Staff Profile

Profile

I am a Mexican national with extensive experience in language teaching in both Mexico and the United Kingdom, including posts at the Universities of Sheffield, Plymouth and Newcastle. My teaching has included English as a Foreign Language and Spanish as a Second Language, and I have taught across undergraduate Levels A–D as well as postgraduate Level E.

In August 2026, I will begin my 29th academic session in the School of Modern Languages at Newcastle University. Until 2022, I served as Language Coordinator, with responsibilities in curriculum organisation, module delivery and quality assurance. In my current role, I continue to contribute to Spanish language provision in the School through teaching, module leadership, assessment, and academic administration, alongside responsibilities that support student progression and the student experience.

Current Roles and Responsibilities

Spanish Language Lecturer, School of Modern Languages

Module Leader

• Spanish Level B (SPA1071)
• Level B (HE Intermediate) Spanish (Ex-Level A) (SPA1070)

Chair of the Board of Examiners (Stage 1)

Degree Programme Director (DPD)

• RT47: Bachelor of Arts with Honours in Spanish, Portuguese and Latin American Studies (SPLAS)

Spanish Teacher and Examiner

• Partners Assessed Summer School (PASS)

Qualifications

1994–1996

M.A. in Applied Linguistics, University of Sheffield, United Kingdom

1988–1992

B.A. in Teaching English as a Foreign Language (TEFL), Universidad de Guadalajara, Mexico

This degree included extensive teaching practice as well as study in areas such as psycholinguistics, pedagogy, pedagogical grammar, phonetics and phonology, lexical studies, sociolinguistics, discourse analysis, language and culture, research methods, and translation.

Previous Positions

1998–present

Spanish Language Tutor / Lecturer, School of Modern Languages, Newcastle University

1997–1998

Spanish Lector, Centre for Modern Languages, University of Plymouth

1997

Spanish Lecturer, Modern Languages Teaching Centre, University of Sheffield

1993–1997

Spanish Lector, Department of Hispanic Studies, University of Sheffield

1984–1993

A range of EFL and ESP teaching posts in Mexico, including roles within the Universidad de Guadalajara, ITESM (Campus Guadalajara), adult literacy provision through INEA, and English for Specific Purposes in Chemical Engineering

Languages

Spanish

English

Research Interests

Mr Anaya-Guzmán, as part of his Master’s dissertation produced, justified and evaluated materials for teaching Spoken Spanish to undergraduates using the Action Research Framework. His BA thesis was entitled “Be the master, NOT the slave of our textbook”.
Current research and interests include classroom interaction in the Spanish as a foreign language HE context, materials design and curriculum development.

Undergraduate Teaching

Spanish Level A (SPA1065 and SPA1066).
Spanish Level B (SPA1071)
Spanish Level C (SPA2061)

Postgraduate Teaching

Spanish Level E (SPA8016)
Part of the M.A. in Modern Languages