Nicolas Manuguerra — Senior lecturer & author
My work combines research in language education, teacher education and professional development. I focus on teaching that supports comprehension, target-language use and meaningful learner participation.
01 / About
I am a senior lecturer in didactics, specialising in modern languages, at Uppsala University. I hold a PhD and write about language teaching and learning.
My work spans teacher education, research and continuing professional development for practising teachers. I am particularly interested in how classrooms can move beyond learning about languages towards understanding, using and discovering what we can do with them.
My teaching experience spans more than two decades, including French and German teaching in France, Austria and Sweden, with school pupils, language-course participants and adults with specific professional language needs. I have also worked in pedagogical coordination and course development. These experiences continue to shape how I approach teaching and learning.
My interests include target-language use, communicative and action-oriented approaches, grammar teaching, and the role of emotions, motivation and relationships in classroom participation.
Palmes académiques · 2025
Awarded the rank of Chevalier de l’Ordre des Palmes académiques by the French Ministry of Education for contributions to education and academia.
Teacher education & development
My experience as a language teacher informs my work in teacher education, supervision and pedagogical development at Uppsala University.
My responsibilities include subject-didactics teaching, course leadership and design, thesis supervision and examination, and the assessment of school placements. I also work with training school-based mentors. Intercultural and plurilingual education, together with the CEFR and its Companion Volume, form part of my didactic expertise.
I am interested in how teachers can examine and further develop their practice together. One example is Peer Observation of Teaching (P.O.T.), a PUMA-funded pedagogical development project at Uppsala University in 2018–2019 focused on peer observation and collegial learning.
02 / My approach
Language classrooms are both learning environments and social spaces. Effective teaching therefore involves more than linguistic structures.
Daring to understand without understanding everything, trying out language and making mistakes without fear of embarrassment.
Encountering challenging but accessible target-language input, supported by scaffolding, strategies and visible progress.
Using language to understand, express and share something worth the effort.
03 / Research
What helps learners dare to use another language, and what makes them want to continue?
My current research examines foreign language classroom anxiety, foreign language enjoyment and students’ perceptions of teacher behaviour in modern language classrooms.
More broadly, I study how pedagogical decisions shape learners’ opportunities for meaningful participation: from feedback practices and classroom norms to the use of the target language in interaction.
In joint work with Débora Rottenberg, I also explore how pre-service teachers of Spanish imagine an ideal language lesson. By analysing visual narratives, we examine the beliefs about teaching that student teachers bring into their education.
04 / Books & writing
Selected books, national professional-development resources and articles for language teachers and teacher educators.
Cover: Natur & KulturA practical guide to grammar as a resource for communication, linguistic awareness and action-oriented language teaching. Co-authored with Birgitta Hellqvist.
Publisher's page ↗
Cover: Natur & KulturA handbook about comprehensible input, supportive classroom culture and making target-language use a natural part of teaching. Co-authored with Birgitta Hellqvist.
Publisher's page ↗With Débora Rottenberg · Reception module, part 2 · For modern language teachers.
Read article (Swedish PDF) ↗With Débora Rottenberg · Reception module, part 1 · Adapted for teachers of English.
Read article (Swedish PDF) ↗On enjoyment, anxiety, classroom safety and meaningful participation.
Read article (Swedish) ↗On equitable access to subject-specific teacher development.
Read article (Swedish) ↗A reflective account of professional development on target-language use and supportive classroom climate.
Publication link will be added when available.A study of 11 first-semester pre-service teachers of Spanish, using drawings and accompanying comments to explore beliefs about an ideal language lesson.
Manuscript. A publication link will be added once available.05 / Teacher development through FBA at Uppsala University
I contribute to research-informed teacher professional development through FBA – In-Service Training Department for the Internationalisation of Schools ↗ at Uppsala University. The four modules below describe areas within that work.
This page documents my university work; it does not advertise private training services. If you wish to explore a possible collaboration, you are welcome to contact me for an initial conversation. Any arrangements follow the university’s established procedures.
Constructive alignment, communicative and action-oriented language teaching in practice, and the concept of tasks.
Perspectives on teacher and learner target-language use, input, and building classroom norms and a culture supportive of target-language use.
Listening and reading comprehension, with a particular focus on listening: cognitive processes, models and strategies for receptive language learning.
The role of grammar within action-oriented teaching, task-based activities and inductive approaches to grammar.
The modules illustrate my work within FBA; they are not a privately bookable course catalogue. Official FBA website ↗
In-person teacher development · 2024–2026
In recent years, my work in teacher professional development through FBA at Uppsala University has brought me into dialogue with language teachers across Sweden.
06 / Collaborative initiatives
Two initiatives associated with FBA – In-Service Training Department for the Internationalisation of Schools ↗ at Uppsala University.
Podcast · in development
Språkdidaktik i teori och praktik
A planned podcast about research and practice in the teaching of English and modern languages. The aim is to bring researchers and teachers into conversation about motivation, target-language use and classroom climate, with links to teacher professional development.
The initiative is being developed within FBA – In-Service Training Department for the Internationalisation of Schools ↗ at Uppsala University. Listening links will be added after launch.
Collegial literary reading
Literature, French and shared discussion
A reading circle for teachers of French that has been running since 2018. Shared reading of French-language literature provides space for discussion and exchange between colleagues.
The circle forms part of FBA – In-Service Training Department for the Internationalisation of Schools ↗ at Uppsala University. For information about future meetings, you are welcome to contact me or consult the department’s official page.
Ask about the reading circle ↗Media contributions
I have also contributed to educational programmes for students, teachers and language learners produced by Sveriges Utbildningsradio (UR), the Swedish Educational Broadcasting Company.
UR Play · French pronunciation · 20 episodes
I presented UR's twenty-part series on French pronunciation. Short, practice-oriented episodes introduce French sounds, word stress and intonation, with exercises aimed in part at lower- and upper-secondary students.
UR Play · Language learning conversations · 2024
I contributed to two episodes of UR's discussion series, linked to Spanska på 30 dagar: one on grammar and vocabulary learning and another on pronunciation.
An ongoing principle
Professional development need not end when a workshop does. In my approach, teachers try a manageable change, notice what happens, reflect with colleagues and adjust their next step.
07 / Contact and enquiries
For questions about language education, research or professional development through FBA – In-Service Training Department for the Internationalisation of Schools ↗, feel free to get in touch. This is a personal presentation of my work; any professional-development arrangements are handled through the university.
Get in touchDepartment of Education
Uppsala University, Sweden
Official university profile ↗