Karlee Michel, a Spanish teacher at Westerville North High School, and Erin Moehl, a Spanish teacher at Westerville Central High School, joined their peers from across the country last month as part of an intensive language workshop in Spanish linguistics in Montevideo, Uruguay.
Hosted by The Ohio State University’s Center for Latin American Studies and the Department of Spanish and Portuguese, the Summer Seminars Abroad for Spanish Teachers program offers educators an opportunity to analyze and practice the Spanish language in a natural linguistic and cultural context as well as receive graduate university credit for that experience.
Both Michel and Moehl have attended Summer Seminar Abroad programs in the past and said the experience impacts what they do in the classroom.
“It allows us to use a linguistic lens in teaching language, which is a deeper understanding of communication and cultural connection,” Michel said.
As one of their final projects, Michel and Moehl created and presented a lesson for their students in their respective buildings through that lens.
“It allows us to bring authentic content and resources to our students and helps them understand the diversity of countries that speak Spanish,” Moehl said.
While abroad, the two took a class on Spanish Linguistics, completed co-curricular training on cultural aspects of Uruguay, traveled to Argentina and lived in a home-stay setting.
Learn more about the Summer Seminars Abroad for Spanish Teachers program here.