Spanish Express

1. Students will possess improved linguistic skills and increased communicational knowledge.

o Students will be able to understand and to communicate Spanish by attaining proficiency in the four basic language skills, learning appropriate non-verbal skills and understanding the cultural contexts of language usage. 

o Students will be able to use their foreign language skills to access new knowledge, from native-language media, untranslated documents, literature and interaction with native speakers.

o Students will gain insight into the nature of language in general and Spanish in particular, by knowing the structural similarities and differences between Spanish and their native language.

o Students will have sufficient Spanish language/culture preparation for success in off-campus programmes and summer intensive study, including for majors/minors (with intermediate to advanced language training) and for General Education students (with elementary to intermediate language training).

o Students will have appropriate training for graduate study in foreign languages and cultures, including the ability to work with primary historical documents, in order to pursue advanced degree programmes, study international law and international business or business administration.

o Students will possess those intercultural communication skills which are important not only for success in certain professional careers, but also to ensure cross-occupational flexibility in fields such as teaching, translating and interpreting, international business and other professions where Spanish training and multicultural skills are a valuable asset.

2. Students will possess more knowledge about a foreign society and its culture.

o Students will understand the fundamental attributes of the foreign culture studied, in particular its geography, history, political and economic institutions, its citizens’ values and customs and its aesthetic products.

o Students will gain new insight into their own culture, by seeing it from an international perspective and identifying the underlying premises of their own cultural values and behaviours.

o Students will have a more accurate and global worldview, so that they will understand more fully the context of current international events, have more informed opinions and comprehend different value systems.

o Students will enhance their critical and analytical abilities, by studying authentic texts from foreign sources, analyzing the content and structure of literary and artistic works of the culture and understanding the dynamics of intercultural communication.

3. Students will develop attitudes and values appropriate for living in an increasingly multicultural world.

o Students will be comfortable with and sensitive to issues of multiculturalism by learning to appreciate language as a vehicle of culture, as expressing a basic vision of reality and by interacting with members of another culture, abroad or at home.

o Students will understand the value of diversity by learning how people of other cultures think and communicate, view the world, live their daily lives, express their creativity, and make value judgments.

o Students will have an improved sense of aesthetic awareness, by knowing the significant works of literature, art, music, cinema, etc. produced by another culture and being able to appreciate different artistic perspectives and viewpoints.

o Students will have enhanced leadership abilities, as a result of their improved linguistic skills and intercultural knowledge, capacity to communicate with a wide variety of audiences and practical experience in dealing effectively with people, abroad or at home.