Mar 28, 2024  
Mansfield University 2012-2013 Undergraduate Catalog 
    
Mansfield University 2012-2013 Undergraduate Catalog [Archived Catalog]

Spanish, Bachelor of Arts


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Offered by the Department of English and Modern Languages
English faculty:
Professors Doerksen, Harris, Pifer, Rashidi, Sornberger, Sullivan-Blum, Ulrich
Associate Professors Barton, Guignard, Murphy (chairperson), Sanner, Washington
Assistant Professor Blume
Modern Languages faculty:
Professor Holtman
Associate Professors Blanco and Keeth

Mission
As a unit central to the Humanities and to Mansfield University’s Liberal Arts tradition, the mission of the Spanish BA/B.S.Ed. program to help students develop their communicative proficiency and cultural understanding of the Spanish language. We strive to ensure that our majors and minors (1) have a sense for how languages function in general, (2) understand how Spanish contributes to leadership in their professional field both in the national and global context, (3) can utilize and increase their analytical, critical, and communicative skills in the target language, and most importantly (4) are able to demonstrate an advanced written and spoken command of Spanish. Only with these skills will they be able to successfully meet their academic and professional goals and recognize how their interest in studying Spanish will continue to serve them as a valuable tool for personal and professional development in the future.

The Spanish program’s faculty recognizes that studying a second language allows a student to shape his/her relationship with others differently and that by learning Spanish and information about its representative cultures he/she will be able to better mediate cultural and communicative differences. For this reason, the Spanish program’s overall curricular focus emphasizes intercultural communication and a better understanding of one’s own linguistic and cultural heritage. In particular, the Spanish program’s curriculum stresses four basic language skills: listening, speaking, reading, and writing.

Throughout the program, students are encouraged to increase their proficiency through advanced courses offered either at Mansfield University or through study programs abroad. Whenever possible, we promote the application of language skills in other academic areas.

Values
The Spanish BA/B.S.Ed. program promotes the following values among students:

1. A sustained pursuit of higher levels of Spanish proficiency.

2. A heightened awareness and respect for different Spanish speaking cultures and communities.

3. The creative application of analytical, critical, and communicative skills in Spanish.

4. Use of Spanish language in other arenas of academic and personal development.

5. A maturing awareness of Latin American and Peninsular cultures and literature/s.

Vision
The Spanish BA/B.S.Ed. program strives to be recognized in our academic and social communities for our contribution to the following areas:

1. Promoting intercultural awareness.

2. Helping students reach advanced levels of proficiency in Spanish.

3. Providing quality courses in content areas related to Spanish speaking world. Some of these content areas include: Fundamentals of Spanish, Spanish for a Special Purpose, Principles of Translation, Latin American Culture and Civilization, and Topics in Literature.

4. Promoting cultural activities that connect our communities with other Spanish-speaking communities and cultures.

5. Helping graduates become multilingual and multicultural professionals and leaders.

6. Enhancing a student’s travel abroad experience by providing quality preliminary training and preparation.

Learning Outcomes

  • Students will demonstrate understanding of and sensitivity to other cultures and ways of life and thought.
  • Students will demonstrate proficiency in Spanish at Advanced Low or above, as per ACTFL proficiency guidelines.
  • Students will acquire language competence in four skill areas: speaking, listening, reading, and writing.
  • Students will acquire familiarity with the history, civilization, and literature of countries that use Spanish as primary medium of communication
  • Students will gain a deeper understanding of English through analysis and comparison with the Spanish language
  • Students will develop critical thinking skills in intercultural problems and linguistic issues
  • Students will acquire a wide palette of qualifications and skills for pleasure or professional purposes.

Whether you are interested in a language-intensive career (such as a translator, interpreter, teacher or professor of languages, regional area specialist, or international businessperson) or whether you are looking to enhance your career portfolio with language skills and cultural awareness, the undergraduate coursework in Spanish that you receive at Mansfield University will make you a more attractive candidate. Since there are 430 million native speakers of Spanish (making Spanish the third most commonly spoken language in the world) and over 36 million Hispanics live in the United States (making it our nation’s second language), Spanish is an important asset to have. Knowing Spanish will enhance your marketability.

The English and Modern Languages Department at Mansfield University offers two programs of study in Spanish, the B.A. and B.S.Ed., as well as the possibility of acquiring a minor or double major in Spanish. Both programs of study include courses in structure, phonetics and pronunciation, culture and civilization, and literature.

By graduation, our students will have taken at least 36 credit hours in their Spanish major and will have been encouraged to seek opportunities to communicate in Spanish outside the classroom, to make contact with the growing Hispanic-American cultures, and to have traveled and studied abroad.

We have found that these experiences are beneficial to both professional and educational candidates. We have seen that students seeking these opportunities tend to achieve a better understanding of the many Spanish speaking cultures and find themselves in much stronger positions in their career pursuits. To date, our students have taken part in exchange programs in Costa Rica, Ecuador, Mexico, Chile, Uruguay, Argentina, and Spain.

While studying Spanish at Mansfield University, students find themselves learning in classrooms superiorly equipped with modern teaching technology —technology that enhances their learning graphically, acoustically, and interactively. Throughout their program of study, students have access to the Modern Language Center. On a daily basis, students are able to practice their communication skills in a comfortable 30 seat language center that is outfitted with high-end PCs and a T1 line internet connection. Indeed, the center’s webpage and student staff are conveniently available to guide students in their learning process, whether this means help increasing informational literacy or becoming more proficient with language-based software, the digitized audio materials of the Virtual Language Lab, and/or other media/web resources.

All Spanish majors must take the ACTFL Oral Proficiency Interview and reach a minimum of Advanced Low before they graduate.

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