Session presentation with three virtual guests at the 2013 "American Association of Teachers of Spanish and Portuguese" conference.

1. Katrina Beeck
Danika Cornelius
Mary Risner
Melissa Swarr
AATSP 2013
San Antonio, Texas
Preparing Students for
Jobs of the Future

2. Overview
Introductions
 DanikaCornelius-Spanish for Leadership/Business
Quotes from the “real world”
 Melissa Swarr- Spanish for Healthcare
Language for Specific Purposes (LSP)/NOBLE resources
 Katrina Beeck- Spanish for the Community and the Workplace

3. About You…

4. SPANISH FOR LEADERSHIP
Danika Cornelius

5. Seacrest Country Day School
Naples, FL

6. Communication and support from Mary and Cristin
NOBLE resources

7. http://www.gsb.stanford.edu/news/bmag/sbsm0305/leadership.shtml

8. Leadership Literature Studies:
Don Quixote
Sor Juana Inés de la Cruz
José Martí

9. Other lessons accomplished this school year:
-Reading news articles
-Keeping an online journal with weebly.com
-Creating resumes
-Learning basic phone skills such as greetings, making appointments,
and leaving messages
-Learning more complex numbers such as decimals and fractions
-Acquiring business etiquette knowledge through readings,
discussions, presentations,
and role play activities…

10. Helpful resources
Dave’s ESL Café: www.eslcafe.com (I used the “Business English” activities in Spanish)
Country Reports (Spanish): www.es.countryreports.org (Resource presented by CristinBlees)
Notes in Spanish Podcast: www.notesinspanish.com

11. Biggest Struggle: Initial lack of support/buy-in from fellow teachers
Student feedback:
I really enjoyed how the lessons were not from a textbook. We got to explore many
different topics. I felt like we had a lot of input on what we got to study.
My favorite part of the course was when we went on the fieldtrip to see the replicas
of the Niña and the Pinta. I felt like the literature we read was coming alive. I got to talk
to the people on the ships about the possibility of becoming a crew member.
It was so cool.
I would have enjoyed the course even more if we had done less literature and more
business skills studies, because I plan on going into this field in college.
This course was great, because I feel like I finally had a breakthrough with my speaking
abilities! I can actually respond to open-ended questions and present without looking
at my notes the entire time. I really know Spanish after completing this course.
I look forward to using my Spanish in my career.

12. Current plans in progress:
-Invite more guest speakers to the class
-Through the efforts of Dr. Risner and NOBLE:
Set up connection with Brazilian class learning Spanish
-Establish service learning component as part of the curriculum
Locally Internationally

13. INTERMISSION

14. Student Testimonials
What did you like best about the class?
• I liked how it helped prepare for learning the process of getting a job and
being able to use Spanish with it. Also the different types of projects were
fun.
• It covered a lot of different topics in a globalized world.
• I liked how it solidified our Spanish through talking and presentations.
• I really liked the interviews with different professionals.
• It's applicability to the real world.
**CristinBleess course-Spanish for Leadership

15. Student Testimonials
How do you think the SFL class will help you use Spanish in the "real world"?
• Worked on things that were all real world situations.
• It showed us how the real world works in a way and gave us skills that would
benefit us in the competition for future jobs.
• Talking about jobs is helpful, as well as resumes, and just talking a lot in general.
• I learned phrases that made my Spanish sound less basic and how to present
myself in a more professional manner.
• It prepares me for more formal interactions with people where you're trying to
make a good impression.
**CristinBleess course-Spanish for Leadership

17. Lack of A Global Mindset
• A survey showed that amongst the poorest
performing of the so-called employability skills
exhibited by school-leavers were international
cultural awareness skills.
http://www.think-global.org.uk/news/blog-item.asp?n=12723
• Earlier this month, another executive from Manpower
Inc. was quoted in a New York Times article as saying that
although their clients can find workers with technical
skills, those candidates “don’t have a global mindset or
can’t work with people in different cultures.”
http://blog.nafsa.org/2011/07/28/is-having-a-global/

18. Ed-Deloitte Consultant
• Language is a BIG plus - understanding all of the side
conversations, interacting with more senior executives
(particularly in Sales functions) who may not speak English as
well, or just being able to interpret e-mails as they are
forwarded or data as it is sent is all much easier with language
understanding.
• Cultural awareness is also critical. My colleagues who work
internationally less frequently tend to become
impatient, have unrealistic deadlines, or are otherwise
culturally biased when we are working overseas. This can
lead to frustration or, worse, misunderstandings with our
clients if not corrected.

19. The Languages of Business

20. Spanish for Healthcare
Melissa Swarr

22. Why?
• Experience in post-secondary education – Basic
Spanish I/II in nursing college did not provide
students with the conversational skills needed to
communicate with patients.
• Though taboo and a possible liability, nurses were
still being asked to interpret for doctors.
• Because I asked! (I have no background in
healthcare!)
• Selfish reasons…

23. How?
• I approached the department coordinator to talk
about the need for a course geared toward
healthcare-bound students who had more than the
basic language skills I was seeing at the community
college.
• We agreed it would have a prerequisite of level IV
high school Spanish.
• It was a long process- getting approval does not
mean it begins the next year.
• Budget consciousness…

24. How?
• The first semester it ran, there were four
sections out of my six total for the year (block
schedule)!
• I mapped out my course and decided how I
wanted to approach such a broad topic...
• The kids gobbled up an entire week of my
preparation in the first two days!
• There were several times during the first
semester where I was only a day or two ahead of
the kids! It is work, but the reward was worth it.

25. What?
• What do you think nurses and nursing students were
looking for in a Spanish course? It wasn’t being
delivered…
• What would you do to go about breaking a theme
like ‘Healthcare’ into a high school course?
• What supplemental materials/tech gadgets/sites
could you use to help lighten your workload?
• What did I have to explain to my supervisor and
principal as they set out to observe this class? It’s
not what you may think…

26. Who?
Whotakes the course?
• Any student looking to go into any field of
health, and has completed our level IV takes the
course to get a good perspective, especially
patient intake and demographics, patient care
instructions, assessing pain, ethical situations
associated with interpretation, etc.
Whoteaches the course?
• At this point only the person that proposed and
prepared the course has taught it (or wants to).
Job security!

27. When?
• When is a good time to dive into a new course, prepare every
piece of material and every word so that it correlates to your
specific subject – every worksheet, activity, idea, homework,
project, etc.? Never. As mentioned, the rewards outweigh the
workload the first year.
Personally speaking, I look forward to the switch from teaching
the same basics over and over… this is the course where I can
have a little freedom and a little fun. I’m not so tied to
“covering” material in the curriculum.
Additionally – the type of student signing up for this level and this
type of specified course is typically a very self-motivated
individual, and chooses to take the course based upon personal
goals rather than fulfilling university entrance requirements.

28. Where now?
• Current public school economic struggles and
OpenCampusPA…
• Online Spanish!?!? I agree! I disagree! Wait…
• Here we go again, more changes, more
work…Moodle…
• The rewards … an example…

29. Challenges
• The process takes time – supervisor approval, proposing the course
and administrative approval… then into curriculum guides and talking
it up before students can register.
• No matter how much you prepare, you are never prepared enough
until you teach through a new course once. Expect frustration.
(Projects… great idea! Whew, a breather! Wait! Now I must grade
them!)
• No matter how much you plan, when the students are learning you
will realize there are changes to your course (order of things, topics,
etc.) that you need to make.
• No human is a walking encyclopedia, a fountain of information, or a
Google search tool… there will be questions that you do not know the
answer to… simply say you do not know, find out, and get back to the
student. (But do use trustworthy sources.)

30. Challenges
• Frankly, any new course is a lot of work for a teacher. A new course
that you create all materials for is even more work. Arm yourself with
plenty of reference materials to pull from. Use resources to help you…
I made myself a book and used Edmodo.
• Teacher flack and negative peer feedback… all departments are
different. You may have teachers who are jealous, some who are
envious, and some who are just angry. The answer for this is simple.
• Don’t bank on first year numbers to be the norm. New courses, new
interest, ebbs and flows… eventually it all evens out. My class ran
four sections the first year and has evened out to two per year (one
per semester) with full classes between 20-28 It is worth it!
• Word of mouth is a powerful tool… an example of meat and potatoes
and the teacher everyone loves but the course they hate.
• ** A special admonition for a healthcare course…

31. A peek…

32. INTERMISSION

33. LSP Professional Community

35. Facebook: Language Learning for
Business & the Professions

36. LinkedIn – Language Learning for
Business and the Professions

37. Twitter
@langforcareers

38. SPANISH FOR THE
COMMUNITY
& THE WORKPLACE
Katrina Beeck

39. Katrina Beeck, Muskego High
School, Muskego, Wisconsin
Adding LSP at Your School:
Spanish in the Community and the Workplace

40. Background
A 7th grade Spanish 1 program
was added, therefore creating
the need for a 6th year program
at the high school level.
The World Language Department made the
decision to add add semester long courses in
hopes to retain students.

41. Step 1: Survey your students
Survey your students!You want to develop
courses that relate to YOUR students!
• Spanish in the Community and the Workplace
• Spanish Culture and Current Issues
• Spanish Composition and Conversation
• Spanish Conversation through Film
• Spanish Art
• Spanish Literature

42. Step 2: Write a proposal and get
approval from your district
Last summer we wrote 4 proposals: All require a Spanish 3
prerequisite. In order to take AP Spanish the prerequisite is
Spanish 4 or 2 semester electives - one being composition and
conversation.
1.Spanish in the Community and the Workplace
2.Spanish Composition and Conversation
3.Spanish Culture and Current Events
4.Spanish Conversation through Film
All were approved, but only the first 2 listed are being run next
school year. 2014-2015 school year all should run.

43. Spanish in the Community and the Workplace is
a course that will allow students to apply the
Spanish they have learned in previous courses
to community and career-related situations. It
will raise students' awareness of the use of
the Spanish language across the professions
and of the importance of bilingualism in the
United States and abroad. The main topics covered will be
Community, Employment, Business, Medical, and Education and Social
Service, but students will have the opportunity to explore careers of
specific interest to themselves.
In the works for 2013-1214.. Spanish in the
Community and the Workplace!

44. Sample Activities
• conversations(in person and on the telephone)
• emails
• brochures
• business and marketing plans
• Memos/letters
• proposals
• interviews with Spanish speaking
professionals
• cultural scenarios

45. Materials and Resources
•Newspapers : La Prensa, Hola Hoy
• Magazines: People en Español
• Internet sites:
audiolingua.com, practicinginspanish.com, laits.utexas.edu/la
exec/laexec.html#, DiyChart.com
• Spanish speaking professionals from your community
• Books: Comunidades más allá del aula, Cultural
Intelligence, BARNGA, 52 activities for Improving Cross-
Cultural Communication

46. What Can You Do At Your School?
What Interests Do Your Students
Have?

47. Q & A

48. Contact Information
Katrina Beeck
katrina.beeck@muskegonorway.org
Danika Cornelius
dcornelius@seacrest.org
Mary Risner
mrisner@latam.ufl.edu
Melissa Swarr
melissa.swarr@comcast.net