Paula Villegas Verdu

Paula Villegas Verdu is an Associate Lecturer in TESOL and International Education at the International Education & Lifelong Learning Institute (IELLI), University of St Andrews, UK. She serves as Director of the Academic English Service within the Learning and Writing Centre and leads key teaching initiatives, including the 'Supporting Learning in TESOL' intensive course and supervision in the DProf TESOL programme. She is actively involved in postgraduate research supervision and contributes to academic leadership through external examining and panel roles at UK universities such as Strathclyde, Anglia Ruskin, Bishop Grosseteste, and Wrexham University.

Research Interests:

• Flipped Learning and its implementation in EAP contexts
• Academic Literacies in higher education
• Online and Technology-Enhanced Learning
• English for Academic Purposes (EAP)
• Feminist Pedagogies and equity in language education
• Motivation and student autonomy
• Multimodal learning environments
• Initial EFL teacher training

Her recent publications, spanning 2023–2025, reflect a consistent focus on flipped learning in online EAP pre-sessional courses, exploring practitioner and learner perceptions, motivations for implementation, and pedagogical redesign. These works employ qualitative methods such as semi-structured interviews and case studies, contributing to both theoretical understanding and practical applications in emergency remote teaching and inclusive EAP provision.

Scientific Awards:

• 1413 Teaching Excellence Award (2024)
• BAS Impactful Collaboration 2024

Paula is an active member of the academic community, serving as book review editor for BALEAP, editorial board member of the Journal of Learning Development in Higher Education, and mentor for ALDinHE and HEA fellowships. She also contributes as a peer reviewer for EAP and higher education journals. Her external roles include mentoring, assessing HEA fellowships via the St Andrews Recognition Scheme (STARS), and participating in research groups such as PROMETEO (Professionalization of Multilingual Education, Translation, and E-learning Observatory, UNIR). While no formal lab or research center is explicitly named, her collaborative network spans multiple institutions and professional associations, indicating strong engagement in learning development and TESOL communities.