The Language Villa: La Plaza Mayor
The Language Villa: "La Plaza Mayor"—the Spanish Floor
The Spanish floor, known as La Plaza Mayor, offers students the opportunity to live Spanish language and culture without ever leaving campus. It aims at creating an interactive learning community in which students can strengthen their linguistic skills in Spanish, broaden their cultural horizons and thus grow intellectually.
COMPONENTS OF THE PROGRAM
- A student from a Spanish-speaking country will live with you to help with the immersion and cultural enrichment of this learning community.
- A cultural program is organized, ranging from dinners and dances to talks and presentations. A faculty liaison from the Department of Modern & Classical Languages will oversee the program
- A sense of community is fostered.
La Plaza Mayor EXPECTATIONS
- to speak the language of their floor as the primary means of communication and to encourage other students to do so;
- to be respectful of other residents (e.g. listening, cleaning after you cook, keeping noise levels down at night, etc.)
- to share at least one meal per week with participants in their particular language group;
- to be co-enrolled in MLNG 293: Cultural Connections: The Language Villa (0-1 credit course) in conjunction with a Spanish course appropriate to the student's level. First year students will also be co-enrolled in History 112-07 Origins of the Modern World since 1600.
- to participate regularly in the cultural activities scheduled for a particular language floor regularly (coffee hours, museum visits, etc.).
ENTRANCE REQUIREMENTS
- intermediate/advanced level in Spanish (the resident should be able to carry a conversation in Spanish about daily topics);
- completion of an application form and interview;
- GPA: 3.0 or higher;
- commitment to expectations of the language floor.
Applicants will be weighed in terms of maturity, level of Spanish language and commitment to the principles of the Language Villa, cultural interests, and career plans in order to choose the best students for the Language Villa.
What can I do with a foreign language careerwise?
For more information about La Plaza Mayor, please contact:
- Dr. Ana Montero
- 314-977-3666
- monteroa@slu.edu
- -or-
- Ms. Yaoska Tijerino
- 314-977-2453
- ytijerin@slu.edu