Modern Languages Department Newsletter
INSIDE
THIS
ISSUE
Online Professor is
Reaching Out and
Teaching Spanish
A Professor of
Spanish Who
Almost Became
a Chemist
Student Activities
Promote Cultural
Awareness and
Impact Community
Greetings from
an Alum
in California
Greetings to Friends of Southern
from the Modern Languages Department
Recently, we have learned of a golden opportunity. We
are exploring the possibility of inviting Fulbright teaching
assistants to Southern to teach non-Western languages such
as Arabic and Mandarin Chinese. Our projection is to be
able to offer these two new languages sometime next year.
Of course, this is in addition to the traditional languages
currently offered by our department.
This year, we have 21 students who are studying at various colleges and universities that are part of the Adventist
Colleges Abroad program. It is a tremendous opportunity
for these students to learn while they are immersed in the host culture. This unique setting enables them to gain much-needed experience and will help them to navigate in the
global arena once they graduate.
This semester, we continue offering Spanish online. We are also featuring a film series
that addresses key academic issues and provides an excellent opportunity for anyone on
campus to engage in relevant social and political dialogue.
Beginning in January of 2008, the Modern Languages Department will offer a Spanish
language course in an interactive mode with Atlanta Adventist Academy. We will utilize
the latest technology available to provide these academy students with the opportunity to
earn college language credits. See this issue’s article entitled “Online Professor is Reaching Out and Teaching Spanish” for additional information.
We go forward with the assurance that the Modern Languages Department will progress to new levels of academic inquiry so that we may help prepare our students above all
to be bridges for communicating the gospel to the world.
Carlos Parra, chair
Fall 2007
Southern Student
Awarded Summer
Tour of Italy
ACA Corner:
An American
in Austria
Our Mission:
The Modern Languages Department at
Southern Adventist University provides
a Christian learning environment that
enhances the understanding of other cultures and promotes a global dialogue by
widening horizons, broadening perspectives, and deepening self-understanding
as a worldwide family.
Online Professor is Reaching Out and Teaching Spanish
interview a Spanish-speaking person. Students will then write a
report in English that compares and contrasts church services
and cultures. The expectation is to enrich each student’s cultural
experience.
Next semester, in tandem with Southern Online, our department will offer an online interactive Spanish course at Atlanta Adventist Academy. Students who take advantage of this opportunity
and fulfill the requirements may obtain college credit.
For the second year, along with traditional face-to-face classes,
Spanish 101 is being offered online. A maximum of ten students
meet online twice a week. Professor Carmen Jiménez welcomes
the opportunity to use the most current technology available.
Using a webcam, a headset, and the Adobe Connection program,
students can see and talk to each other and to the instructor.
As a special project starting this semester, students will attend
a Spanish church service, join a church member for lunch, and
A Professor of Spanish Who Almost Became a Chemist
proceso y en contexto is a dream come true for Jiménez. This text is
used in her Spanish Composition and Conversation course.
In addition to writing, Jiménez enjoys traveling, hiking, and
spending time with her husband, Angel, and their son, Victor. As
a family, they all enjoy the antics of their spirited dog, Pepito.
Jiménez encourages students to learn to love other cultures and
use language as a tool to expand job possibilities and reach people
for Christ. Her students learn about other cultures by tasting recipes from Spanish-speaking countries. Students learn by playing
musical checkers, memory, and bingo. “Students like the games,
and many say it’s their favorite class,” Jiménez says.
When asked what she likes at Southern, Jiménez says, “I like the
spiritual atmosphere and that I’m able to express my spirituality.”
She adds, “I never thought I would be a professor. I never had
that dream, but God had it for me.”
Renee Baumgartner, Spanish major, says, “She really considers
each of us special. She begins class by praying for any students
who are absent. She invites us over to her home. She is passionate about what she teaches, and involved in our lives.” Those
who know Jiménez are thankful that God recognized her gifts
and guided her to Southern, where she is sharing her passion for
language, literature, and the Lord with others every day.
Puerto Rico native Carmen Jiménez joined Southern three years ago
after teaching at universities in the
United States and Puerto Rico. From
a young age, Jiménez had a strong
interest in chemistry, which led her
to study chemistry at the University
of Puerto Rico (UPR). During her
studies, she met Professor Margarita Benítez. Jiménez admired her
because she took advantage of opportunities. Benítez urged her to
study abroad. Soon, Jiménez was in Spain studying at Fundación
José Ortega y Gasset. The experience changed her life in terms of
careers. Non-native speakers with a language major at Southern
are required to spend a year abroad. Jiménez affirms, “Southern’s
students are better prepared after studying abroad.”
Upon returning, Jiménez finished her bachelor’s in hispanic
studies at UPR and graduated magna cum laude. She obtained her
master’s in Hispanic-American literature from the University of
Utah and her doctorate from Pennsylvania State University.
Recently, Jiménez co-authored a textbook with a former Penn
State classmate. Publishing Hacia niveles avanzados: Composición por
Department Happenings
French Club Film Night, Joyeux Noël
Thursday, December 13, 7 p.m., location TBA
November 2007
French Club Vespers and Dinner
Friday, November 30, 6 p.m., White Oak Room
Italian Club Film Night, La Vita E Bella
Thursday, December 13, 8 p.m., location TBA
December 2007
The Undocumented Immigration Experience Film Series
Thursday, December 6, 7 p.m., Miller Hall, 201
French Sabbath School
Saturday, December 15, 10 a.m., Miller Hall, 201
Harvest Deaf Ministries Christmas Drama, No Room
Friday, December 7, 7 p.m., Ringgold, Georgia
January 2008
Modern Languages Department Challenge Exams
Friday, January 11, 1 p.m., Miller Hall, 101
SODA Church Service
Saturday, December 8, 9:30 a.m., Miller Hall, 201
Language Tables
Thursday, January 17, noon, Dining Hall
Undocumented Immigration Experience Film Series Recap
Thursday, December 13, 11 a.m., Miller Hall, 201
Modern Languages Department Film Series
Thursday, January 24, 7 p.m., Miller Hall, 201
Student Activities Promote Cultural Awareness and Impact Community
The Modern Languages Department is very active and visible
through its involvement in university and community life.
Thematic film series are designed to help our students and the
university community to think outside the box. At our departmental convocations, speakers address the film’s theme, and discussion
sessions help students and professors from various departments
establish a dialogue on real issues.
Community service projects instituted as a part of the Spanish
language program are gradually impacting the Chattanooga community. Each year, our students volunteer as interpreters at the Latino Health Fair in Chattanooga and participate in ESL programs
in surrounding schools. Students who participate in community
service report how they themselves are transformed for life.
Department-sponsored clubs and our foreign language honor
society have supported our outreach objectives. Once a month,
the community is invited to a worship experience in French. The
French Club has been handling some practical aspects of this
French-speaking Sabbath School. Members of the Italian Club
also host a Sabbath School once a month. The Italian Club is
involved in the Patten Towers Project, which provides fellowship and friendship to shut-ins in the Patten Towers apartments
in Chattanooga. The Student Organization for Deaf Awareness
holds a monthly sign-language church service. The Latin American Club visits, sings, and prays with the residents of Life Care
Centers of Collegedale on a regular basis. The Alpha Mu Gamma
National Collegiate Foreign Language Honor Society is sponsoring a food drive to collect items for a needy Chattanooga family.
Items will be given to the family in time for Thanksgiving.
Last year, the department offered programs to promote intercultural dialogue and understanding. A performance by the Batimbo Drummer Ensemble of Nashville (a Burundian group) and
Tres Vidas, (a play about the life of Frida Kahlo, a 20th century
Mexican artist) brought to us an appreciation of different cultures.
We look forward to more initiatives that will contribute to our
all-inclusive educational objectives and strengthen Southern’s presence in the community.
Greetings from an Alum in California
Chaplain Tim Eberhardt writes, “I am a December ’79 graduate with a Spanish degree.
I did a year (’78-’79) in Sagunto and later spent four months at Colegio Timón, Madrid,
teaching.
I have been here in Ukiah, California for 4 1/2 years, and this is the first real opportunity to use Spanish since 1980. I am a bit rusty but certainly thankful for the opportunities and experiences available.
My wife, Cheryl (Read), ’87, is British; consequently our main travels have been to
England. Our most recent trip was this past December. We also did a coach tour of
Western Europe, a first for my two children Chrissy, 14, and Peter, 12.”
Send updates and photos to modernlangs@southern.edu or to the address on the back page.
Tim Eberhardt, Ukiah Valley Medical Center
275 Hospital Dr., Ukiah, CA 95482
eberhatj@ah.org 707.463.7368
Southern Student Awarded Summer Tour of Italy
On March 2, 2007, Raymond Thompson,
a sophomore international studies major,
received a very special message from the National Italian American Foundation. He had
just been chosen by the representatives of
the Voyage of Discovery Program to receive
an all-expenses-paid tour of Italy during the
summer of 2007.
Thompson departed from New York City
and arrived in Rome, where he was met by
a friendly tour guide who subsequently took
him and 44 students from other universities in
the United States on an unforgettable 10-day
tour around the Marche Region of Italy.
This opportunity is available to any college
student of Italian heritage who is between the
ages of 18-23. The application deadline for
the next tour is December 31, 2007. Interested students should contact the National
Italian American Foundation by visiting their
Raymond is an international
website at niaf.org. Look under Youth Pro- studies major with French
grams, then select Voyage of Discovery 2008. emphasis at Southern.
ACA Corner: An American in Austria
Most of them spoke English, so when I wanted to practice my German, they wanted to practice
their English! The “me-speaking-German-and-you-speaking-English” thing only lasted for so long.
Joann Sifontes participated in the ACA program
in Austria during the 2006-2007 academic year.
Presently, she is a senior at Southern Adventist
University.
Phone: 423.236.2221
Email: modernlangs@southern.edu
Website: modernlangs.southern.edu
1.800.SOUTHERN
P.O. Box 370
Collegedale, TN 37315
Breaking Barriers, Building Bridges
reminded me that I was no longer in the United States. A few of
these things were stores that were closed on Sundays, measuring
the temperature in Celsius, really hard bread, and words as long as
the alphabet. I thank God for my new Austrian friends who were
patient with me, an “Ami” who didn’t know much about their
customs.
I made some of my best friends in Bogi. I have so many memories from fun excursions to serious talks to unexpected surprises
and learning more about God and myself.
I will always look back on the 2006-2007 school year with fondness and wait for the day when I will see
my “Bogi family” again.
ADDRESS SERVICE REQUESTED
This was one of the best years of my life—if not the best! I had
an enriching year at Seminar Schloss Bogenhofen learning German, meeting the people, experiencing the culture, and establishing great friendships.
I went to Austria without knowing the language. I wanted to get
a head start in the language by getting a good foundation. To me,
that meant learning from scratch with help from the locals.
I befriended several of the theology students, who taught me
some words and aided in my pronunciation. There were some
drawbacks though. Most of them spoke English, so when I wanted to practice my German, they wanted to practice their English!
The “me-speaking-German-and-you-speaking-English” thing only
lasted for so long.
At least I could understand what was happening during our
cultural tours—when I paid attention, that is. I really enjoyed our
cultural tours. I love to travel. I saw and experienced a lot more by
going out and exploring the country. There were many things that