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Presentation
SEMINARIO ON-LINE PARA LOS TA's DE ESPAÑOL
XLV CONGRESO DE LA ASOCIACIÓN CANADIENSE DE HISPANISTAS-CARLETON UNIVERSITY (2009)
  • Maria Eugenia De Luna Villalón, University of Western Ontario
  • Ana María García-Allén, University of Western Ontario
Abstract
The main objective of this work is to give University students in a Canadian University the best learning experience as second language learners. For that reason, it is essential to introduce Graduate Teaching Assistants (TAs) to their duties as Second Language Instructors before they begin their teaching role. In Canadian Universities the TA’s role, in Languages Departments, is to teach a second language course as instructors at the beginner and intermediate levels. It is a great challenge for Graduate Students to face the responsibility of teaching at the University level in a Canadian environment. Most TAs come directly to teach from another cultural and geographical background and have no experience in the North American University teaching setting and even frequently have no experience as teachers at all. Facing this problem, we have proposed an on-line tutorial to help Spanish TAs to cope with this important responsibility addressing their possible lack of experience, in particular having to face their students without any specific training or preparation when they arrive. Our on-line tutorial proposal will help TAs to get familiar in advance with their teaching role, the methodology used at this particular Hispanic Studies department, as well as with all the University facilities available to teach Languages. It also provides them with a wide variety of tools and ideas that TAs can integrate in their lectures. As a consequence language students in the Department will reap the benefits during their learning experience in the Department of Modern Languages at Western. This on-line tutorial has the following structure: A welcome page with videos from other TAs that talk about their own experience and challenges, a video of an actual Spanish classroom with a Spanish TA, and five modules: Introduction, methodology, our profession, resources and frequently asked questions. Finally, the on-line tutorial gives the TAs the opportunity of being in touch with other TAs who have previously been in the same situation and share their concerns and ideas.
Keywords
  • On-line learning,
  • Teacher Assistans,
  • Secnond Language Acquistion
Publication Date
Spring 2009
Citation Information
Maria Eugenia De Luna Villalón and Ana María García-Allén. "SEMINARIO ON-LINE PARA LOS TA's DE ESPAÑOL" XLV CONGRESO DE LA ASOCIACIÓN CANADIENSE DE HISPANISTAS-CARLETON UNIVERSITY (2009)
Available at: http://works.bepress.com/maria_eugenia_de_luna/4/