Pre-conference Workshop: Saturday, November 7, 2026
Pre-conference Workshop
Saturday, November 7, 2026Ìý
Facilitated by Dr. Mary K. Long
Incorporating Spanish for Specific Purposes into Linguistics Research
Much has been written since 2000 about the need to prepare students by enabling them to gain high-level language and cross-cultural communication proficiency that will serve them both professionally and personally in the global environment of the twenty-first century. Recent surveys indicate that there is a growing shortage of graduates who possess the language and intercultural skills necessary to support the demands of global engagement in all professions. The interdisciplinary field of Spanish for Specific Purposes (SSP) provides students with many of the student-centered, multidisciplinary curricular design and research elements that have been proposed in this discussion.Ìý Spanish Language and Culture programs are increasingly urged to develop multiple interdisciplinary tracks to prepare students across a wider array of professional disciplines. Thus, nationwide Spanish programs are seeking to expand SSP offerings. New curriculum is built upon research findings. To that end, an increasing number of job openings for faculty in Spanish programs seek candidates with a research background in SSP yet few graduate programs offer options for SSP research to PhD students.Ìý This workshop will provide history and overview of current research being conducted in SSP as well as guidance on future needs.Ìý ÌýWorkshop participants will have time to brainstorm about connections between their current research and Spanish for Specific Purposes research in a variety of fields including, but not limited to, discourse analysis, lexicography and corpus studies.
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Dr. Mary K. Long is a Full Teaching Professor at the University of Colorado Boulder in the Spanish and Portuguese Department. Dr. Long is the Director of Spanish for the Professions Program and editor of Language for Specific Purposes: Trends in Curriculum Development (Georgetown University Press, 2017). In addition to Language for the Professions and Spanish for Specific Purposes, Dr. Long specializes in 20th-21st Century Mexican Literature and Culture; Cross-cultural Communication and Exchange between Latin America and the United States; and Globalization and Cultural Identity. Dr. Long has published multiple books, journal articles, book chapters, and encyclopedia entries.Ìý