Foreign Language Teaching
Spanish Congress Brings New Insights on Teaching Foreign Languages
Wittenborg’s Spanish language teacher, Mariví Martínez Brocca, recently attended the Congress for Teachers of Spanish as a Foreign Language (Evento práctico de profesores de ELE) in Utrecht.
Brocca joined WUAS in September 2016. Bachelor students can currently choose between Spanish, German and Dutch in order to complete their foreign language module. The language module covers three complete blocks, in contrast with normal business administration modules.
The event took place in the Instituto Cervantes in Utrecht, and was organised by the institute and International House Barcelona - a prestigious school of languages. There were more than 100 participants - Spanish teachers coming from different countries like Germany, Spain, England and Belgium.
The congress combined a range of conferences and workshops. The conferences centered on group dynamics when teaching Spanish, using comics as material in teaching Spanish and the use of the metaphor in Spanish lessons. “All three brought useful examples and shared material we can use or adapt to our groups,” Brocca said. “In terms of workshops, I particularly enjoyed the one about giving feedback. We analysed the whole sequence of the feedback session to students for a writing exercise that had been filmed. I will try to bring these ideas to Wittenborg.
“For me the contact with Spanish teachers in a context of creativity, sharing ideas, materials and useful links was important. The mix of nationalities was also – it brought to light different accents and different approaches!”
The purpose of the congress was to offer a combination of theoretical knowledge from the fields of psychology, pedagogy and linguistics. Workshops offered space for debate and exchange with colleagues.
WUP 14/3/2018
by Anesca Smith
©WUAS Press