Spanish majors present at seminary in Guatemala
All photos courtesy of Samuel Duarte.
To speak in front of a group of strangers is widely considered an intimidating task. The idea of presenting in a second language to a group of native speakers is even more unnerving. Throughout the first week of February, students from Lee University’s Spanish program took this challenge in stride.
The Central American Pentecostal Bible Seminary (SEBIPCA) located in Quetzaltenango, Guatemala hosted seven of Lee’s Spanish majors during the seminary’s induction week. Toward the end of the week, the students shared their presentations about aspects of academic research.
Lee offers a master’s program for ministry studies at SEBIPCA. In 2000, The Church of God in Central America agreed to establish the seminary to serve the Church in Latin America, according to SEBIPCA’s educational philosophy.
The opportunity for this trip came around the end of last semester. Dr. Alexander Steffanell, associate professor of Spanish, was asked by SEBIPCA administrators if any of his students would be willing to present on the topic of academic research. Steffanell chose students from his advanced Spanish linguistics class based off the research presented in their final papers.
“The class selected topics pertinent to linguistics for our final papers,” said junior Spanish and biology double major Timothy Bideshi. “After we turned them in, Dr. Steffanell approached me and asked if I would be interested in presenting my research and I said yes — I didn’t want to miss this incredible opportunity.”
Topics presented at the seminary included the use of language in research, the importance of a thesis, how to use transitions in writing and other subjects. Steffanell also presented a lecture on critical thinking in reading and writing.
“The presentations were informative and brief,” said Donald García, academic director of SEBIPCA. “The presenters were well-prepared, well-spoken and enthusiastic. Our students enjoyed the presentations and learned important and transversal elements of academic research.”
After returning home to Lee, Steffanell is excited to see what is next for the Spanish program.
“We have more and more students wanting to apply their Spanish-speaking skills into their own life,” said Steffanell. “Spanish is important in any field, any discipline … We have a great program and a diverse group of students committed to learning Spanish. Hopefully, we will have more opportunities like this trip in the future!”
To learn more about the Spanish program, contact asteffanell@leeuniversity.edu.
