CCSU Summer Institutes Prepare Language Teachers to Offer Culturally Rich Instruction

Drs. Carmela Pesca, Paloma Lapuerta, Gustavo Mejia, Lilian Uribe, Modern Languages at CCSU

Central Connecticut State University has a well-deserved reputation for its commitment to preparing Connecticut’s teachers. In line with the University's commitment, the Modern Languages Department is constantly seeking innovative ways to serve our students.  Thus, in 2000, the Spanish faculty created the Summer Institute for Teachers of Spanish (SITS), followed in 2004 by the Summer Institute for Teachers of Italian (SITI). These programs were specifically designed to serve the needs of both in-service and pre-service teachers by integrating language, culture, and technology in the language classroom.

These Summer Institutes are grounded in the beliefs that (1) effective teacher preparation requires continued learning and professional development, and (2) that the improvement or renewal of teachers’ skills is vital to their effectiveness.  These beliefs are very much consistent with the “Final Report and Recommendations” made by the Commission on the Teacher and School Administrator Shortage and Minority Recruitment.

Dr. Carmela Pesca, associate professor of Italian, stated: “Instructional goals extend beyond achieving competence in the specific language to include mastery of a wide range of cultural topics. We designed the content units to have a decisive instructional impact because of their alignment with the Connecticut Department of Education’s World Language Curriculum Framework. We also looked for content that would allow teachers to create their own units and thus be less limited to the textbooks.  Finally, we looked for content units that would offer an alternative and wider view of the Hispanic and Italian cultures and societies —one that would help teachers avoid stereotypical images.”

“The cultural units reflect the Institute’s interdisciplinary approach to teach about the history and evolution of these languages and to explore the important issue of languages in context as well as the teaching implications of the growing presence of heritage speakers in classrooms,” added Associate Professor of Spanish Paloma Lapuerta.

An important and appealing component of our Institutes has been our use of technology instruction, which has allowed participants to enhance their own instructional units.  “Even though the use of technology in the world language classroom has been growing in the last decades, the most recent developments, particularly in Internet-based technology, have created unprecedented expectations and possibilities for the teaching of language and cultural content,” explained Associate Professor of Spanish Gustavo Mejía.

According to Professor of Spanish Lilián Uribe, “Our institutes for Italian and Spanish teachers offer very exciting pedagogical experiences that satisfy the need for continuous learning.  In their relatively short life, they have already strengthened our graduate programs.  These Institutes have become a very valuable network of support and an enticement for teachers´ professional development.”

Both SITS and SITI are open to a maximum of 15 participants who are generally a mix of Connecticut in-service teachers, and CCSU Spanish and Italian graduate students.  With everyone focused on preparing teaching lessons and materials, the atmosphere is conducive to cooperative learning.

For more information, please visit: www.modlang.ccsu.edu or contact Professor Gustavo Mejía at mejiag@ccsu.edu

Back to CCSU SCENE