|
Students from Brazil, Canada, New Zealand, Switzerland and Saudi Arabia are participating in the current courses, improving their Spanish reading, listening, writing and speaking skills. |
The Spanish courses for foreign students at the university Universidad de La Frontera (UFRO) are an initiative that started in 2018. The courses are carried out by the Language Coordination Center (CODI), which is one of the units of the Office for Comprehensive Training and Employability of the Vice-Rectorate for Undergraduate Affairs, in cooperation with the Student Mobility Unit, which is part of the International Affairs Office. “Over the years, we were able to establish a very fruitful alliance between the Language Coordination Center and the International Affairs Office, which allows us to implement these courses that are always in demand. Our purpose is to contribute to the students’ education and to make our university more visible. In addition, we are also planning other alliances, so that our students can participate in language courses at foreign universities,” emphasizes Juan Méndez, the Director of the Office for Comprehensive Training and Employability. Although it was not possible to carry out these courses in 2020, due to the pandemic, this year, the courses take place online. They last eight weeks and include 32 hours of synchronous work and 16 hours of asynchronous work. Every course allows a maximum of 20 international students from the universities that have an agreement with UFRO. The director of CODI, Felipe Opazo, emphasizes that “the participants are students from different parts of the world, who all want to learn Spanish and, in the near future, want to study at our university or get to know other Spanish-speaking countries. After the first sessions, we noticed the great interest and enthusiasm of the students to learn Spanish as a second or third language, and that makes us very happy, since it is the first time that we carry out these courses online”. He also adds that “these courses follow the same methodology we use to teach English to our undergraduate students, in which the activities focus on culture, communication and being able to communicate, rather than focusing on exact grammar. We hope that we will be able to continue with these courses in the future, strengthening our ties with the foreign universities that have an agreement with us, and also showing students from all over the world who UFRO is and why our university stands out in Latin America”. The courses are based on a communicative approach, so that the students from Brazil, Canada, New Zealand, Switzerland and Saudi Arabia will be able to improve their Spanish reading, listening, writing and speaking skills. There are also two different levels available: Spanish for Beginners (A1) and Intermediate Spanish (B1). In addition, the participants will be able to learn more about the Chilean and Latin American culture, so that it will be easier for them to adapt when they come to Chile or another Spanish-speaking country in Latin America in the future. According to Antonia Espinoza, the director of the Student Mobility Unit at UFRO, the International Affairs Office is very pleased with the alliance with CODI that allows the development of these Spanish courses for foreign students. “We are excited to know that our courses are highly demanded and we are also grateful that these times of virtuality allow us to reach students from all over the world. We hope that we will be able to continue with this offer, in order to position UFRO as an international educational destination,” she adds. EXPERIENCES “The classes are interesting, fun and varied. It is a good mix of oral exercises, grammar, and knowledge about the Latin American culture and customs. Our teacher, Carla, is a very nice person and manages to include all of the students in the exercises. Many thanks to UFRO for this opportunity. I am very happy to be part of this initiative,” comments Mirjam Wallimann (Switzerland). “I want to learn Spanish because, until today, I have not had the opportunity to learn a language other than my mother tongue, and also because I like this language and identify with it, much more than with the English language. I chose UFRO because my university promoted this program and, fortunately, I fulfilled the requirements. Apart from that, I did some research on UFRO and I liked the fact that it is a university of excellence,” explains Rafaella Santana (Brazil). “My experience with the course is very good. I have already completed a couple of classes, and the teacher is very dedicated and proactive. I will go to Spain next year for my studies, so that is why I want to learn Spanish. Apart from that, it is a language that is widely spoken around Brazil and I like learning new languages,” says Cauan Montano Brutton (Brazil). “I always wanted to learn Spanish, because I think that it is a beautiful language. I applied to spend a semester in Spain, but in the end, it didn't work out because of different reasons. Besides, I would like to travel to Mexico and South America, maybe this year or next year. It was my university (PH Lucerne) that suggested this course as a possibility to learn Spanish and I loved the idea of learning Spanish in an international course. That is why I enrolled,” explains Fabienne Raissle (Switzerland).
Written by: Rocío Álvarez Yáñez |
