Course Description
This course provides an introduction to basic concepts in Spanish Applied Linguistics, with the goal of preparing students to teach Spanish as a second language. The following topics will be examined: second language acquisition, the teaching and learning of languages (including language teaching methodologies), pragmatics, and sociolinguistic variation.
Reflective Narrative
In SPAN 395, I learned about essential elements of Spanish linguistics such as second language acquisition, the teaching and learning of languages, pragmatics and sociolinguistic variation. In general, the main focus was on teaching Spanish as a second language, since most of the students will be dedicated to education. Personally, this class trained me to be a Spanish linguistics professor, since the lessons, workshops, papers and discussions related the linguistic theories of learning a second language to real life situations. I found the written assignments to be phenomenal, because they were about learning a language, teaching observations, and analysis of a book for Spanish learners. In the paper on language learning, I conducted 3 interviews with people who learned English at an advanced age in order to investigate the best methods for learning a second language. In the teaching observation paper, I attended a class of Spanish learners to analyze the effectiveness of the teaching strategies employed by a Hartnell teacher, with the purpose of implementing them in the future. In the paper "Reseña de un libro de texto para estudiantes de herencia" (Analysis of a Spanish Textbook for Heritage Students), we applied all the linguistic elements we learned in class in order to determine whether the book is appropriate for learning Spanish and the cultures of Latin America. Finally, my favorite work was the Teaching Philosophy, an essential document for all educators as it talks about my strategies and abilities as a prospective Spanish professor. Overall, I found this class to be fantastic, as it not only prepared me academically but also professionally. This class is related to LING 392 and SPAN 305.