Leslie J. Moreno

Portrait of Leslie J. Moreno

Leslie J. Moreno

Linguist · Language Educator

Aarhus, Denmark

Spanish (native) · English (fluent) · French (A2) · Danish (learning)

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On repeat

Hi! Hola! Ciao! Olá! Salut! Merhaba! こんにちは! Hej!

I’m Leslie.

This website is just a brief introduction to who I am. Here you’ll find a summary of my education, things I’ve done, some of my research and presentations, my attempt at becoming a barista (because I really love coffee), and a few other pieces of my professional and personal journey.

Just a small snapshot of what I’m interested in, what I want to learn, and what I’m working on

About

I’ve been studying linguistics for what feels like my whole life. I’ve had the chance to do research in cognitive linguistics thanks to my brilliant mentor, Jonathan Restrepo, and I’ve also spent a lot of time teaching. In fact, I think I started teaching back in elementary school—I was always the one explaining things to my classmates!

So, in short, I’m just a curious person who enjoys learning a little bit about many things but struggles to keep all that information in my head (I’m still looking for a solution to that). Maybe I’ve simply studied too many things and my brain has decided it needs to be selective… by forgetting everything instead! Somehow, though, I still manage to find a way to teach things I’m still learning myself.

Now I’m based in Denmark, but I’m 100% Colombian. Right now, I’m building a new life here and shaping my academic, professional, and personal path one step at a time. For me, that means continuing to learn, developing new skills, meeting new people, and simply trying to give my best to whatever comes next.

Feel free to connect. I’m not very good at keeping up with social media, so if you’d like to say hello, just send me an email. :)

Research Interests

  • Cognitive linguistics
  • Bilingualism and the influence of a foreign language on moral reasoning
  • Second language acquisition
  • Language teaching and applied linguistics

Recent

  • 2026 — Awarded the SECOL 2025 Student Excellence Award for Best Student Paper for “Moral Reasoning and Foreign Languages: A Cognitive Linguistic Study”
  • 2025 — Talk at the Southeastern Conference on Linguistics (SECOL), Boca Raton, FL
  • 2025 — Outstanding Teaching Award, Florida Atlantic University
  • 2024 — Graduate Dean’s Fellowship, Florida Atlantic University

Quick Highlights

  • Bilingual professional with a Master’s degree in Linguistics from the United States.
  • Winner of the SECOL 2025 Student Excellence Award for Best Student Paper.
  • Fluent in Spanish and English (beginner Danish and A2 French).
  • Experience in English and Spanish teaching, translation/interpretation, and tour guiding.
  • Barista training and hands-on coffee brewing practice.