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NEW COURSE!
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Course Details
Course Name: Spanish for Ag and Horticulture Workforce
Course Code: AB0103WA25
Course Opens: January 17, 2025 at 8:00 am EST
Course Closes: March 7, 2025 at 11:59 pm EST
Location: Online
Format: Self-paced*
*Participants can complete the course content (which will take approximately 21 hours) at their own pace anytime during the period the course is open. If you are registering while the course is already in session, please note that you will still need to complete the content within the time allotted. No time extensions will be allowed for late registrations.
Registration Fee: $550 per person
Registration Closes: January 16, 2025
Paying with a check, money order, or purchase order?
Payments should be made out to: Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey
Checks and money orders should be mailed to: Office of Continuing Professional Education, Attn: Registration Dept., 102 Ryders Ln, New Brunswick, NJ 08901-8519
Purchase Orders can be mailed to the address above or electronically sent to registration@njaes.rutgers.edu.
Course Overview
Learn to communicate with Spanish workers!
This course is a “guided independent study.” You will have 24/7 access to the online modules. You will be able to schedule optional sessions via ZOOM with the instructor.
In today’s agricultural environment, with a workforce comprised primarily of Spanish speakers, leading and communicating effectively in Spanish is of utmost importance. Communication is the key to effective leadership, and without a basic, working vocabulary in Spanish, the agricultural supervisor will not be able to tap into and realize the full potential of their employees, leading to a positive economic outcome. This course focuses on functional Spanish, which is used purely for communication in agricultural settings. As such, students will be able to communicate with their workforce in basic Spanish, will be able to understand and appreciate Latin American Culture as it pertains to the agricultural work environment, and they will be able to provide resources to their workforce that will assist them in their daily lives.
As the number of Spanish-speaking individuals seeking employment in the agricultural field continues to grow, “it is not surprising that language and cultural differences are becoming significant challenges for farmers (and others) hiring Hispanic labor. One strategy for addressing these issues is for farm managers to invest in language and cultural training” (Baker and Chappelle, 2012). Connecting with the workforce at the linguistic and cultural levels is an essential skill for today’s agricultural professionals. This course is designed to respond to those needs. Students will engage in beginning, conversational Spanish designed specifically for a supervisor of an agricultural workforce. At the same time, students will explore the cultural diversity of the Spanish-speaking world. The course will also assist the student in understanding the basics of the Spanish language and will provide a technical vocabulary in a wide range of related fields such as crop production, landscaping, horticulture and food science.
Course Structure
Recorded instructor lectures, coupled with websites presenting the fundamentals of Spanish grammar, will provide instruction. The instructor will be available to support participant learning throughout the course with office hours and scheduled communications via phone or video chat. Learning a language is an active process and participants are strongly encouraged to engage with the material through the multiple assignments presented during the course and to practice vocabulary terms, etc.
Course Learning Objectives
As a result of this course, students will be able to:
- Recognize and utilize simple spoken and written words and phrases common to workplace communications in an agricultural setting.
- Recognize select common gestures and cultural practices associated with the target culture and relevant to the workplace environment.
- Explore and understand basic Spanish linguistic structures associated with the agricultural industry.
Here of some of the types of activities we will explore this semester to help meet the learning goals:
- Recognize and utilize spoken or written words and phrases in authentic agricultural materials.
- Recognize common gestures and cultural practices associated with the target culture and relevant to the workplace environment.
- Explore and understand basic Spanish linguistic structures associated with the agricultural industry.
- Understand, recognize, and demonstrate simple oral and written directions and commands.
- Ask and respond to simple questions, make requests, and express preferences.
- Manage, organize, and evaluate simple work orders/plans.
- Discuss the weather and the possible impacts that the weather could have on the work schedule.
- Understand, from a culturally relevant perspective, that the words we choose impact different peoples in different ways, and that unintended consequences can and do occur.
- Identify and choose certain words that encourage positive outcomes in the workplace.
Meet Your Instructor
John Allen
Professor Allen has been teaching at SEBS (Rutgers) since 2019 and in the Spanish and Portuguese department (graduate level) since the summer of 2022, after a 20-year career in public education. During the academic year 2021-22, he taught Spanish at Seton Hall University. Earlier in the Fall 2022 semester, he became an Affiliate Member of the Graduate School Faculty in the Spanish Department.
While teaching at the high school level, he taught Spanish (Levels 1-4 plus AP), and, in addition, he taught an elective course (in English) that drew heavily on his previous experience in business management. Moreover, he was the World Language Department Coordinator, leading a group of 14 World Language teachers. His business management experience (in an automobile processing company based in Port Newark, NJ) gave him insights into leading a diverse group of workers, many of whom came from Europe and some from Latin America. His knowledge of Spanish made him a valuable member of the company, and by being bilingual (and bi-cultural), he could communicate with the workforce while earning their respect. (As a student in this class, you will learn about leadership roles in various settings, such as diversity, ethics, inclusion, and outgroup issues.) Recently, he has added the title of business consultant to his professional portfolio.
He lives with his wife on a 77-acre horse farm in Central Jersey. He is an avid runner and bicyclist. He presented a paper on politics at the SCOLAS conference in San Antonio, Texas, on governments in Latin America and wrote a literary review of a play published in a journal (based in New Mexico). In the same journal, an essay of his on jazz appeared in 2021 and an interview with a singer-songwriter based in Colombia has recently been published. He and his wife (an art educator and an artist, in addition to being an equestrian rider) travel whenever they get the opportunity (Latin America, Europe).
Continuing Education Credits
The Spanish for Ag and Horticulture Workforce course is approved for 2.1 Rutgers CEUs (21 contact hours).
Program Questions? We’re Here to Help!
If you have any questions about Spanish Language/Culture for Agriculture and Horticulture, please don’t hesitate to reach out to us.
Program Coordinator: Joe Canzano
848-932-7317
joe.canzano@rutgers.edu
Administrative Assistant: Damiana Parada
848-932-7107
damiana.parada@rutgers.edu
For registration assistance, please contact our Registration Department at 848-932-9271, option 2 or email registration@njaes.rutgers.edu.