The Learning Environment
Spanish has become an increasingly useful tool for nearly every possible career, and the Spanish department at Doane College incorporates content and vocabulary from many disciplines into the learning of the language. The goal of the Spanish classes is to provide practice in structures and vocabulary that prepare the students for authentic interactions and communication with Spanish-speaking populations.
Class sizes for Beginning and Intermediate classes are small, ranging from 15 to 22 students, which provides an opportunity for practice in a non-threatening environment as learners are encouraged to go beyond mere textbook exercises and focus more on communication at the earliest stages of learning. Spanish is used as much as possible in the classroom, incorporating the receptive skills of listening and reading as well as the productive skills of speaking and writing. At the beginning and intermediate levels, interdisciplinary topics provide a framework. For example, students may learn about famous artists and popular music or films as they practice basic conversation and begin to study grammar. Students learning food vocabulary can do so through an examination of the Food Pyramid, and topics in the Conversation and Composition classes may include environmental issues and a Web-based exercise to determine an individual's carbon footprint.
Upper level classes tend to be smaller, with five to fifteen students. At every stage, learners are building on previously learned skills, with Spanish being used exclusively in culture and literature classes. Culture is a major component of learning at all levels, with equal attention to the many and varied cultures of Spain and the Spanish American countries. Majors, who are required to spend a semester studying abroad, are able to hone their skills through an intensive immersion in Spanish in their choice of many different countries.
The community of Crete becomes a laboratory for students who wish to practice conversational Spanish. Students are encouraged to interact with local native speakers in such venues as ESL classes and church activities. Spanish film nights and campus festivities during National Hispanic Heritage Month and the Cinco de Mayo celebration are relaxing ways to "soak up" some of the culture.
Upper level Spanish students who meet the academic requirements can participate in the National Hispanic Collegiate Honorary Society, Sigma Delta Pi. They may have cooking classes, learn to dance salsa or the cumbia, and do volunteer service with community events such as bilingual story hours or community dinners. Above all, students are having fun as they gain greater fluency in Spanish.