Laura Marqués Pascual specializes in Applied Linguistics, Second Language Acquisition, and Language Teaching Methodology. She is the Language Program Director in the Department of Spanish and Portuguese at UCSB. She has a degree in Hispanic Philology from the Universidad de Alcalá de Henares (Madrid). She received her M.A. in TESL from the Bowling Green State University, Ohio, and her Ph.D. in Spanish Linguistics with a designated emphasis in Second Language Acquisition from the University of California, Davis. Her research interests focus on curriculum development and instructional improvement, second language learning in study abroad settings, second language acquisition of syntax, and Spanish as heritage language. She has been the EAP Director (Education Abroad Program) of the University of California in Barcelona during the years 2014-2017.