Silvia Canto

Dr. Silvia Canto is an Assistant Professor of Spanish at Utrecht University, working within the Department of Languages, Literature and Communication in the Faculty of Humanities. She is affiliated with the Institute for Cultural Inquiry and coordinates Spanish language courses while contributing to the Educational Minor (ICT and language education) and the Master of Foreign Language Pedagogy program.

Her primary research focuses on the integration of technology in language education, with particular emphasis on telecollaboration, virtual worlds, and synchronous computer-mediated communication. Canto's work explores task design and the added value of virtual exchanges in language curricula to enhance intercultural communication.

Analysis of her recent publications (2021-2025) reveals a consistent focus on virtual reality applications in language learning, with increasing emphasis on high-immersion technologies. Her work spans both theoretical frameworks and practical implementations, with numerous publications examining virtual exchange programs, teacher training for digital environments, and the impact of immersive technologies on intercultural communicative competence development.

Dr. Canto actively participates in European-funded research projects including E-LIVE (2022-2024), TeCoLa, TILA, NIFLAR, and EUROVERSITY, demonstrating her leadership in the field of technology-enhanced language learning. She serves as an external examiner for the International Baccalaureate and is a member of the Dutch National Expertise Team on Foreign Language Pedagogy.

As a dedicated academic, she conducts peer reviews for prominent journals including ReCALL, CALICO, and CALL, and is an active member of professional associations such as Task Based Language Teaching (TBLT) and the European Association for Computer Assisted Language Learning (EuroCALL). Her work bridges theoretical research with practical applications in language teaching methodology, making significant contributions to the evolving landscape of digital language education.