Humanities Summer Program Spotlight:

Study-Abroad Program Provides a Rich Experience for Spanish Teachers

In summer 2006 thirty-one Spanish teachers from Ohio and beyond will have experienced what more than three hundred of their colleagues have also experienced over the course of nearly fifteen years: spending two weeks abroad in an exotic and culturally rich location honing their Spanish language and culture skills and soaking up the sun. Summer Seminars Abroad for Spanish Teachers (SSAST) was founded in 1991 by Terrell Morgan, associate professor of Spanish Linguistics, and the principal faculty and program facilitator for the seminars abroad. Sponsored jointly by the Department of Spanish and Portuguese and the Office of International Education, with support from the Center for Latin American Studies (CLAS), annual excursions provide professional development opportunities with academic credit for program participants who enhance their teaching and language skills, immerse themselves in the ambience and culture of unique study-abroad destinations, and later bring their experiences into classrooms in Ohio and across the U.S.

Through SSAST teachers of Spanish can complete an advanced course in Hispanic linguistics to refresh knowledge of phonology, dialectology, and contrastive structures, or take an intensive, beginning course in an indigenous idiom, and "textbook language" comes alive as participants acquire course materials for their own teaching. The 2006 workshop has been planned for Antigua, Guatemala and participants will tour the city from July 25 to August 10.

Also this summer, SSAST teacher-travelers will have the opportunity to study Kaqchikel, a member of the K'iche' (Quiché) branch of the Mayan family of languages with nearly half a million speakers in Guatemala. Since 2003, SSAST has offered intensive instruction in indigenous languages of interest to graduate students as well. Indigenous language instruction has been especially useful for students of Latin American Studies and has allowed the SSAST leadership to team up with CLAS to promote and facilitate the study of the "Less-Commonly Taught Languages" of Latin America featuring special programming on campus during the academic year.

Program destinations vary to enhance the diverse ethno-linguistic and dialectological character of the program. Previous destinations include Quito, Ecuador (1993 and 1994); San José, Costa Rica (1995 and 1996); Valencia, Spain (1997 and 1998); Santiago de los Caballeros, Dominican Republic (1999 and 2000); Santiago, Chile (2001 and 2002); and Asunción, Paraguay (2003 and 2004). Next year, Professor Morgan will lead a group to Cochabamba, Bolivia.

For more details, visit: http://oia.osu.edu/ssast/