Higher Education Institution
Languages:
- Arabic,French,German,Italian,Japanese,Spanish
Public | Four-year institutions
University of Alabama at Birmingham
Birmingham, Alabama 35294
The University of Alabama at Birmingham is a leader in Spanish for SSP Institute Background
The University of Alabama at Birmingham is a leader in Proficiency-based learning and Spanish for Specific Purposes (SSP), and it offers many languages. It offers a major in Foreign Languages with four tracks: Spanish, Applied Professional Spanish (APS), and French. The SSP certificate goes beyond the minor and is a stand-alone program. There are minors in Spanish and Business Spanish. There are also minors in French, Japanese, Chinese, and German. Courses in Foreign Cultures (in English), Italian, and Arabic, as well as graduate coursework for the Master's in Teaching for Spanish and English as a Second language are offered. The introductory Spanish sequence is online and hybrid, and it is evaluated through proficiency-based IPAs and voice recording. Team-based learning is common, such as iMovie final projects. Students present research at local conferences and publish in student journals. The SSP/APS track offers service learning and internships in the community. Faculty have designed and led study abroad in Europe, Latin America, and Asia. We have done service learning abroad in Puerto Rico and China. Upper-level coursework includes linguistics, literature, cultural studies, and applied language. SSP/APS courses focus on medicine, business, and interpretation. We have held international conferences on Afro-Latin American cultures, World War I, and Spanish for Specific Purposes. Courses encompass topics as diverse as Human Rights, Globalization in Spain, US Latino Literature, Medieval France, Foodways, the Camino de Santiago, and Brazil. All languages are enhanced by active clubs, which invite speakers, host dinners, and show films. This diversity of scholarship is enhanced by the diversity of our student population, 85% of whom are from Alabama, 41.9% of whom are minorities and at least 12.8% of whom are first generation. Our student population is rapidly growing, reaching its largest size ever in 2019 (22,080). We are a diverse, growing, and innovative program.
- Access
- Accountability
- Keys to access and accountability
Improve Access for all learners in more languages
Techniques to Retain HULs
Obstacles that HULs face
Offer classes specifically targeted to HULs
Adapt delivery modes to HULs
Increase ACCOUNTABILITY Through Transparency And Documentation
Keys to access and Accountability
Recruit teachers from HUL communities
Support professional development focused
Program partner with any of the following
Institution Information
Institution classified as a Minority Serving
Yes,
Is Language Required
No
Accreditation
- Southern Association of Colleges and Schools (SACS) Commission on Colleges