Academic Title: Instructor, Spanish
Office: EA3015
Phone: 403.440.5975
Email: pzehner@mtroyal.ca
BA (University of Córdoba, Argentina)
MEd (University of Córdoba, Argentina)
MA (University of Calgary, Faculty of Arts, French, Italian & Spanish)
Scholarly Interests:
My teaching interest is to investigate the role of culture in the second language (L2) classroom. My underlying goal is not only to develop second language ability among a mostly monolingual population, but also to foster an understanding of and appreciation for other cultures. I consider the cultural element essential, and to engage students in a meaningful reflection of culture, be it one’s own or the target culture (TC). I don’t believe in presenting students with cultural “facts” that need to be memorized for testing purposes. I value culture as an essential fifth component of the language classroom if I am to move away from promoting potentially dangerous stereotypes. A real exploration of the human condition as it relates not only to the TC but also the students’ own culture is essential for language programs to achieve their stated cross-cultural awareness objectives.
Teaching Statement:
I teach beginner, intermediate and advanced Spanish courses. I had also taught courses of Mediterranean Culture (Spain). My role of teaching is to create acquisition-rich conditions in the classroom that would optimize the students’ ability to assimilate the new language. For it I advocate the Communicative Language Teaching based on a set of principles such as: students learn a language through using it to communicate, and learning is a process of creative construction involving trial and error.
Selected Presentations:
The Role of Literature and Culture in the L2 Classroom. V International Congress – FIAPE: The International Federation of Associations of Spanish. Cuenca, Spain, June 25-28, 2014.
The Role and Treatment of Errors in SLA. VII Encuentro de Profesores de Español de Alberta- Spanish Conference Languages Centre at Woodcroft Edmonton, AB, May 7, 2016.
Recall protocol and L2 Reading Comprehension. Does the language of recall make a difference? 100th Annual AATSP Conference in Salamanca, Spain, June 25–28, 2018.
El Role de la Literatura y Cultura en la L2. LVI Congreso International de la Asociación Europea de Profesores de Español AEPE. Úbeda, Spain, July, 25-29, 2022.