Submitted by: Karen Cadiero-Kaplan, Ph.D.
Associate Professor
Policy Studies in Language & Cross Cultural Education
College of Education

Office phone: 4-4994 Home: 619-266-9333 E mail: kcadiero@mail.sdsu.edu

Proposal title: Professional Development Opportunities: Spanish Language & Culture

Country/ies visited: Spain

Institutions visited: Catholic University of Avila, Avila, Spain; University of Salamanca, Salamanca, Spain; Catholic University of San Pablo, Madrid & Segovia, Spain

Dates of travel: June 15 – July 31st 2005

Number of student participants: None

Previous IP proposals submitted and grants awarded: None

Have all required reports been submitted? Yes

Other funding for this activity available/applied for: No

Proposal Abstract (75 word maximum):
The request seeks to expand the work developed during the past two years. A Summer Institute in Spanish Literacy and Culture for BCLAD Prospective Teachers was established in the summer of 2001 with the Universidad Catolica in Avila Spain. In 2002 the program was expanded with the University of Sao Pablo CEU. In 2003 we seek to formalize an agreement between Sao Pablo CEU and SDSU and expand the Summer Institute to undergraduate and graduate students and faculty. The Undergraduate Institute provides prospective bilingual teachers with the opportunity to improve their language skills and participate in a cross-cultural educational context. The program provides two specific courses, one emphasizing Spanish language structure with emphasis on grammar and writing. The second examines cross-cultural issues using the history, literature and art of Spain. A graduate seminar will examine the European Union policies addressing Language, Culture and Economy.

Travel report:

I. Opening/overview of intentions/activity: The purpose of this activity was to establish connections with colleagues in Spain who indicated an interest in offering courses for College of Education graduate students. I was successful in making contacts and am in the process of making a formal agreement with one university.

II. In preparation for the trip abroad
I collaborated with Ernesto Sanz and Dr. Alberto Ochoa to establish contact with colleagues at the University of Avila where I was invited to stay. Prior to leaving, I spoke with students from San Diego State who have attended or were planning to attend our summer program for Spanish Language & Culture at the University of Avila to get their impression of the city, the university and the language program.

I confirmed that both the University of Avila and San Pablo University had agreements in place with San Diego State University and both are
“recognized” by the Ministry of Education in Spain as accredited institutions.

III. Upon arrival/specific activity
I arrived in Madrid in early June and made contact with the Dr. Javier Morillas from the University of San Pablo, and the Director of Language Programs at UC Avila, Anai Gomez. As these were my initial contacts for these two institutions that had an interest in creating a summer program for our graduate students.

Dr. Morillas was traveling and requested that we plan to meet in July and made arrangements to return to Madrid the 3rd week of July.
Dr. Gomez assisted me in making arrangements for my stay in Avila in July and also provided me with information for visiting the University of Salamanca and Museum Sties in Madrid, Bilbao and other cities. I was interested in also reviewing the various education program at the museums in Spain that would be of interest to graduate students in education.
Since I was going to be in Avila for more than 2 weeks I was invited by Dr. Gomez to teach an English class to their undergraduate students studying English. This was a great opportunity to not only work with students from the local area, but to meet faculty from various departments who had an interest in my work and research.

In Salamanca I was not able to make contact with the director for international studies, but did take a tour of the campus.
I returned to Madrid in July and had the opportunity to spend several days with Dr. Javier Morillas, Director of Summer Programs for the University of San Pablo. He took me on a tour of their Madrid campus, including student housing, as well as a tour of the campus they have near Segovia in La Granja. I was able to sit in on graduate classes and meet students from South America who were enrolled in this International Summer Program.
While in Avila I also had the opportunity to meet with the Director (Rector) of the University Dr. Jose Sanchez Caro, who is very interested in working more with our programs at SDSU.

IV. Conclusion, recommendation, and next step?
Of all of the institutions visited, I found that the University of San Pablo was best prepared to meet the needs of our graduate student. I learned that in the past other faculty had worked to make arrangements for a graduate seminar, but the problem in implementation was due the time of year the seminar was scheduled and also the language limitation.

Sustainability of project (is there a high likelihood that students in the department will be interested in studying the proposed subject area at
the prospective partner university and vice versa)? I believe there is great potential to have a summer seminar that is sustainable, in Attachment A of this document is the proposal that Dr. Morillas and I are working on implementing for Summer, 2007. This program would be open all graduate students at San Diego State University interested in completing a seminar in Language, Culture & The Arts of Spain and Europe. The seminar would be taught in English with Spanish available for those interested. It would also include a research component that would be taught as part of a special session where students would meet prior to going to Spain and upon returning to develop a final research paper.

How will this exchange program (or expansion) increase participation by students in international activities, or enhance international learning environments for students? This seminar will benefit those students interested in having an international experience as part of their graduate studies. In addition, it will provide a model for doing observational research in a setting outside their normal comfort zone. I have had request from many of our graduate students for such an experience.

What will be their activities (e.g. course work, international internships, field research, etc.)? The seminar will involve study abroad on topics of general interest, in addition students will be instructed in observational research methods prior to going to Spain, this activity is included in this special session, as such students will be required to maintain a journal and observational field notes in order to complete a field research paper upon their return. See Attachment A for more details of the actual course work that will be offered in Madrid.

What will be your role in promoting and supporting these activities? I will teach the seminar classes before and after the travel to Spain, in addition I will make all housing arrangements and develop the course curriculum in collaboration with faculty the University of San Pablo. I will travel with the students to Madrid and participate in the seminars with them.

V. Additional Information

Initially it was hoped that I would be able to create a seminar with the University of Avila since we already had an exisiting summer program, unfortunately after meeting with Dr. Gomez and Dr. Caro we realized that the courses they could offer were limited to undergraduate studies and they did not have the resources to have courses taught in English. However, they are very interested in pursing a student exchange program, which may be followed up on in the coming year. A number of students from their institution would like to study here in San Diego for a semester or year and it is possible that we could develop an exchange agreement in the future.

Regarding the agreement with the University of San Pablo, Dr. Morillas wanted to begin the program this summer, 2006 and I surveyed graduate students and found interest, but many needed time to save funds. At this point, Dr. Morillas and I are are still in negotiation regarding tuition and housing costs. As a result, we have agreed to aim for implementation of the first graduate seminar to be held in July, 2007. In this way we can organize the curriculum and have time to recruit students to ensure we have a successful experience.

All information should be sent to The Office of International Programs
via e mail:

oip@mail.sdsu.edu