María Ángeles VELILLA SÁNCHEZ

mavelilla@unizar.es

I am a lecturer and researcher at the University of Zaragoza. My research focuses on digital and multimodal scientific communication, examining how experts across disciplines use English to make scientific knowledge more accessible. Specifically, I explore multimodal discursive strategies that enhance transparency while maintaining content depth, with the goal of bridging the gap between academic and general audiences. My work has pedagogical implications for English for Specific Purposes (ESP) and English-Medium Instruction (EMI), providing insights into effective communication strategies for researchers, educators, and science communicators.

Research keywords:

• genre analysis
• digital discourse analysis
• english for academic purposes
• English-medium instruction
• science communication and dissemination
• recontextualisation
• multimodality

You can follow my updates on ResearchGate.

ORCid: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-0285-9834

Publications

  • Velilla-Sánchez, M.Á. and Fage-Butler, A. (forthcoming). Engaged and Engaging Scientists: Popularising Knowledge about Air Pollution and Climate Science in the Website “Latest Thinking”. Fachsprache.

    Velilla-Sánchez, M.Á., Querol-Julián, M., and Beltrán-Palanques, V. (forthcoming). Exploring multimodal interaction in EMI live online lectures. A methodological perspective. In Querol-Julián, M. & Feng, W. (Eds.), Multimodal and digital practices in EMI higher education. Routledge: Routledge Series in Language and Content Integrated Teaching & Plurilingual Education.

    Luzón, M.J. and Velilla-Sánchez, M.Á. (2026). New Digital Genres to Summarize Medical Research: Implications for ESP Teaching. In Eda Işık, E. & Hocking, D. (Eds.), English for Specific Purposes in the 21st Century: Innovative Perspectives and Practices. Palgrave Macmillan.

    Luzón, M. J., and Velilla-Sánchez, M. Á. (2026). A genre analysis of tweetorials for medical education: Harnessing the interactive and multimodal features of Twitter/X for pedagogical purposes. In M. Kessler, J. E. Casal, & F. Marino (Eds.), Multimodal practices in higher education: Analyzing and teaching diverse genres. Routledge.

    Velilla Sánchez, M. Á. (2026). “Context-sensitive strategies for effective intercultural communication in English Medium Instruction”. The Pragmatics of Metadiscourse: Insights from Situated Intercultural and Cross-cultural Domains, edited by Francisco Alonso-Almeida, De Gruyter Mouton, 2026, pp. 93-112. https://doi.org/10.1515/9783111388847-005

    Velilla-Sánchez, M.-Á. (2025). ESP in EMI settings: Mapping linguistic and academic integration in higher education [Review of the book Developing language competence through English for specific purposes in English-medium university settings, edited by M. Aguilar-Pérez, B. Moncada-Comas, & D. Tatzl]. ESP Today, 13(2), 242–458.

    Velilla-Sánchez, M.-Á. (2025). Localised practices of intercultural communication in EMI lectures: The impact of local cultural identity on academic meaning making processes. In Álvarez-Gil, F. J., Quintana-Toledo, E., Sánchez Cuervo, M.E. (Eds) The (inter)cultural dimension in language learning: some case studies (pp. 167- 187). Brussels, Belgium: Peter Lang. https://doi.org/10.3726/b22255

    Velilla-Sánchez, M.-Á (2025). Recontextualizing Knowledge in Academic Video Publications: A Discourse Analysis of Multimodal Science Dissemination. Journal of Pragmatics and Society. https://doi.org/10.1075/ps.23124.vel

    Velilla-Sánchez, M.-Á. (2025). ESP in EMI settings: Mapping linguistic and academic integration in higher education [Review of the book Developing language competence through English for specific purposes in English-medium university settings, edited by M. Aguilar-Pérez, B. Moncada-Comas, & D. Tatzl]. ESP Today, 13(2), 242–458.

    Velilla, M.-Á (2025). Localised practices of intercultural communication in EMI lectures: The impact of local cultural identity on academic meaning making processes. In Álvarez-Gil, F. J., Quintana-Toledo, E., Sánchez Cuervo, M.E. (Eds) The (inter)cultural dimension in language learning: some case studies (pp. 167- 187). Brussels, Belgium: Peter Lang. https://doi.org/10.3726/b22255

    Velilla, M.-Á (2024). Recontextualizing Knowledge in Academic Video Publications: A Discourse Analysis of Multimodal Science Dissemination. Journal of Pragmatics and Society. https://doi.org/10.1075/ps.23124.vel

    Velilla-Sánchez, M. -Á. (2022). English-medium instruction experiences: ‘Focus on form’ as a strategy to develop subject specific literacy. Revista de lenguas para fines específicos 28(1), 193-206. https://doi.org/10.20420/rlfe.2022.494
    Velilla-Sánchez, M. -Á. (2021). Bilingual resources in English-medium instruction lectures: the role lecturer’s L1 is playing in EMI courses. Language Value, 14(2), 45-67. https://doi.org/10.6035/languagev.6122

Presentations

  • 2026

    • Velilla-Sánchez, M.-Á. (Accepted). Recontextualising Medical Research Through Connected Summary Genres: A Rhetorical Analysis of Abstracts, Embedded Summaries, and Podcasts in JAMA Network Open and The Lancet. Semmelweis University. June 5–6, 2026, Budapest, Hungary. Conference presentation. 

    • Querol-Julián, M. Velilla-Sánchez, M. Á. , Luzón, M.J. (2026). Interaction in hybrid and online EMI Lectures: A comparative discourse analysis. 7th ICLHE Spanish Regional Group Symposium. New horizons in language policy: enabling content and language integration in Higher Education. 28-29 April 2026, University of Cordoba, Córdoba, Spain. Conference presentation.

    2025

    • Velilla, M.-Á. (2025). “Let Me Tell You the More Mundane Answer First”: Bridging Science and Public Engagement on the website Latest Thinking. 42nd International Congress of the Spanish Association of Applied Linguistics (AESLA). 2-4 April 2025, Universitat de les Illes Balears (UIB), Palma de Mallorca, Spain. Conference presentation.

    • Velilla, M.-Á. & Luzón, M. J. (2025). Exploring the pedagogical potential of Medical Education Tweetorials: An analysis of interactivity and multimodality. 23rd International AELFE Conference, Castellón, 25-27 June 2024, Universitat Jaume I, Spain. Conference Presentation.

    • Velilla, M.-Á. (2025). From research to reach: How video abstracts connect science with broader audiences. Mª Ángeles Velilla Sánchez.  XII National Conference BIFI 2025, Zaragoza, Spain, 15- 17 January. Conference presentation.

    2024

    • Velilla, M.-Á. (2024). Navigating the Digital Landscape: Mapping New Genres in Medical Research Communication for ESP Education. 22nd International AELFE Conference, Semmelweis University, 6-7 September 2024, Budapest, Hungary. Conference presentation.

    • Velilla, M.-Á. & Fage-Butler, A. (2024). Scientists as Engaged and Engaging: Investigating the Scientific Discourse about Climate Change in the Website Latest Thinking. Twentieth International Conference on Technology, Knowledge, and Society. 7-8 March 2024, Valencia, Spain. Conference presentation.

    2023

    • Velilla, M.-Á. (2023). “Let me just give you one example”: Academic Video Publications or how to promote scientific work without trivialising it. 40th International Conference of the Spanish Society of Applied Linguistics (AESLA). 26th-28th April 2023. Mérida, Spain.

    2022

    • Velilla, M.-Á. (2022). The impact of local cultural identity on academic culture: A discourse pragmatic analysis of English-mediated lectures.39th International Conference of the Spanish Society of Applied Linguistics (AESLA), 27-29 April 2022, Las Palmas de Gran Canaria, Spain. Conference presentation.

    2021

    • Velilla, M.-Á. (2021). Collaborative dialogue between language and content teachers to improve English-medium instruction. The 4th International Dialogue on English Language Teaching Seminar (INDELT). Adam Mickiewicz University (Poznañ) and Burdur Mehmet Akif Ersoy University. Invited speaker’s seminar presentation.

More

  • · Tandem Visiting fellowship at the Aarhus Institute of Advanced Studies (AIAS, Aarhus University, Denmark), in collaboration with AIAS Associate Fellow Antoinette Fage-Butler. 1-15 June 2025. https://aias.au.dk/events/show/artikel/six-aias-tandem-visiting-fellows-appointed

    · Ninth “Enrique Alcaraz Research Award” granted by the European Asociation of Languages for Specific Purposes (AELFE) in the Unpublish works category for my doctoral thesis: English as an Academic Lingua Franca in Spanish Tertiary Education: An Analysis of the Use of Pragmatic Strategies in English-Medium Lectures. In Zaragoza, 30th June 2023.