The Optimist
  • Home
  • About
    • Advertise
    • Policies
    • Staff Contacts
    • Jobs
  • News
  • Sports
  • Opinion
    • Columns
    • Editorials
  • Multimedia
    • Photo Galleries
    • Videos
  • Features
  • Print Edition
    • The Pessimist
    • Special Projects
  • Police Log
  • Classifieds
You are here: Home / News / Study Abroad adds immersive Spanish to Uruguay semester

Study Abroad adds immersive Spanish to Uruguay semester

August 26, 2014 by James Eldred

Nearly three dozen students leave today to take part in the Study Abroad semesters in Montevideo, Uruguay and Oxford, England.

Stephen Shewmaker, executive director of the Center for International Education, said that while fall enrollment in the Study Abroad programs is often lower than spring enrollment, the number of participants has gone up since last year.

“This fall, there are 23 students going to Oxford and 12 to Montevideo,” he said. “Our fall groups are traditionally smaller than the spring groups.”

Shewmaker explained that the Study Abroad programs are specifically targeted for sophomores, and typically include general eductation courses like language, literature, Bible and humanities. This year, however, the Montevideo trip is significantly different.

“For the first time, we’re doing a Spanish immersion program in Montevideo,” Shewmaker said. “There are two tracks – an intermediate track and an advanced track – and students will take all their courses in Spanish, and the language of the house the students are staying in will be Spanish.”

Paul Roggendorff, associate professor of Spanish, is leading the Spanish immersion course in Montevideo. He said the new program was designed to immerse students in the culture and language of Uruguay.

“Because we’re taking students that have more than just basic Spanish proficiency, and all they’re studying is Spanish, they’re going to be able to use the language a whole lot more and a whole lot quicker,” Roggendorff said. “We’re going to be able to go out more and interact with the locals to make friends and get involved.”

He said the group will pledge to speak Spanish exclusively from breakfast to dinner, allowing students to prepare for the day comfortably and unwind in the evenings while still getting to know Uruguay and its people.

“One of the reasons I’m going on this trip is to familiarize myself with where I’m from,” said Mandy Rama, sophomore family studies major. “I’ve lost a lot of my Spanish, and I want to regain that Spanish. The program is perfect for that.”

Rama, who was born in Montevideo to missionary parents, said she is also looking forward to cultural immersion.

“The group is so small – it’s only 12 of us,” Rama said. “I think that’s going to give us an opportunity to hang out with people outside the ACU group and get to know the culture – and the food.”

Rama and other students are looking forward to the opportunity ahead and so is Roggendorff.

“The students are very excited about this program, and we are very excited to offer it for them,” Roggendorff said. “It’s a significant increase in Spanish language and culture learning opportunities.”

Application spots for the spring semesters abroad are limited, with the Uruguay program offering the most openings. For information to apply, visit www.acu.edu/academics/studyabroad/.

Filed Under: News

Other News:

  • Provost adopts new policy for emeriti faculty

  • Demolition begins on Sherrod residential apartments

  • ACU Gives exceeds goal, raises over $919,000

About James Eldred

You are here: Home / News / Study Abroad adds immersive Spanish to Uruguay semester

Other News:

  • Provost adopts new policy for emeriti faculty

  • Demolition begins on Sherrod residential apartments

  • ACU Gives exceeds goal, raises over $919,000

Follow us online

  • Facebook
  • Instagram
  • Twitter
  • YouTube

Optimist on Twitter

acuoptimist The Optimist @acuoptimist ·
2 Dec

BREAKING: The internet is now up and running after a short campus-wide outage.

Reply on Twitter 1863647460322640102 Retweet on Twitter 1863647460322640102 Like on Twitter 1863647460322640102 1 Twitter 1863647460322640102
acuoptimist The Optimist @acuoptimist ·
7 Nov

The Optimist and ACUTV partnered together to produce a 3-hour live election show on Tuesday night. A team of 25 students worked for weeks preparing while doing research and interviews with guests like Dr. Phil Schubert and Rep. Stan Lambert.

Reply on Twitter 1854352279605817812 Retweet on Twitter 1854352279605817812 2 Like on Twitter 1854352279605817812 9 Twitter 1854352279605817812

Optimist on Facebook

The Optimist

10 months ago

The Optimist

Video

View on Facebook
· Share

Share on Facebook Share on Twitter Share on Linked In Share by Email

The Optimist

1 years ago

The Optimist
"Ending my college education early was always the plan for me, but the things that I have been able to see, experience and examine about ACU’s community were not. I have found immense growth in ACU over the past three and a half years, but ACU still has a long road to climb if it wants to keep catering to students as the world changes around them." To read more of this article visit acuoptimist ... See MoreSee Less

Photo

View on Facebook
· Share

Share on Facebook Share on Twitter Share on Linked In Share by Email

Videos

Optimist Newscast Feb. 28, 2024

Our top stories today include a recap of The Musical Comedy Murders of 1940, the ... [Read More…]

  • Optimist Newscast Feb. 21, 2024
  • Optimist Newscast Feb. 14, 2024
  • Optimist Newscast Jan. 24, 2024

Latest Photos

1
2
3
4
5
PrevNext
  • Home
  • About
    • Contact
    • Subscribe
    • Policies
    • Advertising Policy
    • Letters to the Editor and Reader Comments
  • News
  • Sports
  • Opinion
    • Columns
    • Editorials
  • Multimedia
    • Videos
    • Photo Galleries
  • Features
  • Advertise
    • Paid Advertisement
  • Police Log

© 2025 ACU Optimist · All Rights Reserved