Spanish for Bilingual Spanish/ Heritage Speakers

Do you already know some – or a lot – of Spanish? Are any of the following true?

• I speak Spanish or both Spanish and English with relatives.
• When I was a child, I spoke Spanish or both Spanish and English at home.
• I lived in a Spanish-speaking country for a while, but most of my schooling was in English.

[Learn how actively speaking two languages protects against cognitive impairment]

You may be asking yourself: If I already speak Spanish, why should I take Spanish classes at TCNJ?

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Top 10 reasons
for bilinguals to study Spanish at TCNJ
…even if you hated your previous Spanish classes

1. Learn about your heritage and other Hispanic cultures, including the rich Spanish-speaking cultures in the U.S.
2. Meet other Hispanic/Latino students to learn together in a supportive environment. Everybody else in the Spanish for Heritage Speakers course feels their Spanish “needs improvement” too!
3. Strengthen your writing skills.
4. Develop fluency and poise speaking Spanish in public.
5. Start a major or minor in Spanish.
6. Get ready for a study abroad experience. TCNJ offers a wide range of options in Latin America and Spain, including our own semester program in Alcalá, Spain, and summer program in Madrid.
7. Develop the skills to effectively engage with Hispanic communities in an internship or research
8. Develop the language skills to enable you to use Spanish in your career.
9. Gain confidence using Spanish anywhere, even at family reunions!
10. At TCNJ, Our classes are all proficiency-oriented, which means you will focus on using Spanish in a wide range of situations.

 

 

Presenting their research on Spanish in public spaces

But don’t take our word for it.
Read what students think.

The course was very helpful and has prepared me to speak Spanish confidently. My pronunciation has gotten better and I have learned so much about the Hispanic culture.

I learned, aside from culture and language clashes and issues, to be proud of myself and to never doubt my Spanish abilities.

This course has helped me learn about the Hispanic culture as well as the language. Our professor’s enthusiasm and passion for the course… helped us grow as students and made the classroom a safe zone for us to come and learn as well as make friends and become a team. The course helped us improve our pronunciation, grammar and knowledge on current issues that are going on in the world. The course was also very speaking intensive, which helped a lot.

The class discussions allowed the class to positively share ideas and learn from each other. The part of the class I most liked was the “testimonio/historia oral.” This gave me the opportunity to not only learn about my family but to also learn and value the families of my classmates and all other immigrants in the country.

The class has helped me a lot with my decision to pursue a Spanish minor at TCNJ. The Spanish culture is more fascinating than I thought.

 

Interested?

1. Learn more about SPA210, our course designed exclusively for Spanish for heritage speakers, here.

SPA210-02 Syllabus Fall 2023

2. Or about our basic program here.
3. Take the Spanish placement test here.