades e desafios", Encontro de Professores de Lingua Portuguesa, suas Literaturas e Culturas – Ensino e Difusao da Lingua Portuguesa: Diagnostico e Perspectivas, Escuela Oficial de Idiomas de Barcelona (Spain)

April 2017 - "Portuguese Studies at HE Institutions in the UK – challenges and opportunities", The Future of Portuguese Language - Bilingualism and Heritage Language Learning in Europe, international conference with the Portuguese Secretary of State for Education, University of Lancaster.

November 2016 - "What is it like to be a researcher in the UK? – challenges and opportunities", workshop PortUKal: Viver com um pé em cada lado, organised by the Portuguese Association of Researchers and Students in the UK (PARSUK), University of Sheffield.

June 2016 - "The added value of the Humanities", Luso 2016 - 9th Annual Meeting of the Portuguese Association of Researchers and Students in the UK (PARSUK), Manchester.

Invited presentations

June 2017 - "The Excellence in Speaking Skills Teaching Enhancement Project", LITE Teaching Scholarship Showcase Summer 2017, University of Leeds.

March 2017 - "Developing MFL Speaking Skills in and out of the classroom", Leeds Learning Partnership's Languages Conference 2017, organised by the local Education department, Leeds Learning Partnership's Languages Conference 2017.

June 2015 - "Give them a picture and they will say a thousand words - Using pictures in paper, mobiles and tablets to develop Portuguese language skills", University of Essex.

September 2013 - "Student participation and motivation", Enhancing Modern Foreign Languages Teaching for New Tutors", organised by The Higher Education Academy, University of Leeds.

Conference presentations

January 2017 - "Getting Students to Co-create our Response to Their Own Call for Change – the case of the Speaking Skills Digital Toolkit", SEC/DigiFest 2018, University of Leeds.

August 2017 - "Formas inovadoras de desenvolver e testar as competências orais na sala de PLE", 6th EMEP - Portuguese Language International Summit, Florida International University (USA).

July 2017 - "Innovative approaches to assessment (for learning) of Portuguese speaking skills, 12th Annual Conference of the International Association of Lusophone Studies, Macao Polytechnic Institute (China).

June 2017 - "Innovative digital approaches to assessment (for learning) of MFL oral skills", Conference: Innovative and Reliable Approaches to Language Assessment and Test Design in Higher Education, University of Exeter.

October 2016 - "E-tools for the Language Classroom – creating more opportunities to learn, practice and communicate", Language Show Live London 2016, London.

September 2016 - "A autenticidade no discurso oral: análise e propostas - o caso do manual Português XXI 1", V Jornadas de língua portuguesa e culturas lusófonas da Europa central e de leste, University of Zagreb (Croatia).

June 2016 - "Evaluating authenticity in spoken discourse in text books", MATSDA 2016 Conference, University of Liverpool.

June 2016 - "Aiming for the Dream Job: Enhancing Employability from Curriculum Design to Assessment – The Case of an Integrated Content and Language Course", Innovative Language Teaching at University Conference 2016, University of York.

January 2016 - "Exploring the use of the Internet to improve students’ language skills", co-ordinator with Patrizia Lavizani and Gabriele Zagel-Millmore, SEC/DigiFest 2016, University of Leeds.

September 2014 - "Ensinar a aprender – como conquistar o Léxico?", IV Jornadas de língua portuguesa e culturas lusófonas da Europa central e de leste, Charles University (Czech Republic).

June 2013 - "Innovative Ways to Effectively Engage Students in Foreign Language Oral Performance", Innovative Language Teaching and Learning at University Conference, organised by The Higher Education Academy, University of Manchester.

May 2013 - "Desafios do ensino-aprendizagem do Léxico de Língua Portuguesa - o caso de falantes de Espanhol Língua Segunda", Congreso Internacional La Lengua Portuguesa, Universidad de Salamanca (Spain).

External teaching and CPD sessions

November 2017 - Oral Fluency in the second/ foreign language classroom, one-day CPD workshop for University of Leeds, Manchester and York staff, University of Leeds

September 2017 - "For a symbiotic teaching approach to language and cultural studies: the case of Portuguese in British HE Institutions", CPD workshop for lecturers, 7th Annual Conference of the Association of British and Irish Lusitanists, University of Sheffield

June 2017 - "Getting students talking outside the classroom: using e-tools to develop Speaking Skills and enhance Language Learning and Teaching", CPD workshop for HE practitioners, InnoConf 2017: Innovative Language Teaching and Learning at University, Open University

May 2017 - "The Leeds Curriculum 2: Scholarship in teaching and learning: exploring your teaching practice" (invited speaker), ODPL CPD workshop for University of Leeds academic staff, University of Leeds.

April 2017 - "Developing MFL Speaking Skills in and out of the classroom", CPD seminar for secondary school practitioners" (invited tutor), CPD seminar for language teachers, Modern Foreign Languages Network Meeting, University of Leeds/ New College Pontefract.

March 2017 - "Learning and Teaching Speaking Skills strategies, tips and e-tools for the classroom and for autonomous learning" (invited tutor), CPD workshop for Heads of Language Departments from Yorkshire schools, Secondary Modern Foreign Languages Conference 2017, Leeds for Learning (Leeds City Council), Leeds.

October 2016 - "E-tools for the Language Classroom – creating more opportunities to learn, practice and communicate", CPD session for language tutors, Language Show Live London 2016.

June 2016 - "The A-level Reform – changes in the classroom and its impact on HE Portuguese courses", CPD session for school teachers and HE language practitioners, MFL Teachers' Conference, University of Leeds.

June 2015 - "Give them a picture and they will say a thousand words - Using pictures in paper, mobiles and tablets to develop language skills", CPD workshop for language teachers, Challenges and opportunities in teaching and learning - a one-day, interactive conference for teachers, University of Essex.

June 2012 - "Mil palavras para uma imagem – a imagem no ensino do Português Língua Estrangeira" Invited CPD trainer, one-day CPD training session for teachers, organised by Coordenação do Ensino do Português no Reino Unido, Portuguese Embassy in London.

Conference Organisation

September 2017 - Language Learning and Teaching Conference: Developing Speaking Skills, with Bettina Hermoso-Gomez and Chiara La Sala, University of Leeds.

June 2016 - I National Portuguese Teachers’ Conference, University of Leeds.

June 2014 - Innovative Language Teaching at University: Enhancing student performance Conference, with Bettina Hermoso-Gomez and Mandy Poetzsch, University of Leeds.

2009 – 2013 - Annual Fernando Pessoa Symposium, University of Leeds.

Educational Engagement Activities

November 2023 – Leeds Language Week (part of Leeds2023 Year of Culture)

March 2023/2024 – Spelling Bee Competition 

<h4>Research projects</h4> <p>Any research projects I'm currently working on will be listed below. Our list of all <a href="https://ahc.leeds.ac.uk/dir/research-projects">research projects</a> allows you to view and search the full list of projects in the faculty.</p>

Qualifications

• MA in Education (Digital Literacies for Language Learning and Teaching)
• BA in Modern Languages (Portuguese Studies)
• PGCE

Professional memberships

• TROPO UK - The Association of Researchers and Teachers of Portuguese Language in the UK (President, 2017 -)
• Fellow of the Higher Education Academy
• ABIL - The Association of British and Irish Lusitanists
• APP – Associação de Professores de Português (Portugal)
• UCFL - University Council For Languages
• AULC - Association of University Language Centres

Student education

I am the Coordinator of Portuguese and I teach Portuguese Language, with a focus on speaking skills, and Lusophone Literatures and Cultures at UG level.

 

Research groups and institutes

• The Camões Centre for Portuguese Language
• Fusão
• Spanish, Portuguese and Latin American
• Portuguese
• Language pedagogy