TRANSCULTURAL COMMUNICATIONS
FOR PROFESSIONAL PRACTICE
This is a three (3) credit hour course for graduate and undergraduate (seniors) in social work, psychology, family studies and education counseling psychology that is offered as education abroad at the Universidad Latina de America (UNLA). This is a practical, applied Spanish course that is intended to prepare students for professional practice with U.S. Latinos. The course will be taught by Dr. Richard Sutphen in conjunction with Lic. Elsa Gutierrez, and Lic. Manuel del Pozo, psychology professors from UNLA. In addition to class hours, students will be able to use some of their mini-internship time and interactions with Mexican clients to complete some of the course assignments.
The course is organized around weekly topical class readings and the major assignment of conducting a psychosocial assessment. The course addresses how personal identities are formed by culture, the reflection of cultural values in language; the development of professional-client relationships; conversational scripts built upon the cultural value of sympatia; modeling of social work and psychology interactions with clients; and developing questions, interviewing and documenting psychosocial information. Students will use videotaping technology to practice techniques, observe professionals interacting with clients and receive live class supervision. Students must have an intermediate level of Spanish language abilities (reading, writing, listening comprehension, and verbal) in order to take this course. In addition to this course, students will have ample opportunities to practice and enhance their Spanish abilities. Home stays offer excellent occasions for speaking and learning culture and the mini-internships will provide a living laboratory of how to use professional language and to develop professional relationships with service recipients.
The course syllabus is attached and the summer class schedule is included in the link to the Professional Practice in Mexico course presented above and is linked directly to the dates for programs.
1. Spanish Language Abilities: Students must have an intermediate level of Spanish language abilities to take these courses. Language abilities include adequate levels of reading, writing, listening comprehension, and verbal (conversation) are necessary. Students are advised to spend the months preceding the onset of the summer courses practicing and enhancing their Spanish language skills. Students must be able to “hit the ground running” so to speak with respect to their working language skills when they arrive in Morelia on June 7 th, 2008. Intermediate levels of Spanish are defined as showing documentation of completion of a Spanish undergraduate major; passing a written and verbal exam at the level of a Spanish undergraduate minor; native speaker with equal written and verbal abilities.
2. Academic Status: Students must be enrolled in a graduate or undergraduate as a senior* in an accredited social work, psychology, family studies (MFT), or educational counseling psychology program. Doctoral students are welcome to take the courses as well.
* Undergraduate students with the requisite language skills may take the courses if they are at minimum rising seniors or have just graduated from an accredited undergraduate program (post-bac status) and intend to enroll in a graduate program.
College of Social Work main phone number (859) 257-6650
Site Created and maintained by Gary Trumble
Last updated 10-26-07
