Academy for Entrepreneurial Leadership | Illinois

Darcy Lear*
Spanish, Italian & Portuguese

*This instructor has left the University of Illinois

Entrepreneurial courses developed by Professor Lear

SPAN 232, Spanish in the Commmunity (in collaboration with Professor Ann Abbott)

The main goals of this course are to familiarize students with the necessary information and skills to be able to effectively communicate in Spanish, to improve their fluency, and to provide a maximum amount of opportunities to communicate in Spanish. Communication involves both listening and speaking. Therefore, students will listen to a variety of sources, including their instructor, their fellow classmates, video and audio components. And in order to communicate as effectively as possible in Spanish, the course emphasizes three areas:

• content that focuses on Latino cultures.
• strategies to aid effective communication, including vocabulary building for specific situations, tools for conversation management, rules on language use in formal and informal situations, and tips about cultural norms with regards to conversations.
• review of specific grammar points, broadening of students’ general vocabulary, and pronunciation techniques that enhance communication by strengthening students’ accuracy and precision.

SPAN 332, Spanish and Entrepreneurship: Languages, Cultures and Communities (in collaboration with Professor Ann Abbott)

In the course we will draw upon examples of social entrepreneurs in Latin America Fellows from Latin America, Acción, a non-profit microcredit organization originally founded in Latin America and then brought to the US, etc.), in the US, and around the world. However, it is important to note that many people who can be described as social entrepreneurs may not be familiar with that term themselves. In this course we are concerned with understanding the entrepreneurial process and recognizing examples of entrepreneurial activity that address social issues.

Learn more about these courses on Spanish & Illinois website

Visit Course Catalog website for course availability