Spanish and Hispanic Studies — Courses

SPAN 501
Theories, Methods, and Practices in the Teaching of Spanish as a Foreign Language

This course is specifically designed for pre-service and in-service teachers. It will provide an overview of second-language acquisition theory as well as an in-depth study of current foreign language methodology as it applies to the teaching of Spanish in middle school and high school environments. The philosophy of this methodology centers on the use of language in meaningful contexts for real-world communicative purposes. It is firmly grounded in the National Standards for Foreign Language Learning and the Massachusetts Curriculum Frameworks for Foreign Languages. Students will gain practice in evaluating textbooks, writing lesson plans, and designing instructional units, as well as in classroom management procedures.
3 Lect Hrs, 3 Credits

SPAN 502
Technology for the Spanish-Language Classroom

This course is specifically designed for pre-service and in-service teachers of Spanish as a foreign language. The primary goal of the course is to explore the pedagogical implications of using a wide array of technological resources in the Spanish language and culture classroom. This class will also explore how Internet technology can be used as a springboard for cultural analysis and comparison. Students will examine current pedagogical theories related to language teaching and learning and will design a curricular unit that includes samples of all technologies examined. All coursework will be based on the Massachusetts Curriculum Frameworks for Foreign Languages and the National Educational Technology Standards for Students.
3 Lect Hrs, 3 Credits

SPAN 503
Perspectives on the Spanish-Speaking Worlds

This course, taught entirely in Spanish with occasional reading in English, is specifically designed for pre-service and in-service teachers of Spanish. It will examine the various geographic and cultural traditions that make up today’s Spanish-speaking worlds. In so doing, the course will prepare teachers to develop connections between course content and the Massachusetts Curriculum Frameworks for Foreign Languages and the National Standards for Foreign Language Teaching. The course is interdisciplinary. Topics to be studied in depth include issues of national and cultural identity, social life, and cultural production.
3 Lect Hrs, 3 Credits

SPAN 512
Assessing Foreign-Language Learners (Spanish)

Designed for pre-service and in-service teachers, this course will provide an in-depth study of different types of assessment, emphasizing performance assessment and the achievement of standards. Explicit connections to the Massachusetts Curriculum Frameworks for Foreign Languages and the National Standards for Foreign Language Learning will be made. The format of the course will be interactive discussion sessions with topics drawn from reading assignments. Students will gain practice in designing assessments and accompanying rubrics, projects, and portfolios, as well as self-assessment tools.
3 Lect Hrs, 3 Credits

SPAN 515
Latin American Film for the Spanish-Language Classroom

This course is specifically designed for pre-service and in-service teachers of Spanish. By using film and readings in the literatures of Spanish America, it will develop historical, social, and cultural context for language instruction. Explicit connections to the Massachusetts Curriculum Frameworks for Foreign Languages and the National Standards for Foreign Language Learning will be made. Class meetings will be conducted entirely in Spanish. The course is organized as a series of film-viewing and discussion sessions based on the films and the reading assignments. Students will gain experience researching film background, drawing critical connections to history, society, and culture, and designing units integrating film into language curriculum.
3 Lect Hrs, 3 Credits

SPAN 516
Cities of Lights and Shadows: Urban Experiences in Latin America

This course, taught entirely in Spanish with occasional readings in English, is specifically designed for pre-service and in-service teachers of Spanish. It will examine various representations of the city in Spanish-American literature. In so doing, the course will prepare teachers to develop connections between course content and the Massachusetts Curriculum Frameworks for Foreign Languages and the National Standards for Foreign Language Learning. This class will provoke a comparison between urban experiences in Latin America and similar experiences in the United States. It will also include an overview of the main moments in Spanish American Literature when cities came to represent social, economic, and demographic tensions that redefined national and regional identities. The class also includes a unit on the literature of Hispanic people in the US, since the urban experience is a central theme to this literature.
3 Lect Hrs, 3 Credits

SPAN 520
A Linguistic Perspective on Variation in the Spanish Language

This course, taught in Spanish with occasional readings in English, is specifically designed for pre-service and in-service teachers of Spanish. It will examine the main Spanish-language variants of today’s Spanish-speaking worlds and the grammatical traditions of Spanish. The course presents accessible research on fundamental problems of Spanish grammar that teachers deal with on a daily basis. Topics include the origin of differences among variants of Spanish, what is good and what is bad in spoken Spanish, and how various historical times answered this question, with far-reaching implications for language-teaching and specifically for the teaching of Spanish.
3 Lect Hrs, 3 Credits

SPAN 530
Cervantes and His World

This course, designed for pre-service and in-service teachers, provides an in-depth analysis of Cervantes’ Don Quixote (original Spanish version). The course will examine the cultural production as well as the social conditions of 16th- and 17th-century Spain as expressed in the life and work of Miguel de Cervantes.
3 Lect Hrs, 3 Credits

SPAN 540
Caribbean Borders: Literature and Identity in the Hispanic Caribbean

This course is designed for pre-service and in-service teachers of Spanish. It examines the cultural production and social development of the Spanish Caribbean and surveys the major consequences of colonization. The course prepares teachers to develop connections between course content and the Massachusetts Frameworks for Foreign Languages and the National Standards for Foreign Language Learning.
3 Lect Hrs, 3 Credits

SPAN 597
Special Topics

This course offers intensive study of a selected topic in Spanish language, literature, and/or culture. Course content varies according to the topic, which will be announced prior to the advance pre-registration period.
3 Lect Hrs, 3 Credits