Las Clases

This Tuesday we started classes.  I will be taking two different classes each week for four weeks, so eight in total.  It is intense but I also like the fact that I can learn about so many different topics that I will be able to use with my students this fall. Since this is an experience for growth in my personal learning I chose to take both literature and teaching method classes.  Each class is two hours long and classes are from 9am-1pm.  Both classes are really interesting.  I will try to summarize each class as I go.    See below for a list of my classes and descriptions for each week

Lista de las clases

Mis compañeros y otros becarios 

Semana 1

LA VIDA EN LA POESÍA Y LA POESÍA EN LA VIDA  (Life in poetry and poetry in life) 

Dr. Santiago gave us an introduction to well know Hispanic poets from many different countries as well as many diverse poems on many different themes.  This class gave me a new perspective and appreciation for poetry especially how poets speak in a "different language" and use figurative, less 

explicit language to convey powerful ideas.  I have already thought of ways that I can implement some poetry next year in my classes to introduce to them some of these special poets like Pablo 

Neruda and Antonio Machado.  For part of our evaluation we had to create our own poem.  This really was a challenge for me as I am a direct person and rarely use metaphors.  Below is my poem.  Yes, it is in Spanish!

Some of the class with Dr. Santiago behind me

EL MITO DE LA MUJER LECTORA (The myth of the woman reader)

Dra. Sanmartín Bastida is my teacher in the afternoon class.  She is so passionate about this topic and even wrote a book on it.  It's about literacy among women in Spain in the 19th century.  It's shocking and sad to realize that it wasn't until then that women were allowed to read and even then with certain restrictions.  It was really interesting to have learned more about and read some stories from some famous female Spanish writers in the 19th century.  She is very organized and does an excellent job with delivering the material not just through fragments of literature but also by showing us pictures and video segments which make the class really engaging. I would definitely recommend this class.

The class with Dra. Sanmartín Bastida (front right)

Semana 2

LA LITERATURA Y EL TEATRO DE LA REPÚBLICA EN LA GUERRA CIVIL

This has definitely been one of my favorite classes.  Dr. Perla-Vega is like an encyclopedia when it comes to the history of Spain. His class is so engaging due to the content and to his dynamic teaching style.   I now have such a better understanding of the actual Spain today because of events that led up to the civil war and during the civil war.  It was really interesting to learn about the movements of educating all of Spain regarding the culture of arts, theater and cinema.  My analysis essay of a play during the Civil War was challenging but I really enjoyed dissecting it and really learned to appreciate the importance of Spanish theater during this detrimental time period of Spain

Mis compañeros con Dr. Perla-Vega

LA LITERATURA DRÁMATICA EN LA ENSEÑANZA DEL ESPAÑOL COMO LENGUA EXTRANJERA

This class started of slow but really ended well.  The focus is on techniques to use literature to teach Spanish as a foreign language.  This class was geared toward Spanish teachers.  We only focused on how to use theater in the classroom but I learned a lot of new skills and ideas to take back with me, especially how to practice grammar skills while acting.  I have not used a lot of theater so this caused me to get out of my comfort zone and I actually enjoyed it.  I read two plays by Frederico García Lorca.  I loved the play La Casa de Bernarda Alba despite it being a tragedy like Romeo and Juliet.  Reading Lorca's works in this class and other classes in Spain persuaded me to see his summer house in Granada this past weekend.

Mis compañera con Dra. Martínez de 

Semana 3

LA ENSEÑANZA DEL ESPAÑOL: LA PRONUNCIACION Y LA ORTOGRAFIA

This is class provides the student with a basic and general overview on phonetics and the common errors that second language learners of Spanish make.  On the first day of class I came in knowing almost nothing about phonetics and syntaxis about any language .  The class started out very theory based touching on sounds waves and vocal chords.  It was very dry at first but after the first few days I really started to learn a lot about the make up of the Spanish language and English as well.  This class has made me rethink about the way I introduce vocabulary to my students to prevent confusion and interference from their first native language English.  

Las alumnas con Dr. Horcajada

VARIEDADES DEL ESPAÑOL : EL ESPAÑOL DE AMÈRICA

This class has been my favorite methods class by far.  Dra. Reguiero is so dynamic and
knowledgeable about this topic.  This class touches on the analysis of the varieties and dialects of Spanish in the Americas and their origin.  We also spend one day discussing all the different dialects in Spain which gave a better understanding to the way Spanish speakers converse in Latin America.  She has also given us several techniques that we can use to teach our students when they learn the Spanish language to avoid confusion with the English language.  The first class more explained the theories but this class actually gave us teaching practices and examples which was really beneficial and helpful.  Since I was traveling to Asturias for the weekend, Dra. Reguiero presented me with the challenge to find some native Asturians and interview them regarding the dialect they speak called "Babel"  Thankfully, I was able to strike up a conversation in a coffee shop and record some of my interview.  It was really neat to learn new words and also hear their dialect that I studied in class!   Unfortunately the video file was too big to post on here.  For all the teachers and future NSE scholarship recipients this class is a must!

Mis amigas Jean y Lauren con Dra. Regueiro

Semana 4

LA GRAMÁTICA DE ELE: UN ENFOQUE NUEVO PARA LA ENSEÑANZA DE LA SINTAXIS

This class touches on many of the difficult concepts that Spanish learners face such as ser/estar, subjunctive vs. present tense and commands.  Dr. Aliaga has so much knowledge on these concepts and does a great job simplifying the uses and concepts that teachers need to focus on when teaching these challenging topics.  He is old school lecture style and talks really fast but I had a chance to really test out my interpreting skills and actually learned a bunch of concepts that I am going to implement this fall into my teaching

LA ANTENCIÓN A LA FORMA DE ADQUISICIÓN  DE LA COMPETENCIA GRAMÁTICA 

Just like Variedades en Español this class is a must for Spanish teachers.  This class compliments the first class I have as it not only covers all the difficult concepts but actually shows us ways to teach the concepts and gives example activities.  Dr. Cano Gineés is so full of knowledge when it comes to helping teachers explain these challenging concepts and does it in a more modern way that is engaging and relevant.  I have learned so much more about the importance of teaching concepts like "Por/Para" and the past tenses in more relevant ways.  Our final evaluation was to create a lesson plan using a "Microrrelato" (Micro-story) that we shared with the other teachers in class.  This was one of the most useful and relevant classes and I'm glad I have some more lesson plans to take back with me to use this fall.