Stefania Herrera León

Stefania Herrera León joins the FAS as Lector in Spanish and Portuguese. She holds an MA in Teaching Spanish from Northern Arizona University and a BA in English from the University of Tolima, Colombia. With over a decade of international teaching experience, she has taught Spanish and English at institutions including Northern Arizona University, the University of Tolima, the University of Ibagué, and Colombia’s National Training Service (SENA), where she designed specialized language curricula for professional contexts. A specialist in communicative, project-based and task-based language teaching, Herrera is passionate about innovative pedagogy, particularly the integration of emerging technologies such as Virtual Reality (VR) and Artificial Intelligence (AI) into language education. Her recent research explores VR’s role in fostering intercultural competence, with presentations at major conferences including SWCOLT and CALICO. She is also actively investigating AI-driven tools for personalized language learning. At Yale, she looks forward to expanding immersive, student-centered learning experiences while contributing to curriculum development and interdisciplinary collaborations. Her work continues to bridge theory and practice, ensuring that language education remains dynamic, inclusive, and technologically enhanced.