Gerdientje Oggel

Dr. Gerdientje Oggel is a Lecturer of Spanish Proficiency at the Department of European Languages and Cultures, Faculty of Arts, and a Teacher of Spanish Didactics at the Master of Education, Faculty of Behavioural Sciences, University of Groningen. She also serves as Co-coordinator of the Spanish Language Learning Team and Stay Abroad Coordinator. Her research focuses on Virtual Exchange (VE) in language education, intercultural competence, and innovative teaching methods. She holds a Master of Arts in Teaching Spanish Language and Literature and a University Teaching Qualification in Higher Education.

Education:

• Master of Arts in Teaching Spanish Language and Literature (University of Amsterdam, 2003-2004)
• Master of Arts in Romance Languages and Cultures (University of Groningen, 1997-2003)

Research Interests: Virtual Exchange as a tool for internationalization, teaching Spanish as a foreign language, and integrating technology in language learning. She emphasizes interdisciplinary projects addressing social justice and cultural diversity through VE initiatives.

Projects: Key contributions include the EVOLVE project (Erasmus+), exploring VE’s impact on student learning in Europe, and the VISinhetho project funded by the Dutch Ministry of Education. She also co-developed the ENVOIE telecollaboration project between Spanish and Latin American universities.

Grants & Mentorship: Active in mentoring first-year students and teacher trainees, with a focus on fostering autonomous learning and intercultural skills. She advises on integrating VE into institutional curricula and has contributed to policy development in higher education internationalization.

Labs/Teams: Leads the Spanish Language Learning Team, emphasizing gamification in language courses and CLIL (Content and Language Integrated Learning) projects to enhance cultural and linguistic competencies.