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Cross-College Collaboration to Enhance Spanish Instruction and Learning Ana Kennedy, Foreign Languages and Literatures, NCSU, Raleigh, NC David Ollis, Chemical Engineering, NCSU, Raleigh, NC Rebecca Brent, Education Design, Inc, Cary, NC.

We report our pilot collaborative results for enhancing foreign language instruction and student learning by incorporation of an engineering laboratory component involving use, dissection, and discussion, in Spanish, of four modern consumer devices: compact disc player/burner, electric and acoustic guitar, internal combustion engine, and bicycle.

Our original lecture course, “Spanish: Language, Culture, Technology”, not only taught the structure inherent in an intermediate language class by integrating vocabulary, issues, and projects that are of special interest to technical students, but also integrated cultural and technical issues of our global society. The object was to enlist students’ technical enthusiasm for the process of learning a foreign language and studying international cultural and technological issues.

Our lab activity sequence of read, use, assemble, and discuss (in Spanish) is used to promote the use of the Spanish language in a real-world technological context. The lab modules are adapted to teach technology students vocabulary and modes of thought in their professions. We report how this modification allows students to enhance their reading, speaking, and writing skills in Spanish.

In particular, we survey how the lab component contributes to achievement of four of the six student learning objectives, namely that students will:

1. Learn vocabulary commonly used in engineering and technology context, 2. Develop the ability to comprehend and use Spanish in settings invariably encountered in our technological society 3. Interact in a more formal setting such as the presentation of a technological/culture project to class and guests, and 4. Explain in the target language the workings of a technological device.

We conclude with lessons learned and plans for a final version and institutionalization of this cross-college collaboration between engineering and foreign languages.

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Proceedings of the 2005 American Society for Engineering Education Annual Conference and Exposition Copyright @ 2005, American Society for Engineering Education

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Kennedy, A., & Ollis, D. (2005, June), Cross College Collaboration To Enhance Spanish Instruction And Learning Paper presented at 2005 Annual Conference, Portland, Oregon. 10.18260/1-2--14334