Spanish Language in Madrid, Spain

Eligibility

Any current student in good standing with an accredited university is eligible to apply. VMI students need only to submit an application. Applicants from other universities should include a faculty letter of recommendation, an official transcript, and a short essay outlining the applicant’s personal and academic goals for the program, along with the application. Cadets must have completed the application process and provided a $ 250 non-refundable deposit by 17 January 2018. Committed cadets must have paid program in full or signed promissory note by 16 February 2018.

Program Director

Dr. John Knowles has a long career in cross-cultural service, beginning in the early 1970’s in Mexico City.  Originally, he went to Mexico for a six-month study and field experience. For the next quarter-century, he lived and worked with marginalized indigenous populations in southern Mexico, students and professionals in provincial capitals, conducted leadership training and was a conference speaker throughout the country.  An outreach with university students became a non-profit organization that included two schools and an international outreach that has expanded and bifurcated with national leadership. As a result of travels in post-Franco Spain and at the request of colleagues working with Spanish youth caught-up in a plague of drug-addiction, numerous young professionals from Mexico trained and responded, and served several years during the peak of what has been called Spain’s “lost generation.” Since returning to live in the US, Dr. Knowles completed his Masters and Ph.D. in Curriculum and Instruction at Virginia Tech and taught Spanish language and culture at VT, Radford University, and Roanoke College before coming to VMI. He has designed and led study abroad experiences to Mexico and looks forward to returning to Spain in 2018.  His research interests include Hispanic immigration, revolutionary movements in twentieth-century Mexico, literature related to the Spanish Civil War, and is writing a narrative of his tenure in Mexico.

Program Description

This will be a language, culture, art and history program in which all participants will earn six hours of Spanish language credits at the 100, 200 or 300*, and three hours of Spanish culture or History credits. Students will visit the most significant sites and museums in Spain and will be introduced to the history, traditions, and culture.  In addition to language studies, courses are combined with cultural activities such as visits to battlefields, Military Museum in Toledo, Prado Museum, Reina Sofia Museum, Sorolla Museum, Thyssen-Bornemisza Museum, Royal Palace and Naval Museum. Students will be observing the cultural diversity of Madrid, Seville, Barcelona, among other cities.

Room and Board

Students will be housed with families who speak little or no English. The home stay experience greatly enhances language acquisition and cultural understanding and is often a highlight of the program. The host family will provide three meals a day, breakfast, lunch, and dinner, seven days a week.

* Each student will take a proficiency test in-situ to determine his or her language proficiency and be enrolled in the appropriate courses.