Classical texts in the teaching of Spanish as a foreign language: Investigation of a case study of 2018-2023 curriculum

Abstract

Traditional foreign language programmes for students in humanities and technical faculties, excluding philological ones, do not include in-depth study of the history and culture of the corresponding region, which limits the overall language proficiency level of future specialists. This paper describes the theoretical and practical foundations of the proposed methodology for incorporating classical literary texts into the process of teaching foreign languages to non-philology students, aiming to deepen their knowledge of history, social processes, and stages of cultural development in the target language country. The authors provide justification for utilising both classical methods such as reading, translation, and retelling of literary texts, as well as elements of the communicative approach, such as group work, presentations, the use of audio-visual materials, and so on. The aim of the research was to determine the effectiveness of the proposed course for students based on the manual created by the authors using the proposed methodology. This article analyses the results of a survey conducted between 2018 and 2023, among students learning Spanish as a foreign language at the Faculty of Humanities and Social Sciences of the Peoples’ Friendship University of Russia named after Patrice Lumumba (RUDN University). The study employed a quantitative analysis using a mixed-method approach with statistical calculations and analysis. The survey data confirms the authors’ idea of the high effectiveness of the integrated study method of historical and social processes, as well as literature from the country of the target language. Specifically, 90 percent of the students noted an enhancement of their knowledge of the culture and history of the country, and 67 percent of the students indicated significant benefits of the course for developing competencies relevant to their future professional careers. Due to its universality, the approach can be extrapolated to other foreign languages for students from different disciplines and levels of study.

Keywords

• teaching spanish
• literature
• ele
• language learning
• cultural competence
• communicative competence