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Volume 1, Issue 6
Newsletter Spring 2011
Inside this issue
 Letter from the
Chair
 Study Abroad in
Spotlight
 Spotlights on our
majors and minors
 Focus on Italian
 Scholarships and
Awards
 Modern Language
Club Update
 Faculty News &
Notes
―
The new
major is a
‘new vision
for teaching
foreign
languages at
universities.
‖
right: Modern Language
Faculty at annual
awards ceremony
University of Central Missouri
Volume 1, Issue 6
Message from the Chair
Hello again, alumni and
friends! We‘ve had a
great year, and we‘re
looking forward to some
big changes next fall.
Students will have the
option to select a Professional Applications
Area, with concentrations in business, criminal justice, education,
First, we are very happy hospitality manageto announce the new
ment, and public relations. Each of these
Modern Languages
Major. In an effort to
concentrations includes
streamline our programs a hands-on practicum
and simplify the curricu- or internship, abroad or
lum, we have collapsed
in Missouri, in support
our existing nine major
of the university‘s goal
programs into one. The
to increase study
lists of required courses
abroad opportunities
will be eliminated enand participation in
tirely; the only major re- high-impact learning
quirement will be to com- experiences. The new
plete thirty-six hours in a major has met enthusisingle language. The
asm here at UCM and
new major provides more around the state, with
flexibility in meeting
UCM Provost George
graduation requirements, Wilson proclaiming it a
and allows us to add new ―new vision for teachoptions for combining
ing foreign languages at
second languages with
universities.‖ It‘s hard
professional training.
to overstate how
proud I am of the faculty
for their hard work in creating this new major.
Second, Mod Lang will
have a new home in the
fall. As a result of a
merger with Political Science—initiated and approved unanimously by the
faculty of both departments—we will become
the Department of Government, International
Studies, and Languages.
We will have a strong international focus, and we
are all excited about the
possibilities for collaborative projects.
Be well in the coming year,
and please don‘t forget to
stay in touch. You can always find us under UCM
Modern Languages on
Facebook.
—Michael Sawyer
Newsletter Title
Page 2
Study Abroad Spotlight: Joshua Young in Guanajuato, Mexico
Caption describing picture
or graphic.
―
“To catch the reader's attention,
place an interesting sentence or
quote from the story here.”
Things are
different in
other
countries.
Not worse,
just
different.
‖
Caption describing picture
or graphic.
I went to the University of Guanajuato in Mexico to study Spanish. I took an advanced grammar class, and an advanced history/literature course. During the week,
my days began at 9:00 and I got out of class around 1:00. After class, I usually went
off into the town with a few friends from class to explore, and to find interesting
places to eat lunch. I played lots of soccer with the local kids, and through my program I had an exciting excursion every weekend. I was able to go zip-lining over
trees, visit ancient ruins and pyramids, camping, and I visited many museums and
other historical sites and cities.
The biggest surprise for me was how
fast my listening comprehension improved. I was very nervous upon arrival at the airport in Mexico. However, after about two weeks, I was
literally able to pretty much do/say
anything with no problems. My favorite memory is probably my birthday party. My classmates threw a
party for me in a restaurant. Many
locals celebrated with us, and I even
had strangers buy me a drink. The
people there were so incredibly
friendly. I have many funny stories,
but one particular story was "the nature hike." We were told this was going to be about a two-hour hike
through the mountains. We had
guides with us that led us through
some pretty rough terrain. Then we
came to the cliff. The only way to
continue was to jump about 15 feet
into the river below. It was fun, except a few people were terrified of the
height. (We all had life jackets on.)
But this hike, turned into a six or
seven hour trek, mostly through water
up to our chest. Very fun, adventurous, and a little spooky at times.
Tips for future study abroad students: Pack light—you can pretty much buy
anything you need there, but bring a camera/camcorder. More importantly bring an
open mind. Things are different in other countries. Not worse, just different. I had
never done the "kiss on both sides of the cheek" greeting before. The first time a
woman I met leaned in for that "kiss" it was kind of awkward, but I survived. Finally, try to do a little research on the area you are visiting. Your host family will
be amazed for example, if you can tell them a little about their city. And if you can,
do a semester or an entire academic year! Your fluency will sky-rocket!
Page 3
Volume 1, Issue 1
Letter from Abroad: Karen Rahmmoeller in Marburg, Germany
Dear Reader,
For those of you who
don‘t know me, I am just
another travel enthusiast
who took the opportunity to study abroad in
Germany this spring
2011 semester. I came
to Marburg, Germany
(near Frankfurt) with the
IUSP program. At first,
I was hesitant about my
plans: I still get lost in
my hometown in Missouri, so how on earth
am I to manage Germany? Another worry
was that a semester
seemed like a long time
to be away from my
friends and family. But
the lure of traveling was
stronger, a fact that I am
very thankful for.
I arrived in Germany in
late February. The first
6 weeks was intensive
language and culture instruction. But I am surrounded daily by German conversation and
texts. Our classes also
took trips to cafés and
stores to practice our
German in real-life settings—it‘s the best way
to learn! I watched German films, talked to my
Hausfrau, bought a train
pass at the train station.
Even when I search the
internet, Google pulls up
all of my search results
in German.
My classmates and I
spend many hours getting to know the city.
We often hang out by
the Lahn River. This is
a common place for students. Many sunbathe,
play sports, or grill. As
long as you refrain from
feeding the ducks, which
usually results in a rather
alarming mobbing by an
unbelievable number of
the creatures, it is a
peaceful place to socialize and relax. Another
hangout would be the
cookout area in the
woods behind my
dorm—you can find a
group out there almost
any night of the week.
On weekends many of us
utilize the amazing public transportation in
Europe and visit other
cities in Germany and
often other countries.
When we feel like staying in Marburg, we enjoy the nightlife, but
Marburg has lots of
other things to do and
see. There are also
many hiking trails; some
of which lead to a tower
with a spectacular view
of the city. Of course,
Marburg is a hilly place
and you have to adopt
the qualities of a mountain goat to make it up to
the tower, but the view
makes it well worth the
effort.
I could not have chosen
a better place of study.
You may ask me if there
is anything that I dislike
about Marburg or Germany in general. Indeed,
there are things that I prefer about America and
other countries. There
are positives and negatives about any location.
For one thing, it will be
nice to return to the land
of the free bathrooms,
normal – not mineral –
water, and free refills.
But even though I have
passed through the
‗honeymoon phase‘ of
my study abroad, I can
still honestly say that despite all that I miss, I am
quite happy here. I have
seen more sunny days
than gray and rainy. I am
also improving my German, meeting some amazing people, and experiencing daily the intrigues
of living in a city with so
much culture and history.
So, I would recommend
to you all to pull out those
four-year plans and to
think about someplace
that you have always
wanted to travel to. If
you have no such dream
location, point blindly to
a map to find your destination. Then head on
over to the study abroad
department and get planning! Good luck!
Sincerely,
Karen Rahmoeller
Marburg
―
I can still
honestly say
that despite all
that I miss, I am
quite happy
here.
‖
Page 4
Volume 1, Issue 6
―
After two
semesters, I
found
myself
hopelessly
addicted to
my language
requirement.
‖
Centre d’intérêt sur le francąis: French major Angela Kahl
My name is Angela Kahl, and I suffer
from chronic academia. I am 26 years
old, married, and have been in college for almost a decade now. I received an Associate‘s Degree in Art
from Rend Lake College
in 2005, and came here
intending to become a
Philosophy major. After
two semesters, I found
myself hopelessly
addicted to my language
requirement. Shortly
afterward, I declared my
French major. I was
terrible in languages in
High School, so this
caused quite a stir in my
family. It also wasn‘t the
end, though; once I had picked up
some
proficiency with one language I had
to try another. Now I have a double
major in French and Spanish, and am
looking into grad school for
Linguistics.
I may become a teacher somewhere, or
use it to improve a career in one of my
other interests: Yoga, fiber arts, corsetry, gardening, or writing. I‘m keeping my options open.
Whatever
happens, I
have to learn
more of the
languages I
know, and try
more that I
don‘t.
Languages are
to me now
what
Sudoku and
puzzles are to
most people.
This means that I have made the classic
language student mistake many times:
saying something crude by accident.
We all do it at least once per language.
Hopefully I‘ll have many more languages to make that mistake in as I go.
Enfoque en español: Spanish major BreAnne Schaefer
Guest Speaker
Loey Lockerby,
KC Film Critic
at Film
Festival
My name is BreAnne Schaefer, and I
am a Spanish Education major. When
I was in high school, I started taking
Spanish because someone told me
foreign languages would look nice on
my transcript. Spanish just seemed
more useful than the one other language my school offered. The first
year I began taking Spanish, a couple
of Mexican students joined my art
class. They knew little English, so I
helped them do a color wheel by telling them which colors to use and
where they should go in Spanish.
At the time, colors made up part of the
little vocabulary I had learned. That‘s
when I decided I wanted to do something with Spanish. If I could help
someone with my extremely limited
knowledge, just think how much more I
could do by making it my second language! I choose Spanish because I
found it useful, but the beauty of the
sounds and structure is why I like and
continue learning it. Who could read
stories like Don Quixote without any
appreciation for them? After five years
of learning Spanish, I realized that I
Page 5
Volume 1, Issue 6
Spanish language and culture while encouraging my belief that everyone
should try to learn a second language
(even if it is not the one I chose). For
new students of Spanish, or any language, try to find ways to immerse yourself in the language. Talk to native
speakers, read their books or magazines,
listen to their music, watch their movies,
and the most important of all, study
abroad if you get the chance. I plan to be
doing that myself this summer, and I
cannot wait! One could say I should
could not imagine a life without using thank the person who suggested Spanish
the language. Teaching others would to me back in high school. That one
piece of advice started an academic adallow me to express my love for the
venture.
Fokus auf Deutsch: German minor Kevin Munguia
I'm Kevin Munguia and about to start
my third year of college - for which I
am very excited. I am originally from
Los Angeles, California and moved
because of family and am now at
UCM where I study Marketing as my
major and German as my minor.
My hobbies are playing ultimate Frisbee, exercising, and listening to music. Music equals life to me. I listen to
many genres of music, Trance being
my favorite, but I listen to German
music as well. I would say Wir Sind
Helden is my favorite band from Germany.
I first became interested in the German as a child, but never had any resources to learn from. I did however
grow up speaking Spanish and English, but unfortunately not any other
language. As I got to high school I
decided that if I had the opportunity
to learn another language I would
take it. My friend directed me to Dr.
Boney and I just decided to walk in
her office and talk about the German
program. I signed up for the class.
After a couple of days in class I fell in
love with the German language and
declared it my minor.
I know tell my friends that German
class is my highlight of the week. I
always say that the class is "lustig,"
which means funny. As I said, I fell in
love with the language so much that I
constantly listen to German music
whenever I can. Listening really helps
out in my learning and just listening to
the language makes me want to declare German as my major. Who
knows? ... Let‘s see where the future
takes me.
Spanish and
German Student
Liz Mazurek,
at Film
Festival
―
After five
years of
learning
Spanish, I
realized
that I could
not imagine
a life
without
using the
language.
‖
Page 6
Volume 1, Issue 6
Italian comes to UCM
―
Tu
puo
imparare
caon
tempo.
‖
Italian Class
at Monetti’s
This fall Modern Languages offered Italian I
and Italian II for the first
time, taught by Ms.
Emma Pyszka. Dr.
Boney tracked down two
Italian students—Brett
Rogers (BR) and Chris
Peterson (CP) and asked
them to dish on UCM’s
newest language class.
Why did you take Italian
to begin with?
What do you like about the
language? Do you think it
is different than some of
the other languages you
have learned?
BR: Italian is new to me,
but learning languages is
easier for me than any
other subject on campus...French and Spanish
came together, made a
baby, and called it Italian.
CP: I like learning
BR: It was new and
languages and I think
different—just like
Italian is similar to SpanJapanese next fall...which ish, which is my major.
I‘ll be in.
CP: I took Italian for my Both of you were
International Studies
recognized as Outstanding
minor, and I thought it
Students of Italian—what
would be nice to know,
can you recommend to
since I hope to travel to
other language learners?
Italy some day.
BP: Have an open mind,
relax, and try not to
stress out.
CP: Don‘t translate the
language word for
word—it will not make
any sense. Practice,
read, watch movies. Do
anything you can with
that language.
So no special secret?
BR: Our brains are just
wired that way, though
experience with other
languages is a plus. You
know what they say,
―Practice makes…
CP: Tu puo imparare
caon tempo.
Page 7
Volume 1, Issue 6
Scholarships and Awards
Elizabeth Callaway Award Student Success Award
Outstanding French
Major:
Sean Corcoran
Given through the UCM
Given by UCM to a fullFoundation for a student
time student n recogniOutstanding French
majoring in Spanish. Made
tion of their outstanding
Minor:
possible thanks to a gift
performance
Sha Neisha Williams
from Dr. Betty Gomez
BreAnne Schaefer
Lance.
Outstanding German
Minor:
Maggie Quinn
Adam Edmonson
Dalsy Deliens Brown
Congratulations also to
Scholarship
our Outstanding
Students!
Made possible by way of
memorial gifts from the
Outstanding Spanish
family and friends of Dalsy
Deliens Brown for students Major: David Beighley
in Spanish.
Outstanding Spanish
Minor:
Kayla Shain
Lauren Michael
Outstanding Students in Chinese:
Ryan Yarber
Briana Marsh
Katsuyo Miyamoto Bryanne Cornine
Joanna Grace Owens Kasumi Kozasa
Outstanding Students in Spanish
Grace Sherrill
Mazie Holt
Neil O‘Rourke
Cody Schwartz
Mohit Srivastava
Nellie Enneking
Avery Deevers
Hattie Willard
Betty Blackstock
Heather Goede
Elizabeth Bucy
Chance Campbell
Taylor Rider
Amanda Keilholz
Samantha Heddinger Alisha Morris
Kayla Otto
Alexis Nunez
Brandi Sahlfeld
Jena Rhodes
Amber Jones
Sean Weston
Rebecca Westmoreland
Anne Gardner Harris Award
Alyssa Corkhill
Outstanding Students in German
Megan Riff
Alexis Rosenthal
Emily Sander
Garrett Kliewer
Madeline Gardner
Amanda Roberts
Megan Brunig
Lori Glaspie
Joseph Fischer
Megan Binder
Courtney Humphrey Jessica Hays
Richard Marshall
Brett Rogers
Martin Blahut
Austin Thomas
Grace Sherrill
Corbia Davis
Alison Scherer
Outstanding Students in French
Sean Weston
Adrienne Pettet
Jill Stremme
Daniel Smith
Tara Mckinney
Emily Wilson
Kirstin Robertson
Edward Cary
Michael Lacaprucia Krystal Morgan
Sha Neisha Williams
Outstanding Students in Italian
Christopher Peterson Brett Rogers
Scholarship
winners
Maggie Quinn
and
BreAnne Schaefer
Volume 1, Issue 6
Page 8
Notes on the Modern Language Club
―
It was a great
year for the
Modern
Languages
Club.
‖
This year the President and Vice President of the Modern Languages Club,
Mariska Szabados and Grant Weller made efforts to improve and expand the
club through fundraisers and student events. These events began with weekly
conversation groups, which included international students who helped to inform
UCM students about foreign culture and language. Occasionally the conversation groups were held at local ethnic restaurants to create a sense of immersion
into other cultures.
At the end of the 2010 fall semester the club held a tutor send off party to recognize and thank all of the tutors for their hard work. After receiving parting gifts,
the tutors were given the opportunity to share the experiences they had during
their stay. In the spring, a fondue night was held at a local French restaurant. The
members enjoyed a delicious three-course meal while a guitarist serenaded them
with smooth jazz selections. Fondue night has and will continue to be a traditional event for the club.
The club also designed and sold t-shirts as a fundraiser. The shirts were
designed by club officers to represent all of the languages taught in the department. The shirt highlighted a quote by Federico Fellini, which stated, ―A different language is a different vision of life‖.
One of the biggest events of the year was the Foreign Film Festival held in the
spring. Short film director, Maxi Campo, was flown in from Spain, with funds
from different organizations including our club, and asked to present during the
festival. The club was honored have him as a guest and be able to view his newest short film, Figura.
It was a great year for the Modern Languages Club because of all of the wonderful events and superb student involvement. The club anticipates the following
years to be even more exhilarating.
Mariska and the
Hutchersons at
Fondue night
and
Maxi Campo with
the Spanish
translator
(far right)
Volume 1, Issue 6
Film Festival...through pictures
Page 9
Page 10
Volume 1, Issue 6
Departmental Faculty News and Notes
―
Those who
know
nothing of
foreign
languages,
know
nothing of
their own.
—
Johann
Wolfgang
von Goethe
‖
Dr. Michael Sawyer –PhD, Texas Tech University — Dr. Sawyer specializes in
Postcolonial Theory and Latin American literature, particularly that of Cuba and
Brazil. He teaches Elementary Spanish, all levels of Spanish Composition, and
Spanish-American Civilization & Literature. He recently presented a paper entitled ―Hope, Reality and Cuban Independence: Cirilo Villaverde‘s Cecilia Valdés‖
at the 8th Annual International Conference on Politics & International Affairs in
Athens, Greece.
Dr. Kristy Boney— PhD, The Ohio State University —Dr. Boney teaches all levels and all things German. She presented a paper last September in St. Louis on
teaching the Holocaust through graphic novels. When she isn‘t dabbling in comics, her scholarly interests slant towards comparative literary modernism and East
German writers.
Dr. Della Goavec— PhD, Vanderbilt University—has published in the Journal of
the Institute of Justice & International Studies, an article entitled ―Rape and Warfare : Its Impact on Female Body- The case of The Democratic Republic of
Congo.‖ She also presented two papers this year. Her first paper, entitled L‘implication de la femme dans le processus de la paix, 50 ans après l‘indépendance‖.
was presented in Goma in the Democratic Republic of Congo. Her second paper
was in April at the African Literature Association Conference in Athens, Ohio and
was entitled, ―Teaching French in times of Contraction.‖ Currently, she is revising
a publication by the Francophone Review on Congolese Music.
Ms. Amber Hutcherson—MA, University of Missouri, Kansas City — Ms.
Hutcherson completed her play for young audiences entitled Tales and Tails: Mitos de Mexico and entered it into a national playwriting competition. If selected, it
will be produced in October and entered into competition for the Kennedy Center
American College Theatre Festival.
Dr. Monty Laycox—PhD, University of Georgia — Dr. Laycox has taught at
Kennesaw State U, near Atlanta, and Armstrong Atlantic State U in Savannah,
GA. He is currently working to improve the teacher education program for foreign language teachers. Also, he is
bringing French to a wider audience
through developing an online beginning French and Methods of Teaching
Foreign Languages courses. Exam in
Cincinnati, Ohio. His scholarly interests include French Medieval allegory
and courtly literature.
right: Fondue Night 2011
Volume 1, Issue 6
Page 11
Departmental Faculty News and Notes continued
This past year, he pioneered a collaborative program with three other public Missouri universities by offering the Methods course online to students at those
schools. As in past summers, Dr. Laycox will be a reader and exam grader at the
Advanced Placement French Exam in Cincinnati, Ohio.
Ms. Dolores Mercado—MA, Texas Tech University — A native of Monterrey,
Mexico, Mercado teaches all levels of Spanish Grammar and Conversation
classes. Her scholarly interests include Latin American women writers, and is
currently working towards her PhD at the University of Missouri in Columbia.
Dr. Sandra Merrill—PhD, University of Illinois — A native of Colombia,
Dr. Merrill teaches Spanish language, civilization and literature classes. She
serves as an academic advisor for Spanish majors/minors. Sandra is involved
with student organizations such as the Modern Language Club and the Latino Student Union. Her scholarly interests include the Spanish Golden Age and the novels of contemporary Latin American women writers.
Julie Stephens-DeJonge—Julie Stephens-DeJonge—PhD, University of Kansas
— Dr. Stephens-DeJonge teaches all levels of Spanish language, Spanish Civilization and Literature, Cinema of the Spanish-Speaking World, and 20th Literature of
the Spanish-Speaking World. This year she presented a paper entitled: ―Shaping
Moral Questions Surrounding Loss, Violence and Trauma: Emotion, Cognition,
and EthicalSystems in Two Spanish Films: Te doy mis ojos and The Secret Life of
Words" ‖ at the 20th annual conference of the Asociación Internacional de Literatura y Cultura Femenina Hispánica. She also created the English subtitles for a
short Spanish film, Figura, whose director also presented at the annual Foreign
Language Film Festival. For the fourth year Dr. Stephens has organized the highly
successful Film Festival, which showcases original foreign language films created
by area high school students. This year, we had close to 400 students attend.
Maxi Campo (Film Festival
Keynote) with Spanish Students David and Agustin at
KC Hockey game.
―
We had
close to 400
students
attend the
4th annual
film festival
this year.
‖
left: Modern Language
Faculty at fall barbeque,
hosted by Julie Stephens
University of
Central Missouri
Dept. of Modern Languages
236 Martin Building
Warrensburg, MO 64093
Phone: (660) 543-4780
E-mail:
[email protected]
We‘re on the web:
www.ucmo.edu/modlang
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―The sum of wisdom is not contained in any one language‖—
Ezra Pound