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New UNH course for Spanish teachers - Spring 2015
University of New Hampshire – Spanish Graduate Seminar
Spanish 997: Normative Patterns, Exceptions, and Meanings in Spanish Grammar
Prof. John Chaston
Wednesday nights from 6:00-9:00 p.m., January 21 – May 6, 2015
This graduate seminar focuses on six specific topics of Spanish grammar that are often considered to be problematic and difficult for L2 learners. Specifically, these topics are: (1) preterite, imperfect, and perfect tenses; (2) ser, estar, hay, hacer, tener; (3) articles, adjectives, adverbs; (4) subjunctive and indicative distinctions; (5) direct and indirect objects; and (6) uses of ‘se’. Each topic will be treated in detail (for two or three weeks, depending on the topic) with special attention given to understanding the underlying concepts that govern its usage patterns and describe its inherent and sometimes multiple meanings (which also reduces or eliminates the ‘exceptions’ that result in the less encompassing traditional ‘rule-based’ grammars). This will be augmented with the presentation and discussion of strategies for teaching these concepts at varied levels (beginning, intermediate, advanced) that lead to more complete comprehension and retention by students, and a more meaningful and fun experience in the classroom. The class will be conducted in Spanish.
If you have questions please contact Prof. Chaston at: This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.
President's Letter December 2014
Dear NHAWLT Members:
As the year draws to a close, it is time for me to say good-bye to my presidential duties at NHAWLT. For those of you at the Conference luncheon this year, you may recall that at 11:59 pm on December 31, 2014, I will be turning over my duties as president to long-term NHAWLT Board member, Celeste Feren, who is eager to get her two-year term underway.
Some of my favorite memories of my time as president included meeting and getting to know more of our members than I had previously. We tried some new things, worked with the State Department of Education to improve communication about the needs of our students, advocated for World Language as an essential part of the high school curriculum in our state, and are continuing to work with the department of credentialing to streamline the Alt4 certification process.
We tried some new things at the conferences. John Connor, our keynote speaker, was very popular this year, and we have secured John DeMado as next year's speaker when we meet again in Meredith. We expanded the hours available for professional development, came up with an easier tracking system for those hours, and held the cost of the conference at the same level for the past three years. We used a new registration system this year, and realized that we had some kinks to work out, like making sure that the schedule was easy to access before entering personal information, a situation easily remedied for next year's conference. And we tried giving the conference a theme this year, which received mixed reviews according to our conference surveys.
I know that Celeste will continue to work as I did, to improve access to professional development opportunities, make real-time communication with our members a priority, and to continue to work with the Department of Education while advocating for World Language students and teachers around the state.
Thank you for the opportunity to serve you. It has been an honor, and I know that you all will make your new president feel as valued and appreciated as I did.
Sincerely,
Ursula Askins-Huber
President (until 1/1/15!), NHAWLT
2014 Conference Thank You
“Comprehensible Input: a Gateway Toward Proficiency”
Thank you to all for another great conference.
We look forward to seeing you next year in Meredith, NH on November 13th and 14th!
View the 2014 conference program.
View and download conference handouts.
Complete the 2014 NHAWLT conference survey.