Spanish

Mission Statement

The Spanish faculty at Birmingham-Southern College believes that undergraduate language study should, above all else, equip students for real-life situations. We want to prepare our students to speak and understand Spanish.

Whereas we do not anticipate that the typical undergraduate Spanish major will achieve native-like fluency in the language with four years of campus-based study, we have designed the Spanish program at the College to give students a solid mastery of language skills and expose students to a wide range of vocabulary that can be used in a variety of settings.

The Spanish curriculum also gives students numerous opportunities to make formal or informal presentations in the language in order to develop poise and confidence in speaking before groups.

The Spanish faculty feels that an immersion experience in a Spanish-speaking country is vital for the student who seeks true mastery of the language, and we encourage study abroad for a semester, a summer program, or the Interim term.

Finally, we believe that intercultural sensitivity is a high priority for students preparing for careers that involve contact with speakers of Spanish. Students who elect a major or, to a lesser degree, a minor, in Spanish at Birmingham-Southern College should end their college years confident that their language studies have equipped them to speak and write the language well, to understand the speech and the culture of native speakers of Spanish, and to use their abilities in Spanish in a wide variety of career paths.