This is the 5695th most frequent Spanish word.
refiriéndose
"Refiriéndose" means "referring to."
In this sentence, 'refiriéndose' is part of a past progressive construction emphasizing the action of referring to something, providing temporal proximity and continuity.
Ella estaba refiriéndose a aquel acontecimiento histórico.
She was referring to that historical event.
Here, 'refiriéndose' is used in a participial phrase giving additional context to the main clause, denoting the act of the teacher referring to the topic while doing the main action.
El profesor, refiriéndose al tema, explicó la teoría con detalle.
The teacher, referring to the topic, explained the theory in detail.
'Refiriéndose' again acts as a participial phrase, explaining what the students were doing while debating.