Learn why and how UT Austin faculty are using and creating OER.
Joshua Frank, PhD and Mina Ogando Lavin
Department: Mathematics
Courses Taught:
SPN 601D First-Year Spanish I SPN 610D First-Year Spanish II SPN 311 Intermediate Spanish SPN 327C Advanced Grammar & Writing In Context SPN 367D Business in Hispanic Life and Culture
OER I Use: Co-authored the OER textbook: Business in Hispanic Life and Culture
Why We Chose OER:
We chose to author the OER textbook “Business in Hispanic Life and Culture” to address the needs of a diverse student population. The OER reduces the cost of textbooks to hundreds of students annually across all disciplines and backgrounds. It builds on the Global Culture Flag designation of the course by considering business customs and practices in several Spanish-speaking countries. In addition, students are able to situate the learning in their own professional interests and pursuits. For example, a student interested in healthcare could research bilingual job opportunities abroad and make connections through email, tailor a resume and cover letter to an actual job and participate in a mock interview. The OER also promotes bicultural and bilingual leadership, sensitivity towards a diverse workplace, and an understanding of the hidden challenges associated with communicating in your second or even third language in a professional context. Lastly, we chose OER in order to more directly align formal language learning objectives with the department's language program more generally.
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This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 2.0 Generic License.
