Embedded Files
SPAN412: Latin America in Transition
Students investigate environmental justice and human rights through creative work across science fiction, film, comics, music, and art to examine the diverse ways in which Latin America maintains and challenges globalized exploitation. Students develop both creative work and conduct research on a topic and artistic work of their choice.
SPAN307: Communication for Leadership in the Professions
This course is designed to prepare students to use Spanish in a variety of real-world, professional contexts in culturally appropriate ways. Students will develop their skills in reading, writing, listening, and speaking while building vocabulary and the ability to navigate specific professional aspects in Latin America and US Latina/o Communities. This is a project-based and experiential learning course in which students will be expected to integrate their personal and academic interests into classroom activities and assignments.
Students determine their own semester-long project directly connected to their filed of study and in support of community partners that work with Spanish-speakers. For example, one of her students created a children's book to promote self-esteem in Spanish-English bilingual children at an after-school program.
SPAN203 and SPAN204: Intercultural Competence through Language I & II
This content-based curriculum focuses on some of the “big ideas” of the histories and cultures of the Spanish-speaking world. For example, students examine the Aztec civilization and the construction of ethnic pride and colorism in Mexico, the colonization of the Americas, African cultural roots and national identity in the Caribbean, racial inequity and miscegenation, political status conflict in Puerto Rico, the history of independence and fraught relationship between South America and the US, and the diversity of US Latino cultures. These courses serve the broader goals of Morningside University by supporting the development of leaders in multiculturalism, diversity, and internationalization, committed to informed and ethical participation in communities at home and in the global community. In this way, cultural humility and language study purposefully tie into the mission of a liberal arts education.
SPAN103 and SPAN104: Language and Culture I & II
Students begin to make comparisons and connections across cultures while building the linguistic scaffolding necessary to support those processes. Potentially a transformative experience, this content-based focus allows the student to navigate intercultural interactions, providing linguistic tools and vocabulary as required for particular communicative tasks. A personalized, experiential component allows the student to explore the relevance of Spanish to his/her social and professional interests.
CULT325: Latino Communities in the US
This course surveys Latino presence in U.S. through both a historical and cultural lens. It explores the centrality of Latino contributions to our social fabric via knowledge, labor, literature, art, and popular culture. The course relies on a variety of textual sources including oral histories, comics, and novels. While studying the diversity and complexity of Latino identities, students will examine how race and ethnicity interact with other formations, such as gender, sexuality, citizenship or immigration status, religious affiliations, language use, and regional affiliations. Through the investigation of Latino perspectives, this course aims to develop students’ critical thinking skills through reflection, argumentation, and textual analysis. Students complete an oral history project by interviewing a Latina/o/x community member about a particular topic of interest related to their personal and/or professional goals. Taught in English.
BELOW: SPAN104 Students create children's stories for local Spanish-speaking children. CULT325 students speak with Sioux City School Board member Perla Alarcón-Flory about her experiences moving to Sioux City from Mexico and becoming a community leader.
My Teaching Philosophy
Language learning is meaningful if it is comprehensible and challenges students to produce language slightly above their level. To accomplish this, I guide students through role-plays that ask students to accomplish authentic, real-world tasks. I incorporate a flip model by having students prepare grammar lessons through an online program, which allows more time to review concepts and actively apply them in class with communicative activities.
Students are also more successful when they find their learning relevant and feel that their personal experiences are valued. For this reason, I use familiar contexts so that students can access the material, make personal connections, and build on what they already know. For example, I use a humorous Dear Abby letter and response from a Columbian host brother writing about his family’s slovenly Midwestern exchange student. After modeling, students share their own conflicts with roommates and family and give advice. Problem-solving provides students with an important sense of urgency and motivation to improve by experimenting with challenging forms. However, I also foster a comfortable learning community because students must also feel safe to take risks without the fear of losing face. By maximizing student interaction through a number of grouping arrangements, students work with one another in positive ways to support each other’s learning before they are asked to share with the larger group.
By incorporating music, dance, art, literature, and history into my lessons, I capitalize on student strengths and interests while helping them to develop a deep appreciation for culture. My students explore the pragmatics of Spanish by considering how to express themselves in culturally appropriate ways. As they discover that language and culture are embedded within each other, they will establish connections between the culture’s perspectives, practices, and products. Cultural competence and communicative skills must be balanced with the grammatical accuracy that allows students to continue their language development in academia. Students learn in different ways and I use a variety of techniques to meet their diverse needs. They are provided with many opportunities to strengthen their understanding through written and oral expression, interpretation of authentic materials, and contextualized grammar exercises. I set high expectations for all of my students and inspire them to become independent learners.
My students understand that learning language, literature, and culture is a life enhancing skill, not just a fifty-minute class period. Success as a teacher at any level means motivating students to love their subject and continue to develop their understanding beyond the classroom. I look forward to hearing about my students’ experiences with Spanish through social work, as educators, in business, or by teaching their own children to value the language and its peoples. In any case, I will have made a positive impact on my students’ lives. Most importantly, I will refine this philosophy as I continue to improve my repertoire because becoming an excellent teacher is not innate, but a life-long pursuit.
Page updated
Report abuse