In my upper division course this semester I have given the students the option of using either Spanish or English for their final paper and oral presentation. My new division chair opposes the move. She prefers to use only the "target" language in her upper division courses. (She also loves to speak in education-ese, often talking about learning "outcomes," a term that sounds to me as if she were speaking of excrement.)
My lectures are all in Spanish as are most of the films. (The others are in French). All have English or Spanish subtitles. I encourage my students to speak Spanish, but when they can't, I don't mind at all if they speak English to make their points. I am mainly concerned with their intellectual development, and if language becomes an obstacle for them, I remove it. I'm sure most will write in English and present in English.
Have any of you had similar concerns?
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Dave, I really think you should have stayed in the target language in composing your post. Other than that, I recall that George Mariscal (when I was back at UCSD) held the same perspective as you; he wanted students to develop their ideas and let them use English when necessary in order to do so. My approach has been to ask my students to write everything in Spanish. I have found this to produce mixed ( sometimes disastrous) results when it comes to, for example, crafting a research paper. The next time I ask them to do that I will still ask them to do it in Spanish but I will require multiple drafts be turned in leading up to the final product. Our students are so skill deficient that they need every opportunity to develop their Spanish writing ability. However, I do like your idea and, in other circumstances, might opt for your approach. In in-class discussions, if they cannot make a point in Spanish then I certainly allow them the opportunity to express themselves in English.
Is it *&%holish of me to come down on the side of Spanish? On the one hand I halfway suspect there's a strict limitation on the actual development of critical ideas that can go on in my classes given the obstacles my students face. I'm talking about 30 hour work weeks, families, and school, not to mention a hip-hop lexicon with a california inflection. They do like to discuss, but it's just possible they've never read a book in their lives that wasn't assigned. On the other hand, isn't speaking Spanish good for them even if they have to struggle to get out a complex thought (or any thought at all)? To be fair, my students are with very few exceptions heritage speakers, so the situation's a little different. At least judging by the picture of you in Sevilla with the bathing beauties.
This is a question I've wrestled with. Our department policy is to use the target language, something I confronted when I was first hired here. Coming out of UCLA, I was used to using a lot of English in the classroom, and I tried to duplicate my UCLA experience in my graduate seminars. I came under a lot of fire for it. I came up against the Latin American cabal, which pegged me as some Anglo who was trying to introduce English into their protective cocoon. Some questioned my ability to even speak Spanish on student evaluations. So I've been a little skittish about English use since then.
Ironically, I have two new colleagues, both Argentines, who have Dave's approach; they allow their students to respond in either language.
Like Dave, I don't like the term "target language" because it assumes that our main purpose is to teach language skills, rather than teach literature. Much as I loathe taking a utilitarian approach, I think it must be admitted that the main justification for language programs is the language component.
So what to do? Teach in Spanish, allow responses in either language, but I would require papers to be written in Spanish if the student is a Spanish major.
I think for an undergrad, especially one who is not a native/heritage speaker, the opportunity to speak Spanish and to learn to speak it and write it well are probably the most important elements of the major. And for those that want to go on to graduate school in Spanish, a high level in that language is a minimum condition. In my own life it was interest in the language/culture that led to love of the literature. So in my classes I don't allow responses in a language other than Spanish (as a general rule - there are always exceptions), since in my view being able to express oneself well in another language is positive for intellectual development in your own native language. That said, the issue of language in graduate classes is a different one since you are focusing on more complex ideas and the intellectual debate is a broader one and I think that flexibility is in order.
(I apologize for not posting in the target language)
I agree with Mike that papers should be in Spanish. "Target language" is such a military metaphor: I'm sure there's a decolonializing case to be made there.
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