For this blog post, I will talk about how the Secondary Teacher Education Preparation (STEP) Program for Spanish works. I talk about my own experience with the program and also offer some tips for making the most out of it.

When I first entered UMass, I knew I wanted to teach Spanish, but I had a hard time finding the resources to get information about the Secondary Teacher Education Preparation (STEP) Program for undergraduates. On the College of Education website, most of the STEP material is geared toward graduate students, even though, with careful planning, undergraduates can also leave UMass with an initial licensure to teach in disciplines such as mathematics, biology, Spanish, English, and many more. My first step was getting in contact with the Spanish program director in charge of the licensure, in this case, Carole Cloutier. Each discipline has a different advisor, but for those who want to teach Spanish, Carole is an amazing resource and does a great job making sure everything is in line. When I first met with her my freshman year we went over a very rough plan as to how I would complete the requirements for licensure. She explained to me that not everyone comes into UMass wanting to teach, so the steps might be different depending on the person. Although I am writing this post during my senior year as I am about to start student teaching, it feels like I was just in her office planning my classes for this program.

As of now, in addition to completing the courses required for the Spanish major, students in the STEP program have to complete other courses in the education department such as EDUC 524 Work of Middle/High School Teachers and other electives in categories such as student diversity and human development. Additionally, during your last year, you complete a pre-practicum in the fall where you observe, help a teacher, and begin to implement some activities in the classroom. In the spring semester, you begin your student teaching, where you will eventually teach two classes with teacher supervision. This is very exciting because you can practice what you have been learning in your Spanish and Education classes, especially Spanish Teaching Methodology, which Carole usually teaches. In this class, you learn the importance of creating meaningful and interactive activities for students. This class is also required for Spanish TAs in the department, so many of your classmates will be graduate Spanish students. I was nervous at first, but this class was so helpful to my development as a language teacher and my classmates were extremely helpful and friendly. Although it may seem like a lot, the Spanish STEP program is worth it, and if you plan on studying abroad, you can plan your courses taking that in account. Besides the courses, there are other requirements as of now, including a second language acquisition (SLA) research paper and a cultural portfolio. In the SLA research paper, you have to choose a topic in the field of second language acquisition and essentially create a literature review on what research has been done. After this, you have to present it (usually in your methodology class). The cultural portfolio is a little different, and it showcases what you have done with the Spanish language and culture through various essays you have already written. In this, you choose three essays you have written in Spanish, so make sure you save your essays from your Spanish classes. You then explain how your writing and understanding of the culture has changed throughout your writing of these different papers. It is good to see what other students have done in the past, and Carole is there to help you as well.

I would definitely recommend this program to anyone who wants to teach Spanish in secondary schools. Although it seems like a lot of work, the key is to stay organized and keep in contact with your advisor about the program’s requirements. Also, you have to keep in mind that in the last semester you will be student teaching, and you will not have a lot of time to take other classes. As such, you might want to plan on finishing all your General Education and Spanish major requirements before this semester. As a final piece of advice, make sure you are always checking the requirements, as they can change from year to year. What might be required for this generation, might be different the next year.