8 sept 2005

They are Spanish majors. They don't like grammar, particularly. Don't bother them with the fine points of linguistic analysis. They can't be bothered with writing a correct sentence. They're not in it for the literature. "No me gusta la literatura." Maybe they like "culture." What did you like about your study abroad experience?--"the bars." Imbibing alcohol in a foreign country, that is so different from imbibing alcohol in Lawrence KS. What a wonderful cultural experience.

Of course, the top 20% of the majors do like literature, at least enough to keep class discussion from dying; they do want to learn to write a sentence without an error every other word.

4 comentarios:

C. Dale dijo...

They sound like English Majors.

Jonathan dijo...

No, English majors don't even have to study grammar in the first place. And the bars they go to in foreign countries, they can order their drinks in English.

Ernesto dijo...

Well, apparently it's the same everywhere...

Jonathan dijo...

Only a "moderate disdain." That's so refreshing. If you want to be fluent and a good writer, immerse yourself in the literature. That's what I did. Spend a summer reading García Márquez and--magicallly--you will be able to write with ease and grace, because you will have absorbed a sense of style. You will know what "sounds right." How do you think we--your professors--learned all this? It's not because we took some magic fluency course.

All of our classes offer the ability to improve one's Spanish, and we do offer 500-level linguistics classes as well.