The Spanish Language Initiative:
Enhancing Competence in Spanish Language and Latino/a Culture
Through the Spanish Language Initiative, the seminary provides unique resources for students to learn the Spanish language and to gain cultural competence for ministry in Hispanic contexts.
The Spanish Language Initiative is aimed at two main constituencies: (1) students who intend to go into Hispanic ministry after graduation, and (2) students desiring a basic education for ministry within a culturally plural context that includes growing Hispanic populations.
A variety of courses, testing programs, and immersion opportunities comprise a strong program within the seminary curriculum. Courses include:
- On-line Spanish Language (3 levels) (Rosetta Stone software) (Fito Kahn)
- Beginning Spanish for Ministry (Horatio Peña)
- Intermediate Spanish for Ministry (Peña)
- Worship, Music, the Prayer Book and Liturgy in Latino Communities (taught in Spanish) (Jaime Case)
- Spanish Language and Cultural Immersion (taught in Spanish) (Case)
- Parish Organization (taught in Spanish) (Case)
Other required and elective courses ideal for developing cultural competence include:
- Mission in a Multicultural Context (Paul Barton)
- History of Christianity in the Hispanic World (Barton)
- Latin American Religious Movements (Barton)
- Borderlands Christian Thought (Eliseo Pérez)
Students may enter the language program at beginner, intermediate, or advanced levels. Placement at higher levels is based upon the results of baseline oral proficiency interviews administered by the American Council on the Teaching of Foreign Languages, and re-interviews will measure progress.
For additional information, contact Rev. Dr. Paul Barton, Associate Professor in the History of American Christianity and Missiology; Director of Hispanic Church Studies, Seminary of the Southwest. pbarton@ssw.edu, 512-439-0338, or visit www.latinoreligion.com.
| 
