Instructors
Morning instructor:
With this instructor's help for two hours every morning, Monday through Friday, students learn new vocabulary and work on grammar drills. They learn how to describe and narrate. Finally, they learn how to carry a conversation in Spanish; that is, they learn the expressions for functions such as agreeing and disagreeing, making personal and business phone calls, ordering in a restaurant, etc., and they role-play different situations. Every other day, students reinforce their comprehension skills and pronunciation in a language laboratory. Once a week, the class learns about important museums, artists, and works of art or architecture.
Afternoon instructor:
With this instructor's help for two hours every afternoon, Monday through Friday, students work with a variety of reading selections such as journalistic articles, poems, short stories, and a play. They learn strategies to predict and guess the content of the selection and identify its point of view. They improve their reading comprehension and develop the ability to analyze and discuss the readings. Students also learn to write for travel, work, and social situations, as well as more formal literary analysis compositions. Every other day, students engage in games and role-playing. The purpose of these activities is allowing students to use the language in entertaining ways. Once a week, students learn information about the geography, climate, population, government and economy of a Hispanic country.
Instructor for extra-curricular activities:
Extra-curricular activities, contrary to what the name may suggest, are not optional or superfluous. They are an integral part of the immersion process. ISLI tries to recreate on the Wake Forest campus a total language-learning experience, similar to what a student would encounter in a Spanish-speaking country. The activities in this section encourage participation, reinforce the learning process, and provide continuity. What students learn in class becomes relevant to their life outside. Every day, Monday through Friday, students have a one-hour lunch with the instructor in a location selected by him or her. Usually, lunch sessions take place on campus. Students can bring their own lunch or take advantage of the facilities at Wake Forest. Occasionally, the instructor may select a Spanish-speaking restaurant. Lunch sessions are a regular class that is conducted in non-conventional manner to encourage students to practice and reinforce the skills they are learning by taking advantage of a more relaxed and informal atmosphere. During lunch, the instructor leads the conversation, introduces topics such as Latin food, stereotypes, educational systems, etc., and encourages comparisons between cultures and spontaneous expression.
Twice a week, students meet again in the early evening for a minimum of two hours to engage in a series of activities aimed at increasing their confidence in speaking the language and at familiarizing them with Hispanic cultures.
WFU | PO Box 7566, Winston-Salem, NC 27109 | 336.758.5487