(PHOENIX, Ariz., June 27, 2005) - Twelve Phoenix College faculty and staff recently took advantage of a two-week Hispanic language and culture workshop which was created to expose participants to the different aspects of the Hispanic culture.

This annual event is designed to address the needs and promote a better understanding of the growing Spanish-speaking student population at Phoenix College; therefore, the workshop is open to all college faculty, staff and administrators.

With a unique combination of useful language instruction and cultural facts, workshop participants were taught how to use basic Spanish which will ultimately allow them to participate in meaningful exchanges with Spanish-speaking individuals. Additionally, the workshop gave participants an awareness of the many issues that currently affect the Hispanic community.

The program, which has been offered by the Phoenix College Foreign Languages Department since 1989, has gained a great deal of popularity over the years. From its original debut to today, the purpose of the workshop remains the same.

"We developed this workshop for a number of reasons," said Delia Escalante, workshop coordinator and Spanish faculty. "We want our students to feel comfortable and feel like they can relate to their instructors and others involved in their college experience. Therefore, we felt that it was extremely important to offer a workshop that would address not only sensitive issues but a workshop that would also create awareness and enlighten our campus community about the history and background of the Hispanic culture. The language instruction is only a minor component of the program."

Workshop presentations ranged from a tortilla cooking lesson to a demonstration of the hottest Latin dance moves. In addition to a cooking demonstration and dance lesson, the group also addressed a number of serious issues facing the Hispanic population.

For example, guest speakers enlightened participants with a variety of topics:

-- Dr. Trino Sandoval - An Overview of Mexican History
-- Jorge Eagar - Folk Medicine in the Southwest
-- Anna López - Meeting the Needs of the Hispanic Students
-- Fabio Correa - Colombian Culture
-- Loida Guiterrez - Latin Music
-- Gloria Gutierrez - Latin Dancing

Dr. Trino Sandoval's presentation included an overview of Mexican history which ended with the current state of Mexican social and economic issues; while Fabio Correa's lecture focused on similar topics as they relate to South America.

This year's participants included Jan Binder, Dr. Marian Gibney, Lucia Kisiel, David Laird, Anna Lopez, Sui-Lin Li, Angelica Mihailova, Nancy Navarrete, Elaine Ploetz, Kathleen Rabb, Linda Soland and Andrea Villarreal.

The Phoenix College Foreign Languages Department will host another culture and language workshop next summer. For those that are interested, please contact Delia Escalante at (602) 285-7170.

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