Document Type
Report
Publication Date
2008
Department
Humanities
Abstract
Through my academic preparation, I have developed a very solid background in Spanish Applied Linguistics, Second Language Acquisition, Teacher Education, ESL/TEFL, and Spanish Language and Literature. In my 13 years at Parkland College I have applied all of my areas of expertise to develop our Spanish Program as well as to address our students' needs. I have worked tirelessly and I feel that the time for me to re-evaluate, recharge my energy, and to relax in a productive manner has come.
Besides my interest and desire to recharge my impetus to continue teaching the best I can, I want to prepare for our future needs. As our Spanish speaking population increases at the present time and as their children grow to be at an age when their time for higher education comes, it is only reasonable that Parkland College prepares for this demand. This preparation will lead to better and more inclusive teacher training as well as the eventual design and offering of sections that specifically address their needs. If awarded a sabbatical for the spring 2008 semester, I propose to take Spanish 436: Teaching Spanish to Speakers of Spanish (Espanol 436: La ensenanza del espanol a hispanohablantes) at the University of Illinois in Chicago via the internet.
A second area that I would like to address is the language attrition that I have experienced in the past 16 years due to my living in an entirely English speaking environment. I need to bring my Spanish up to date and I can only do that by spending a reasonable amount of time in Spanish speaking countries, as opposed to the occasional Christmas or spring holidays. The gains that such an experience will bring along will not only be regarding my language skills, but also regarding culture, politics, literature, art, how the Spanish speaking world and the international press see the US, etc. Such experience will help train myself and gather all the necessary materials to teach other courses at Parkland College, courses like HUM 106, Latin American Culture, etc. This will expand my horizons and my productivity in our college as well as help me regain my desire to teach and work with our students.
Rights
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-No Derivative Works 4.0 International License.
Recommended Citation
Rodríguez, Renato, "Sabbatical Leave Proposal and Report" (2008). Sabbaticals. 44.
https://spark.parkland.edu/sabbaticals/44
