Recent Headlines

06/12/2013

Student from Spanish Conversation for the Health Professions puts Medical Spanish to good use

Since the end of the Spring semester, I have been living and working in Santiago de los Caballeros, Dominican Republic. I am working as an unpaid intern in a small pharmacy called "Botica Santa Ana", which is run through a company that provides various types of healthcare to those living in poverty.

04/16/2013

Student-faculty Relationships Make a Difference

On April 20th, Dr. Rose Marie Brougham was honored by senior Spanish major Chelsea Wolpert as "favorite faculty." Dr. Brougham and Ms. Wolpert attended the Spring Favorite Faculty Tea sponsored by the National Residence Hall Honorary.

04/07/2013

Proyecto Raíces

Chevonne Anderson and Christina Jindra, two UA Spanish students designed and presented the country of Argentina to the Proyecto Raíces program held at St. Bernard's church in downtown Akron. These Spanish students volunteer two Saturdays each month to work with Hispanic children as part of a service learning program organized by faculty in the Spanish department and Proyecto Raíces. The bi-monthly program is designed to promote and strengthen Hispanic culture through language and education. UA Spanish students polish their languages skills and have a first-hand cultural experience. Great job and thank you, Chevonne and Christina!

03/14/2013

Soirée Cuisine

French majors and minors turned the office into a kitchen and had a blast preparing and savoring  "salade niçoise" and "crêpes nutella" under a watchful and expert supervision of Nils Dafniet.  The smell of crêpes was irresistible and  attracted other students and faculty members from the nearby Department of English who were given a chance to taste a little bit of France on the third floor of Olin Hall.

03/05/2013

UA Spanish graduate to give presentation on Spanish and International Business

University of Akron Spanish graduate Brad Ayers will be presenting "Bring the International Business World to Your Classroom" in Columbus, Ohio on March 16th at 9:30am as part of the Central States Conference on the Teaching of Foreign Languages. This conference will be taking place at the Hilton in downtown Columbus. 

Ayers' session will cover ideas and areas where educators of Spanish can expose students to how culture and language proficiently work in the world of international business. Ayers has exported American products to over 36 foreign countries during his 15 years of experience in international business. In 2011, he spoke at four high schools in northern Ohio, including the Akron area, about his experiences with using fluency in Spanish for business.

For more information about the Central State Conference on The Teaching of Foreign Languages, visit their website.

02/05/2013

Congratulations Chelsea!

Recently, our own Spanish major, Chelsea Wolpert was accepted into the Peace Corps of America. Ms. Wolpert will represent The University of Akron and the United states in Peru. She will be stationed there for 27 months. This is an amazing accomplishment and we are all very proud! For more information regarding the Peace Corps and the opportunities it offers visit: http://www.peacecorps.gov/

12/02/2012

Workshop for Chinese Teachers

Teaching Chinese in the U.S. :  Current Trends, Teacher Responsibilities, Students Expectations was the topic of the workshop for area Chinese teachers organized by the  DML and Confucius  Institute.  It took place on December 1^st and 2^nd in Olin Hall and it was conducted by Dr. Yongfang Zhang, from Woffrod College who started her career at the UA.  The workshop attracted over 20 participants and was very successful.  

11/13/2012

Día de los muertos: “Day of the Dead”

Sugar skills, papel picado, colorful flowers, and the sweet delight of Day of the Dead bread all made its way to an altar built by UA Spanish students and local eighth grade students, in celebration of one of Mexico’s most renowned traditional celebrations. On Friday, October 26th, University of Akron Spanish students from Dr. Brougham and Ms. Ritchie’s Spanish conversation classes commemorated the Mexican “Day of the Dead” with 8th grade students from the Spring Garden Waldorf School. From the beginning of the fall semester, students researched the traditions that combine pre-Columbian and European beliefs. Together UA and Spring Garden students presented their findings and built an altar according to Mexican tradition. This service-learning project provided UA learners an opportunity to engage in meaningful research, collaborate with local Spanish students, and have first-hand experience with a Mexican tradition.

11/09/2012

Say "Cheese!"

French cheese degustation took place on Friday, November 9^th, 2012.

Nils Dafniet and French majors prepared a nice spread of cheeses (10 different varieties) and all participants eagerly tasted all of them while learning the appropriate vocabulary to describe the flavor, paste and rind, and later to discuss some customs and traditions associated with the production and consumption of cheeses in France.  

11/02/2012

Maria Alejandra Zanetta celebrates Shirley Mangini's new book

Last week, Professor Maria Alejandra Zanetta was invited to participate in the ceremony that celebrated  the publication in Spain of Professor Shirley Mangini’s book on Spanish Avant Garde painter Maruja Mallo. Zanetta, who dedicated a chapter to the aforementioned artist in her 2006 book entitled La otra Cara de la Vanguardia, discussed the symbolism behind some of the paintings that Mallo created in Spain before her exile in Bs. As. Argentina due to the outbreak of the Spanish Civil War.