Gloria Vazquez Pinera

I am a Senior Lecturer at AUT’s School of Social Sciences and Humanities and Programme Leader for the Minor in Spanish. Originally from Asturias in northern Spain, I studied English in the UK before moving to New Zealand in 1988. I began teaching at AUT in 1990 when it was still a polytechnic, and since then, I’ve enjoyed a rich and varied teaching career.

My experience spans Spanish language, ESOL, Academic Literacy, Language Teaching Education, and Work Integrated Learning (WIL). I have also collaborated extensively with the Translating and Interpreting programme. This interdisciplinary background has shaped my flexible and student-centered teaching approach.

I am deeply committed to the Spanish teaching community in Aotearoa. Currently, I serve as President of the Spanish Teachers’ Association of New Zealand (STANZA), after holding the position of Vice-President for over a decade. I was also the National Coordinator for the DELE (Diploma de Español como Lengua Extranjera) exams for more than ten years and continue to work as an international examiner for all levels.

My research interests include language teaching and learning, classroom motivation, pragmatics, bilingualism, online teaching, and innovative curriculum development.

I am passionate about teaching and love seeing students thrive. My goal is to create an engaging and supportive learning environment where every student can reach their full potential.