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On Friday 12 February it took place the third session of the Talks and Workshops about Spanish as a Second Language (SSL) held at Lingua-University of Alcalá since December 2009.

Felix Villalba talked about the new challenges of teaching Spanish as a second language for immigrants. The session reflected on how it is influencing the arrival of immigrant workers and their families in education and especially in the teaching of second language (L2). Therefore, the session deals with the oral teaching for not literate students in their mother tongue and the language use in various contexts such as job and school.

Next Friday 12th March it will take place the fourth session of the Talks and Workshops about Spanish as a Foreign Language (SFL). It will be held at Lingua-University of Alcalá and the lecturers, this time, are Felix Hernandez and Mayte Villalba (UNED).
The topic of the workshop is the teaching of Spanish for working purposes
If you are interested in attending this lecture you can learn more, download the brochure of the workshops and apply for it by sending an e-mail to miriam@lingua.edu.es

Yesterday it took place the closing of the course Erasmus, given at Lingua-Universidad de Alcalá between 26th January and 16th February.
This course, funded by the University of Alcalá, was attended by students from over 80 different countries, belonging, all of them, to the Erasmus Program.

The students have had the opportunity to learn various aspects of the Spanish language and culture which greatly facilitates their teaching-learning process to be carried out in their university degrees along the 40 hours of the course.

The success of the course has been endorsed by the passing of examinations of over 95% of the students, as well as the results gathered in the surveys they have done.

From 2nd February onwards Alcalingua-Universidad de Alcalá, the center of Spanish for foreigners at the University of Alcalá, changes its name to Lingua-Universidad de Alcalá.

The new web page is: www.lingua.edu.es

THE UNIVERSITY OF ALCALÁ INAUGURATES ITS FIRST OFFICES IN SHANGHAI

The University of Alcalá thus takes an important step in its internationalization process by providing centers, departments, professors, researchers and in general for the entire university community a point of reference in China to help the development of scientific, educational and cultural relations between the University of Alcalá and Chinese universities.
Shanghai is already now the most important economic center of China and during 2010 it will the venue of the World Expo Shanghai 2010 from 1st May to 31st October 2010. The topic of the Expo is "Better City, Better Life" and conveys the new status of Shanghai in the 21st century. 192 countries and 48 international organizations have confirmed their assistance and it is expected to generate the largest number of visitors in the history of the International Exhibitions Expo Bureau (70 million).
The aim of the establishment of the offices is that the undergraduate students from the University of Alcalá can have a contact point in China and the care services necessary for establishing relations with Chinese universities: research opportunities for collaboration, coordination of activities, services interpretation and translation services, event management, transports, communications and secretary’s office. Moreover, during 2010 Shanghai will become a vital forum for any international activity arising from the Universidad de Alcalá.
The Department for International Relations and University Extension instructed Lingua - Universidad de Alcalá to the responsibility for the administration and logistics offices, which will have operational responsibility whose name, telephone and email will be communicated in the following days. It will be also published a simple operating procedure for those wishing to use the services of the offices in Shanghai.
 

The past 11th to 20th December 2009 the celebration of the 60th anniversary of the foundation of the Shanghai International Studies University (SHISU) took place counting on the attendance of representatives of different Spanish Universities which have cooperation agreements with this Chinese University in order to facilitate the mobility of students and the exchange of a wide range of academic experiences.
The Shanghai International Studies University was founded in 1949 and it is one of the most prestigious universities of China. In 1966 it was included in the so-called “Project 211” by the Chinese government, a program developed in order to make almost 100 of the Chinese universities acquire the degree of “institutions of exceptional quality” during the 21st century.

One of the Spanish universities attending the celebrations has been Alcalá University with its representatives Josefa Toro (Vice rector of International Affairs), Maite del Val (Director of International Affairs) and Miguel Ángel Pavón (General Manager of Lingua) who took active part in the conferences held on the Saturday 19th with a high level of attendance of students and teachers.
 

Last Tuesday 22nd December, Miguel Ángel Pavón (General Manager of Lingua-Universidad de Alcalá) and Federico Manrique (Manager of the Scientific and Technologic area of Alcalá University, Tecnoalcalá) formalized the effective settlement of the Managerial Offices of Lingua in Tecnoalcalá, a priviledged area within Alcalá University campus where more than 20 companies develop their technological activity.

Tecnoalcalá started over seven years ago in order to favour the innovative process of the companies settled there and the technological transfer from Alcalá Univerity so as to reinforce the connections between the academic, scientific and business spheres, together with the cooperation in joint projects and the increase in the value of the scientific offer.

In the Managerial headquarters, Lingua-Universidad de Alcalá will develop, together with the University and other strategic partners, its R+D+i activities around, mainly, the creation of learning 2.0 resources and the use of ICTs in the teaching of Spanish.
The courses of Spanish and teachers´training will take place, as usually n the centre of Alcalá de Henares, in Colegio de los Irlandeses.

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Last 11th and 12th December 2009 Alcalingua General Manager, Miguel Ángel Pavón, visited the Beijing International Studies University, corresponding to the visit paid by two of its teachers to Alcalingua where a number of students from BISU study Spanish. In the different meetings held with the highest representatives of BISU several agreements of cooperation were discussed, especially those concerning the future presence of the Spanish language in China through Alcalingua and the enrollment of Chinese students in Alcalá University to take grade and postgraduate courses.

The 11th December, it was opened the first session of a cycle of workshops about Spanish as a Foreign Language under the generic title of Teaching and Learning Spanish as an L2 in specific contexts.
This cycle, organized by Alcalingua-Universidad de Alcalá, is addressed to professionals of teaching Spanish as an L2, primary and secondary teachers, authors and publishers of didactic materials and Philology students and consists of 7 talks followed by workshops which are taking place between december 2009 and june 2010.
Learn more about the sessions by downloading the leaflet.
And remember, the contents of the sessions can be consulted and discussed in Alcalingua blog http://www.alcalingua.com/blog/