JORNADA 1A INTERNACIONAL DE ELE: A REMARKABLE JOURNEY OF LEARNING & CONNECTIONS
KUALA LUMPUR, 22 February 2025 - Jornada 1a Internacional De Ele (The 1st International of Ele) Seminar was organized by Asociación de profesores y estudiantes de la lengua Española en Malasia in collaboration with the Embassy of Spain, Aula Cervantes, Universidad de Alcalá (Spain) and Universiti Malaya. This prestigious seminar brought together Spanish language teachers, lecturers, and enthusiasts across Malaysia and Spain.
Among the attendees was Azlina Mohd Ariffin, a Senior Language Teacher from the Centre for Modern Languages, UMPSA, who had the valuable opportunity to participate in this informative seminar.
It was an enriching experience to engage with other participants of the seminar who share the same passion and interests in teaching Spanish, especially Spanish in Malaysia as a foreign language. The highlight of the event was the insightful presentations by two distinguished speakers from Spain, Dr. Álvaro Sesmilo and Sonia Adeva, both speakers are from Universidad de Alcalá, Spain.
Dr. Álvaro Sesmilo captivated the audience with his presentation, "Estudiantes que encuentran su voz en español. El desarrollo de la competencia crítica" (Empowering Students to Find Their Voice in Spanish: Developing Critical Competence). In addition, Sonia Adeva delivered an engaging session for her presentation on "La enseñanza de la competencia cultural con el uso de inteligencia artificial (IA)” (Teaching Cultural Competence Through the Use of Artificial Intelligence). Both sharing sessions covered various aspects of teaching Spanish as a foreign language, such as linguistic trends innovative pedagogical approaches, and cultural integration in language learning.
Other than the academic discussions, the seminar also served as a wonderful platform for networking, forming new connections, and exchanging ideas and opinions. It is also a good opportunity to reconnect with old friends from various local universities and to make new connections with colleagues from Spain.
One of the most unforgettable moments from the seminar was receiving complimentary Spanish language books from Dr. Álvaro, which is very useful for enhancing university students’ learning experience. These books will undoubtedly be a valuable resource for UMPSA students who enrol for Spanish Language Courses, helping them to develop their proficiency in Spanish with authentic materials.
Overall, it is hoped that more seminars and events like this will be organized to help the instructors teaching foreign languages to improve their knowledge through interaction with the native speakers, for networking opportunity and serve as a great platform for exchanging new ideas and innovations.
Prepared by: Azlina Mohd Ariffin & Siti Ainun Jariyah Hassan