Spanish for Ag and Horticulture Workforce

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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.

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