There really is no limit to how far great teachers can go to prepare for the upcoming academic year. But with finite resources and limited time, the best opportunities must be selected in order to truly prepare your curricula effectively to benefit your students’ learning process. For your upcoming AP® Spanish Language and Culture course, why would you choose anything less than the best?
We are Centro MundoLengua, the only private language school in Spain offering AP® Spanish Language and Culture teacher-training programs accredited by the College Board®. Spanish teachers participating in our AP® Spanish Language and Culture program receive the best training right here in Madrid; Spain’s capital, a great place for a Spanish Language and Culture workshop. Immersion in the Spanish culture and language during the program guarantees an effective training experience for teachers that helps bring their Spanish language classes to life in a way that is impossible in the USA and other parts of the world. And with varied stipends and financial incentives available for participants, Centro MundoLengua’s AP® Spanish Language and Culture workshops are the best way to prepare for the new academic year!
Well, you don’t have to just picture it. Our pre-AP® Spanish program in Seville offers high school students all of the above and more!
Both figuratively and literally, Madrid occupies the very core of modern Spain. A lot has changed from the times when this city was little more than a Moorish fortress built to keep out Christian invaders, and in the past 4 centuries Madrid’s meteoric rise to prominence makes this city a perfect representation of modern Spanish history. Spain’s transition from dominant global empire to thriving modern economy via an industrial revolution, a costly civil war and an oppressive dictatorial regime have all left their mark in the city’s architecture and culture. As such, as you walk around this cosmopolitan, busy metropolis, themes common to Spanish culture will inevitably manifest themselves in every sight you see and around every corner you turn. Given Madrid’s central role in the extraordinary changes that have occurred within Spanish society and Spanish culture, there really is no better place for an AP® Spanish Language and Culture workshop than here!
The Palacio Real de Madrid is the largest functioning royal palace by floor area in Europe. Though the current Spanish royal family do not reside there for political and personal reasons, this Baroque palace remains the official residency of the Spanish monarchy and therefore holds a huge importance to the people of Spain and the culture of Madrid. Built on the original site of a Moorish Alcázar, the original palace that stood on this site from the 14th century was severely burned during a fire in 1734 and was therefore replaced by the spectacular edifice and surrounding complex that stands to this day.
The “Temple of Football” located centrally in the city is not just home of the world’s most successful soccer team, but possibly also one of the world’s most legendary sports institutions. The incredible amount of records and trophies that Real Madrid CF has collected make it the most successful club in Europe. And judging by the fact that the Estadio Santiago Bernabeu, named after one of the most influential individuals in the club’s history, is officially Spain’s most visited museum, Real Madrid CF just might be Europe’s most popular club as well.
Culture and museum enthusiasts definitely should reserve a full day in their schedule just for this location. The Prado Musuem, the Thyssen-Bornemisza Museum and the Reina Sofía National Art Center are all located between 10-15 minutes’ walk from each other and collectively contain arguably Europe’s most fabulous yet diverse art collection. The Prado specializes in renaissance-era Spanish, Italian and Flemish schools, the Thyssen-Bornemisza boasts an incredibly varied collection of works from many global movements, while the Reina Sofia houses some of Spain’s greatest contemporary art works, including Pablo Picasso’s Guernica.
The 125 hectares of green space immediately stand out when you take a look at a map of Madrid. What isn’t so immediately obvious however is the amount of curious and varied sculptures, monuments, venues and edifices hidden among the 15,000 trees that are commonly known as the lungs of the city. El Retiro Park is extremely popular with locals and visitors alike, be it either for striking photography opportunities in front of the Alfonso XII monument, a summer stroll in front of the Palacio de Velázquez or a casual sporting activity along the park’s many pathways.
A more central spot in Madrid, and indeed the whole country, does not exist. Always bustling with crowds of locals both young and old, “Kilometer Zero” is the single point from where all of Spain’s radial roads begin. The semi-circular Puerta del Sol is where you shall find one of Madrid’s most recognizable images; the famous “Oso y Madroña” statue of a bear nibbling at the fruits of a strawberry tree. And as the clock ticks on New Year’s Eve, thousands of Madrileños gathered in the square begin one of Spain’s most popular traditions of eating 12 grapes before the clock of the iconic Casa de Correos building chimes 12 times.
One of the most curious landmarks of Madrid is the Templo de Debod. The great stone structure was presented as a gift to the city by the Egyptian government in 1972, but the masonry itself is far more ancient. Dating back to the 2nd century BC, the temple dedicated to the god Amun and the goddess Isis was originally constructed in Upper Egypt, yet as the mid-20th century Egyptian government prepared to create a dam nearby, it was decided that the temple should be transported to a safer location. It was transported and then built piece by piece in the center of Madrid, where it has become an extremely popular landmark, particularly during early evening.
Ken Stewart was the first ACTFL National Foreign Language Teacher of Year. He spent his entire career at Chapel Hill High School in North Carolina, and more recently taught Advanced Spanish Writing at Duke University.
A National Board Certified high school Spanish teacher, he has taught middle grades through college. He was the recipient of ACTFL’s Florence Steiner Award for Leadership in Foreign Language Education K-12.
He has served on the AP® Spanish Language and Culture Test Development Committee, as a question leader at the AP® Reading, and has been a College Board consultant for over 25 years. He has conducted over 200 workshops and summer institutes throughout the US, Europe, the Middle East, Asia, and Latin America.
Ken is the Director of Professional Development with Vista Higher Learning. An aficionado of languages and cultures, Ken speaks Spanish, Portuguese, and some French; he has traveled and worked in 50 countries.
Maritza Sloan received a B.A. degree in Spanish from Oklahoma State University, a M.A. in Education from Hamline University in Minnesota, and an Ed.D. in Social Justice from the University of Missouri – Saint Louis. In addition to her degrees, she has studied Spanish literature at the University of Salamanca, and Santiago de Compostela in Spain.
This is her tenth year of teaching Spanish at Ladue Horton Watkins high School in Saint Louis, Missouri. Prior to Missouri, Maritza taught for 15 years at Plano Independent School District in Texas where she started the AP Spanish Literature curriculum for the district.
Maritza is the sponsor of the Spanish Honor Society in her school where the students are very involved in volunteering work with both their community and the Spanish speaking community in other countries. She also advocated for the Seal of Biliteracy for the state of Missouri and helped Ladue become the first school in Missouri to award the Seal to 22 students in 2018. Every year since 2018 more than 50 seniors obtain the Seal of Biliteracy.
Maritza is a College Board AP consultant for Spanish Language and Culture and Spanish Literature and Culture. She has presented many Spanish Language and Literature workshops and sessions at AATSP, APAC, MFLA, SWCLT, CSCTFL and ACTFL. Maritza is the Past President for the American Association of Teachers of Spanish and Portuguese, AATSP.
Maritza served as the Secondary Education member and then Co-Chair of the Curriculum Development Committee for AP Spanish Language and Culture from July 2012 till June 2019. She is a Co-Author of EntreCulturas 1 a Spanish text book. In 2012 she was named Texas Foreign Language Teacher of the year.
Laura Zinke, a native of Arizona, taught AP Spanish, on the campus of McClintock High School, for 38 years, where she also served as the department lead of the Foreign Language Department for 20 years.
Laura has been actively involved in AATSP for the past 30 years; serving as the State President of the Arizona Chapter and the National President. Laura has a Bachelor’s degree from Northern Arizona University and a Masters from Middlebury College and is a Gifted Endorsed teacher in the State of Arizona. She has served as a reader, a Table Leader and a Question Leader at the AP Spanish Reading and currently serves as an Assistant to the Chief Reader.
Laura was a member of the AP Spanish Language Curriculum Development and Assessment Committee and served as the high school co-chair of the AP Spanish Language and Culture Committee for five years.
Laura has been an Advanced Placement Faculty Consultant since 1994 presenting both weekend workshops and summer institutes; she has been a presenter at various regional and national and international Foreign Language and AP conferences and is a former Fulbright Teacher exchange participant to Córdoba, Argentina.
Participants in our AP® Spanish Language and Culture program will enjoy in a wide variety of extra-curricular activities organized by Centro MundoLengua during the program – as well as College Board® accredited training. These social and cultural activities are deliberately selected in order to give program participants opportunities to socialize with other participating Spanish teachers, to feel more comfortable in their new surroundings and to provide further immersion into Spanish society. Experiences that give teachers a greater cultural context really allow Spanish culture to come to life, which in turn only provides further benefit to the teaching process during the AP® course. The activities can include (but are not limited to);
The total will be divided in 1 deposit due today and 1 final payment. The final payment will be due 8 weeks prior to the program start date.
AP Spanish Language and CultureMadrid, SpainNo housing included
July 2nd - 8th, 2023
New and experiencedAP Spanish Teachers
1,675$
Centro MundoLengua AP® Spanish Language and Culture Summer Institute has been endorsed by the College Board®. College Board®, AP®, Advanced Placement®, Advanced Placement Program®, AP® Vertical Teams, Pre-AP® and the acorn logo are registered trademarks of the College Board®. Used with permission.
