Experiences of Intitial Training in the Major of Spanish Teaching at UNA: A Necessary Dialogue between Trainer and Trainees

Abstract

This essay describes experiences that the author has in the initial education of students taking the major of Spanish Teaching at “Universidad Nacional.” In so doing, the essayist has considered the existence of three great phases, initial, intermediate, and final. In each of them, the characteristics of the students under training are posed. Thus, various stages in the training of pre-service teachers are considered. The first stage deals with the knowledge that is to be taught, the second stage deals with the values and attitudes of the profession, and the third one deals with classroom practices. In each of these stages, integrative and gradual processes take place. From another perspective, the author describes the academic profile that university faculty must have in teacher education processes and establishes a difference between faculty that teach a discipline and faculty that educate teachers. The latter, in addition to teaching a discipline, have pedagogical training. Finally, the author describes a desirable profile for a Spanish teacher by using input provided by students taking the course DEY 458,  “Desafíos Didácticos de la Práctica Docente,” for the major of Spanish Teaching in 2014.