As a junior at Umass, my perception of the Spanish major has changed immensely over my time here. Even just in the past year I have had so many changes in my views. I first thought I would graduate a year late, which later changed to just a semester late. Then I decided at the very last possible second to study abroad, which further changed my academic plan. I thought I would graduate a year early, which later became a semester. I thought I was on track to become an actuary, which then turned into me dropping the math major entirely. My perception towards both my majors have changed plenty since coming to Umass. Continue reading
Monthly Archives: December 2015
Volunteering Abroad
Last spring, I studied abroad in Granada, Spain. I went there with the intention of volunteering in a school or in a homeless shelter. However, when our Spanish advisers began to send out emails regarding volunteer opportunities, I was so overwhelmed with all the options that I didn’t even want to do any. I read over them briefly and some caught my eye, but I was too caught up in other Spanish adventures that I didn’t sign up. Luckily, one day after classes, I stopped by my advisers office to ask a question and I accidentally walked into a meeting for volunteering as an English teacher. The conversation sounded interested, so I asked if I could volunteer, and the next week I started teaching English to 12 adults. Continue reading
Spanish and Teaching
What led me to choose to be a Spanish major was how much I was excelling in it and understanding it in both middle school and high school. I loved all my teachers thus far because they have shown such a passion for teaching the language and it inspired me. One of my middle school Spanish teachers placed me among with only a few others in a higher level class my freshman year of high school because she knew we wouldn’t be challenged in the other levels. I thought to myself that this was a good thing and that I knew I could do it. In high school I was not particularly interested in any other subjects, because I always loved going to my Spanish classes so I decided to stick with it and I concluded that I would do well if I pursued the major in college. I liked Spanish because it was something new that was introduced to me and that caught my attention. I think I also liked it because some words are very similar to Greek. I know basic Greek phrases and can understand the language because it is what I grew up with. Learning a third language was something I thought would be a great skill to have, and at the time I was doing really well in my Spanish classes so why would I stop learning the language I was just starting to get to know and was connecting with? Continue reading
Spanish Phonetics
The classes in the Spanish major are absolutely fantastic. I have heard from many people in other majors that their required classes have no immediate benefits; it’s just a bunch of arbitrary knowledge that they are expected to know for some reason. I have noticed the exact opposite in the Spanish department. Every single class I have taken has helped me in real time and I have been able to put into practice the things I am learning. Last fall I took Spanish 378 Spanish Phonetics with Meghan Armstrong and it was one of the most useful classes I have taken in college. I noticed changes and improvements in my spoken Spanish almost immediately. Continue reading
Apartment Living in Spain
When I first decided to go abroad, I automatically thought I wanted to live in an apartment. I did not really even consider a residencia or a host family. I saw the option of living in an apartment with a “host mom” who would bring us food everyday, so I thought that seemed like the best idea. I also was under the impression that I would have many different roommates, including Spanish ones. However, when I got to Granada with my roommate from home, we found out that it was just us two living in our new apartment. Continue reading
It’s All in the Music
Some of my most memorable experiences while traveling abroad was those that included my exploration as a musician.
I traveled abroad to Barranquilla, Colombia on the coast for a whole semester. As a musician, I encountered several gratifying experiences that have made dramatic changes in my life. I thought these experiences are well worthwhile sharing because it shows how studying abroad has many doors that you can open for you if you keep your eyes and ears open. Many of the opportunities I received involved me going outside of the box and not relying only on the curriculum that was in the package plan. This mentality can really make your trip worthwhile in ways you can’t imagine. Continue reading
Reflections on a tourist experience
This summer I visited Granada Spain for 5 weeks to take classes at the Centro De Lenguas Modernas school of the University of Granada. My experience was a bit different than the typical “study abroad” experience. For one, I had been to Granada many times before: in 2008 I lived there with my family for 6 months, and I over the year I had travelled to the city roughly ten times. My experience was also much shorter than the typical study abroad experience that lasts a semester or a year, unfortunately as much as I would have loved to spend that amount of time abroad, I had professional obligations that wouldn’t allow me to spend that much time out of the country. Due to these factors, I had a different experience than most. I would say my experience would be characterized more as a tourist experience rather than a full immersion experience. While the idea of being a tourist has negative connotations and is often seen as a negative in study abroad, I believe that it has benefits that are often overlooked. Continue reading
Study Abroad Masks
Through my recent study abroad trip I realized something that a lot of travelers, including myself, seem to do that puzzles me.
A friend I met who was studying abroad at the same time a me in Colombia was from United States planning to teach english in a Spanish Speaking Country. Her language speaking level was excellent.
I guess due to this fact she was offended when a local who she didn’t know would come to her and start speaking in English. The way she explained it to me was, “Don´t just assume I don’t know how to speak Spanish. I’ve been studying it for 10 years, I think I know what ‘cruzar la calle’ means..” Continue reading
Changing Perceptions of the Spanish Major
Over the course of studying as a Spanish major, my perception of the major has greatly changed. I first decided to become a Spanish major as a means to an end: I wanted to complete a bachelor’s degree program and improve my Spanish skills to make myself more competitive in the fire department hiring process. I also wanted to improve my Spanish language skills because I have been able to travel to Spain many times and improving my language skills would allow me to better communicate with my friends in Spain. I had a passing interest in Spanish culture, but my main reason for choosing Spanish as my major was to improve my language skills and my career prospects. Continue reading
Teaching Spanish is not easy – but it’s worth it!
Spanish is not easy. There’s so much involved in learning a language that I completely forgot about. By the time you’re a senior and at the end of the Spanish major, you’re not really focusing so much on the tedious, grammar things – it’s all big-picture, comprehension-level stuff. I completely forgot about learning things like the stem of a verb and different endings; trying to wrap my head around subject agreement.
The reason I mention this is because I am in the Spanish STEP (secondary teacher education) program, working on getting my license to teach Spanish in high school. I’m currently doing my pre-practicum with a Spanish 1 class at Northampton High School. Continue reading