EDUCATION
2014 Ph.D. University of Barcelona, Sociology (Sociolinguistics)
2005 M.A. University of Barcelona, Sociology
2003 B.A. University of Barcelona, Sociology
PROFESSIONAL EXPERIENCE
2004 -15 Researcher and Project Manager at University Center of Sociolinguistics and Communication, University of Barcelona
2010 -15 Assistant Professor, University of Barcelona
2009 Part-time Lecturer, Open University of Barcelona
2008-09 Visiting Researcher, University of Toronto
2007 Visiting Researcher, University of London
TEACHING
Undergraduate students
2012-15 Sociolinguistics, Department of General Linguistics, University of Barcelona
2011-12 Ecology and Language Policy, Department of General Linguistics, University of Barcelona
2010-11 Variation and Language Policy, Department of Catalan Philology, University of Barcelona
2009-11 Language, Society & Culture, Department of Humanities and Philology, Open University of Catalonia
Postgraduate students
2013-14 Comparative Language Policies in Europe, Language Policy M.A., University of Barcelona
2009-13 Media and Language in Catalonia, Language Policy M.A., University of Barcelona
Teaching interests
Sociolinguistics, Bilingualism and Multilingualism, Languages in contact, Sociology of Language, Language Policy, Language Management, Educational Sociolinguistics, Language Ecology, Catalan Sociolinguistics, Bilingual/ Multilingual Education, Analysis of Language Practices, Demolinguistics, Minority languages.
PUBLICATIONS
Books
Vila, F.X. & Bretxa, V. (2015). Language Policy in Higher Education. The Case of Medium-sized Languages. Bristol·Buffalo·Toronto: Multilingual Matters.
Journal Articles
Bretxa, V. & Vila, F.X. (2014). Les llengües dins l’aula en la transició educativa. Barcelona: Revista Llengua i Dret, 62. (Languages inside the classroom in educational transition).
Vila, F.X., Comajoan, Ll. & Bretxa,V. (2014) ¿En qué lenguas se produce la ciencia? La gestión del multilingüismo en el Parc Científic de Barcelona. Revista Internacional de Organizaciones
Bretxa,V & Vila, F.X.(2013). Els efectes lingüístics del pas de l’ensenyament primari al secundari: Mataró, un estudi de cas. Barcelona: Treballs de Sociolingüística Catalana, 22. (The effects of linguistic transition from primary to secondary school in Mataró).
Vila, F.X., Comajoan, Ll. & Bretxa,V. (2012). Llengües i globalització en el món de la recerca: Els coneixements i els usos lingüístics al Parc Científic de Barcelona. Barcelona: Caplletra, 52. (Languages and globalization in the research field: Knowledge and Language Use in a Cientific Park of Barcelona).
Bretxa,V (2009) El salt a secundària: els preadolescents, consum cultural i llengua. Berlín: Zeitschrift für katalanistik, 22. (The jump to the high school: the tweens, consumer culture and language)
Bretxa,V; Comajoan,Ll; Sorolla,N (2008) De les pràctiques monolingües familiars a la identificació bilingüe: el cas dels preadolescents de Mataró i la Franja. Barcelona: Noves SL, Hivern 2009. (From monolingual family background to bilingual identification: the case of pre-adolescents in Mataró and the Aragonese border area)
Bretxa, V. (2007). Els usos lingüístics en les TIC de les PIMES a Catalunya. Barcelona: Llengua i ús. Revista Tècnica de política lingüística. (Linguistic uses in technology at medium and small companies in Catalonia).
Bretxa, V., & Torner, R. (2005). El català ocult: El potencial d’ús lingüístic a la presó model de Barcelona. Barcelona: Revista Llengua i Ús, 32. (Hidden Catalan: The potential of linguistic use in the Model prison of Barcelona).
Chapters
Vila, F.X & Bretxa,V. (2013) The Analysis of Medium-sized Language Communities in Vila, F.X (Ed.) Survival and Development of Language Communities: Prospects and Challenges. Bristol·Buffalo·Toronto: Multilingual Matters
Bretxa, V., & Parera, M.À. (2012). “Et dóna la base”. Itineraris biogràfics d’adquisició i ús del català del jovent castellanoparlant de Santa Coloma de Gramanet. In Vila, F.X. (Ed.) Posar-hi la base. Usos i aprenentatges lingüístics en el domini català. Barcelona: IEC- Institut Estudis Catalans- Xarxa CRUSCAT. ("School gives you the basis". Biographical itineraries of acquisition and use of Catalan of the Spanish-speaking youth of Santa Coloma de Gramanet)
Vila, F.X., Comajoan, Ll, Bretxa,V, Sorolla, N i Tenorio, X (2011). Les tries lingüístiques dels infants d’origen al•lòcton en diverses comarques de Catalunya i la Franja. In Vila, F.X. & Salvat, E. Noves immigracions i llengües. Barcelona: MRR (The linguistic choices of children of allochthonous origin in several regions of Catalonia).
Bretxa,V. (2011). Les actituds i les representacions lingüístiques dins Enquesta d’Usos lingüístics de la Població 2008. Barcelona: Generalitat de Catalunya, Secretaria de Política Lingüística. (Attitudes and linguistic representations within Uses of Linguistic Survey of Population 2008)
Torres, J. (Coord.), Vila, F. X., Fabà, A., and Bretxa, V. (2005). Estadística sobre els usos lingüístics a Catalunya 2003. Llengua i societat a Catalunya en els inicis del segle XXI. Barcelona: Generalitat de Catalunya, Secretaria de Política Lingüística, 2005 (Statistics about language use in Catalonia in 2003. Language and society in Catalonia in the beginning of the 21st century).
Presentations
Bretxa, V. (2014) Stability and change: language use during the transition to secondary education in Catalonia. XVIII ISA World Congress of Sociology a Yokohama, Japan.
Comajoan, Ll., Ubalde, J., Bretxa, V., Vila, FX. (2014) Linguistic self-confidence by primary and secondary students in Catalonia: A longitudinal study. Sociolinguistic Symposium 20 Jyväskylä, Finland.
Bretxa, V. (2013) Education and Change: the linguistic and cultural practices of teenagers in Catalonia. The Mercator Network of Language Diversity Centres: LEARNMe. Aberystwyth (Wales).
Vila, F. X., Bretxa, V., and Sorolla, N. (2008). “Fuzzy mother tongues? The identification of first language in a largely bilingualized society”. AILA, Germany.
Vila, F. X., and Bretxa, V. (2008). “Irrelevant limits? Some data about the role of ethnolinguistic boundaries in group formation in a non polarized society”. 17th. Sociolinguistic Symposium , Amsterdam.
Bretxa, V., and Vila, F. X. (2007). “Entre els Simpson, Ventdelplà i Rebelde? Vinculació entre el consum mediàtic, les identificacions lingüístiques i les pràctiques interpersonals entre els preadolescents catalans”. 15th Linguistics Colloquim, University of Barcelona, Barcelona.
Bretxa, V, Comajoan, L., and Sorolla, N. (2007). “Sociolinguistic profiles of Catalan young speakers: language use, competence, attitude, and social networks”. 11th International Conference on Minority Languages (ICML 11), Pécs (Hungary).
MEMBERSHIP OF PROFESSIONAL ORGANIZATIONS
2014 ISA- International Sociological Association
2010-14 Secretary of the University Centre for Sociolinguistics and Communication of the University of Barcelona (CUSC-UB)
2006-08 Secretary and Member of the Catalan Sociolinguists Association
2004 Member of the CRUSCAT (Competence, Representations and Uses of Catalan) Network (IEC)
2003 Member of the Catalan Sociology Association
AWARDS AND RECOGNITION
2014 Jaume Camp Prize, ACS & Omnium. Best research in the field of Sociolinguistics in Catalonia
2008 Fundació Jaume Bofill Grant
2007 Fundació Caixa Sabadell Grant