Spanish Studies
Spanish courses at Macquarie currently include Introductory and Intermediate level classes (with Advanced classes commencing in 2008) and are offered both on campus and externally through Blackboard CE6.
At Macquarie you can combine studies in Spanish with virtually any other program of study. You may want to study Spanish for a Degree, a Diploma or a Certificate or you may just want to do a single unit.
Our primary goal is to develop proficiency in students' linguistic skills so they can function in a natural, spontaneous and efficient way in any Spanish-speaking environment. It also gives students the opportunity to become familiar with the main social, political, economic and cultural issues of Spanish speaking societies. This is achieved by the use of a communicative methodology in all courses.
¿¿Por qué??
Because Spanish:
- Is the first language of over 300 million people in the world:
- Is the official language Spain and most Latin American countries. You can travel the world with Spanish!
- Is one of the fastest growing languages in the world. In the United States alone there are approximately 42 million Spanish speakers.
- Will become the second most widely spoken language in the world after Chinese.
- Within the context of Australian society, it is one of our nine priority languages, with an estimated 80 thousand speakers. So you can even practice Spanish at home and join them in their vibrant fiestas!
- Is a language of world trade and diplomacy:
- Will become economically one of the most important languages in the XXI Century as 76.1% of the Spanish speaking population in the world are under the age of 40.
- Is one of the official languages of the United Nations and the European Community and one of our Pacific Rim languages.
- Is the language of a rich and diverse culture:
- Is the language of many of the best writers Western civilization has ever produced - Cervantes and his Quixote, García Márquez and his One hundred years of solitude - and of some ten Nobel Prizes.
- Is the first language of many famous singers and movie stars – Christina Aguilera, Jennifer López, Ricky Martin, Penélope López, Antonio Banderas.
Contact
For academic advice, contact:
Dr Estela Valverde
Telephone: 61 2 9850 6882
email: estela.valverde@mq.edu.au
For general enquiries, contact:
Ms Jennifer Heward
Telephone: 61 2 9850 7005
email: jennifer.heward@humn.mq.edu.au