NB: This is the ABSTRACT of the proposal for the Spanish Major (final version: Spring 2000). Thus, it speaks of the major in the 'future tense'. --Jon Aske
The Department of Foreign Languages at Salem State College has developed a proposal for a Spanish Bachelor of Arts as part of a strategic long-term plan to respond to the increasing needs of the North Shore communities for a well-trained, bilingual (English-Spanish) working force. The proposed major sets as priorities the use of language in communication and the integration of culture as central to all learning experiences. We share with the Massachusetts Common Core of Learning the expectation that all students need a second language in order to participate meaningfully in today’s world.
Service to the North Shore community is the main purpose and goal of the future Spanish Major at Salem State College. Accordingly, a unique curriculum has been designed, one that will speak to three related but distinct community needs: to provide businesses in the area with Spanish-language qualified personnel; to respond to increasing demands for well trained Spanish teachers, and to serve the local undergraduate student aspiring to graduate level studies. The curriculum will offer different alternatives that will allow students to combine expertise in Spanish with preparation in other fields, in order to become successful professionals in a global marketplace.
The proposed B.A. in Spanish is comprised of three tracks: one in professional applications, including business, law, health services, social services and technical professions (the Professional Concentration); one in teacher preparation (the Pedagogical Studies Concentration); and one in a liberal arts base (the Literature and Culture Concentration). Unlike any of the three other Spanish Majors currently operating in the Massachusetts state college system, Salem State’s program will offer courses in the art of translation and interpretation. Only Salem’s Spanish Major will prepare students for the Spanish government’s internationally recognized diploma in Spanish proficiency, the DELE (Diploma de Español como Lengua Extranjera). Further, it will be the only program to require two courses in community-based activities, whether tutoring, mentoring, translating or teaching. For many Salem State students, these community internships have developed into opportunities for permanent employment. It should also be noted that the Spanish Major will provide a logical transition to graduate study in both Bilingual Education and English as a Second Language. Master’s degree programs in both of these are currently in place at Salem State College.
The training of teachers has become a national imperative. Time Magazine, in its January 1997 issue, predicts a need for some 600,000 new teachers between 1995 and 2005 (“Where the Jobs Are,” vol. 149, no. 3). Concomitantly, enrollment figures in Spanish classes continue to climb. A recent survey by the Modern Languages Association found that 53% of all college students enrolled in foreign language courses in the fall of 1995 were studying Spanish ¾ a 13.5% increase in Spanish students over a five year period. The boom in enrollment is not limited to post-secondary students. “Enrollment in Spanish classes at all levels of instruction is rapidly increasing,” states Marilyn Pavlik, President of the American Association of Teachers of Spanish and Portuguese (Hispania, vol. 79, no. 4 [Dec. 1996], p. 866). Clearly, all trends point to a growing need for more Spanish teachers nationwide and at all levels. As the Director of the Socio-Cultural Studies Department of the Danvers Public School system states, in a letter to our Department written in support of the proposed new Spanish Major, “...with the current emphasis in our public schools on World Language study, we are in desperate need of qualified Spanish teachers who are trained in the methods and philosophy outlined in the Massachusetts World Language Curriculum Framework. This shortage is quickly becoming a crisis.” These sentiments are echoed in similar letters from high schools throughout the North Shore. The proposed Pedagogical Studies concentration thus addresses a long standing need: the preparation of language teachers at the secondary level (grades 5-12). There is at present no public college north of Boston that certifies students to become Spanish teachers. Salem State College is unable to certify teachers in Spanish even though a Minor in Secondary Education has long been part of the Education Department curriculum. Introducing a Spanish Major will at last allow the College to certify students to teach Spanish.
A significant innovation in the breadth and execution of the proposed degree is its emphasis on interdisciplinary contributions. College-wide courses in such disciplines as art, history, political science, music, linguistics, and business will be encouraged to include a portion of course readings in Spanish, with weekly discussions of these readings directed by Foreign Languages faculty. As a result, students will have the opportunity to compare and contrast linguistic and cultural systems, a decided advantage in the preparation of any individual choosing to attain professional standards in language. The support for foreign language study is institutional at Salem State College and is exemplified by the College’s requirement of four foreign language courses within all the B.A. degrees offered. In addition, certain B.S. degrees, such as Criminal Justice, also encourage foreign language study.
The three tracks, Professional, Pedagogical Studies, and Literature/Culture, will develop specific competencies and expertise appropriate to their focus. Each track has its own strengths and requirements, in addition to a core of language, culture and literature. The Professional Concentration, for example, will prepare students in such areas as community service, translation and linguistics. This concentration emphasizes advanced communicative and cultural skills and the practical, applied aspects of foreign language proficiency rather than the scholarly or pedagogical focus of the other two concentrations. It directly supports the College’s increased emphasis on professional programs designed to address the needs of the workforce and to further the economic development of the College’s primary service area. Students in the Pedagogical Studies Concentration will be prepared in such critical areas as teaching methodology, culture and proficiency in subject matter. This concentration will focus on foreign language learning from a variety of perspectives. Foremost will be the preparation of foreign language teachers for the 5-12 levels. The next step in the development of this concentration will be to prepare documentation in support of application for NCATE and State of Massachusetts approval of a Foreign Language Teacher certification program. The Literature/Culture Concentration will prepare students for graduate study by covering established, humanistic areas of language, literature and culture. Coursework in this track is sufficiently broad to be applicable to a variety of professional employment opportunities. Certain fields of study, such as community service, will be open to students in any of the areas of specialization.
Of the three Massachusetts state colleges presently offering a B.A. in Spanish ¾ Bridgewater, Framingham, and Worcester ¾ none is within commuting distance of the North Shore communities served by Salem State. At the university level within the Commonwealth, the Amherst and Dartmouth campuses, like the Boston and Lowell campuses, are at too great a geographical remove to be considered for full time study by the constituencies which Salem State serves. Further, none of these campuses offers the interdisciplinary formation that Salem State is proposing, nor do they offer the three areas of specialization advanced by the proposed program. UMass Boston offers a specialization in either language or literature; no community-based internships are offered. UMass Lowell offers one optional community-based practicum.
Each concentration of the Spanish Major program requires 36 credits. Proficiency at the 201A level, whether satisfied by prior coursework or a satisfactory score on a departmentally endorsed placement test, will be prerequisite to admission to the Spanish Major.
The program diversifies to create a curriculum designed to accommodate different learning goals.
SPN 202Intermediate Spanish II
* SPN 212 Diploma de Español como Lengua Extranjera (Diploma of Spanish as a Foreign Language)
* SPN 220 Spanish for Native Speakers
SPN 222 Spanish for the Professions
This segment of the Major is comprised of courses designed to facilitate the transition between lower level and advanced work.
SPN 350 Advanced Spanish Grammar
SPN 351 Advanced Conversational Spanish
SPN 353 Readings from the Hispanic World
SPN 354 Composition Through Film
A major goal of the program is serving the community at large.
* SPN 380 Peer Tutoring
* SPN 385 Community Placements
* SPN 390 Methodology for Foreign Language Teaching
Acquired practical expertise is enhanced by further knowledge of language, literature and culture.
SPN 401 Introduction to Spanish Literature I
SPN 402 Introduction to Spanish Literature II
* SPN 410 Introduction to Romance Linguistics
SPN 415 Spanish Civilization and Culture
SPN 416 Hispano American Civilization and Culture
SPN 417 Hispano American Literature I
SPN 418 Hispano American Literature II
Critical reasoning and thinking as well as writing proficiencies are developed, along with literary understanding.
* SPN 450 Spanish Translation and Interpretation Practicum
* SPN 480NSeminar in the Literatures of the Spanish Speaking World
* SPN 490 Advanced Professional Spanish Across the Curriculum
* SPN 495 Seminar in Linguistics
* SPN 501 Senior Seminar with Thesis
Study Travel
Summer Abroad Program
* Approved new course