Teaching Associate Program

Spanish Teaching Associate (TA) Program

The selection process for the Spanish Teaching Associate (TA) Program takes place in the Spring with applications due at the beginning of March. Selected graduate students typically teach SPAN 1B in the Fall and SPAN 1A in the Spring of the following year. To facilitate ongoing training and support, the TA Coordinator will schedule meetings that TAs must attend.*

TAs will employ communicative language teaching strategies towards teaching SPAN 1A and 1B as they simultaneously plan lessons, develop curricula, and create assessments. They will also learn how to use a textbook and its online components to develop a semester-length curriculum and daily lessons. TAs will also design original, creative activities that enhance and complement textbook material. TAs will learn how to use Canvas, the online learning management system for SJSU. Taken together, graduate students that successfully complete the Spanish TA Program in the Department of World Languages and Literatures will graduate with an understanding of methods of teaching college Spanish as well as hands-on experience with elementary Spanish curriculum design, assessment development, lesson planning, use of technology as a pedagogical tool, and classroom teaching.

Successful completion of FLED 380 (Teaching Foreign Languages) is strongly recommended for consideration for a Spanish TA position. With a strong theoretical background in foreign language pedagogy and knowledge of the evolution of language teaching during the 20th and 21st centuries, TAs will gain critical insight into current approaches to teaching in the field. Additionally, TAs will become familiar, in theory and in practice, with the most up-to-date approaches to teaching Spanish, which are centered on guidelines provided by the American Council on the Teaching of Foreign Languages (ACTFL).

For additional program information, please refer to the Spanish MA Teaching Associate Handbook. For other questions regarding the program, please contact Dr. Avizia Long at avizia.long@sjsu.edu.

*These meetings support the 10.8 hours per week on duties related to the employment/appointment as a TA.