I was born in Rosario, Argentina. I received my MA in TESOL and PhD in Spanish (Linguistics track) from Penn State University. At present, I am Associate Professor in Education in the School of Education at the University of Nottingham in the United Kingdom. I also serve as the editor of the book series Multiliteracies and Second Language Education (Routledge) and co-editor-in-chief of the journal Diversity & Inclusion Research (Wiley). 

My current research areas include Generative AI in higher education instruction, curriculum development, and assessment; AI literacy; multiliteracies-based L2 instruction (Learning by Design); teacher education; multimodal social semiotics and cultural artefacts (Mexican lotería and taco trucks in the United States). I am also involved in the development and implementation of inclusive open educational resources. While at Texas A&M University, I worked as an ADVANCE Administrative Fellow in the Office for Diversity. I have also directed/coordinated six Spanish and Portuguese basic language programs in public and private universities in the United States and Canada.

Throughout my career, I have published articles on bilingualism, L2 and HL pedagogy, Learning by Design, Generative AI in higher education, multimodal social semiotics, and teacher cognition and practice in a variety of peer-reviewed journals and edited volumes. I am the main author of the first Canadian edition of Puntos de partida, and of the OER L2 Spanish textbooks Trayectos (published by COERLL) and Introducción a la escritura (Pressbooks). 

Here are my other books: 

1.  Kalantzis, M., Cope, B., & Zapata, G. C. (In press). Learning by Design (2nd edition). Common Ground.  

2. Zapata, G. C., Cope, B., & Kalantzis, M. (2026). Literacies in the age of AI: Teaching and learning in the digital era. Wiley.  GoogleBooks preview.

3. Zapata, G. C. (Ed.) (2025). Generative AI technologies, multiliteracies, and language education. Routledge. https://doi.org/10.4324/9781003531685

4. Zapata, G. C., Kalantzis, M., & Cope, B. (Eds.) (2023). Towards education justice: Literacy, multiliteracies, and the design of social futures. Routledge. https://doi.org/10.4324/9781003349662  

5. Zapata, G. C. (2022). Learning by Design and second language teaching: Theory, research, and practice. Routledge. https://doi.org/10.4324/9781003106258  

Open access chapters:

a. Zapata, G. C. (2022). Chapter 1: Introduction to Learning by Design. Licensed under CC BY-NC-ND 4.0. Available at https://bit.ly/Zapata2022Chap1. 

b. Zapata, G. C. (2022). Chapter 2: Learning by Design and second language education. Licensed under CC BY-NC-ND 4.0. Available at https://bit.ly/Zapata2022Chap2. 

c. Zapata, G. C. (2022). Chapter 3: Learning by Design and second language teaching practices. Licensed under CC BY-NC-ND 4.0. Available at https://bit.ly/Zapata2022Chap3. 

6. Kalantzis, M., Cope, B., & Zapata, G. C. (2019). Las alfabetizaciones múltiples: Teoría y práctica [Multiliteracies: Theory and practice]. Octaedro. Google book preview: http://bit.ly/alfabetizaciones. 

7. Zapata, G. C., & Lacorte, M. (Eds.) (2018). Multiliteracies pedagogy and language learning: Teaching Spanish to heritage speakers. Palgrave Macmillan. https://link.springer.com/content/pdf/10.1007/978-3-319-63103-5.pdf 

I received my certification as ACTFL Oral Proficiency Interview Tester in Spanish in 2014. I have also served as an ACTFL mentor and the Vice-Chair, Chair, and Past-Chair of ACTFL’s Spanish for Heritage Learners Special Interest Group. In 2019, I was awarded the SGA Open Education Champion Award by the Student Government Association at Texas A&M University. I am also a CIMER Entering Mentoring Trained Facilitator, and completed the certification program in Diversity and Inclusion at Cornell University in 2021. 

At present, I am working on the following projects:

1. A book on Mexican lotería in the United States, under contract with Anthem Press.

2. A special issue on Generative AI technologies in education for Ubiquitous Learning: An International Journal  (co-edited with John Jones). 

3. A Spencer Foundation (Large Grant) funded project examining the incorporation of Generative AI in middle and high schools in the USA. 

(All the photos you see are mine, and they reflect my love for nature and my passion for photography.  All photos are licensed CC-BY SA 4.0. )