The North American Teacher of Spanish in Latin America

Abstract

This paper is a report of the activities of teachers of Spanish in Latin America which have come to my attention. It does not pretend to be a comprehensive report, even of these activities. Its purpose is practical and two-fold: to present what has been done, and to suggest what may yet be developed along educational lines through the efforts of North teachers of Spanish. The educational enterprises may be classified according to sponsors: The United States government, United States institutions, local institutions, and individuals. During World War II our government established the office of Cultural Attach6, now known as Public Relations Officer, in connection with United States embassies in Latin America. Some of the first and later appointees to these posts were United States college professors of Spanish. At the same time, the United States government and the local government established Institutos and Centros, whose primary purpose was to interpret the North way of life through the teaching of English, the establishment of libraries well equipped with representative works North America, with listening rooms, phonographs, and records of the world's best music. The Directors of these Institutos and Centros were, and continue to be, in many cases teachers of Spanish on leave. The full-time staffs of some thirty cultural centers were in part former teachers of Spanish in the United States. Teachers of a foreign language are well equipped to present English to foreigners. Applications for positions in the Centros and Institutos are made through Mr. Edmund Murphy of the Department of State. Dr. Paul Smith of the United States Office of Education handles the exchange of teachers but to date there has been more exchange of secondary school teachers with the British Isles than with Latin countries However, the American schools set up in Latin capitals in recent years absorb teachers of Spanish in larger numbers. Roy Tasco Davis, Director of the InterAmerican Schools Service of the Council Education, estimates that fifty of the two hundred teachers he has sent to these schools were teachers of Spanish at home and that all of his appointees knew Spanish before undertaking their responsibilities in Latin America. United States institution-sponsored projects in Latin America are found all levels, with teachers of Spanish directing or assisting in the administration of the project. For several summers, with the State Department and their respective institutions subsidizing them, professors of several North universities