After a lifetime of prep schools and systematic teachers, foreign language classes become more predictable than Swiss-made watches for Korean students. There’s grammar, vocabulary, and plenty of memorization; together making up the bland classes students must endure. Students who meet Professor Maria Claudia Macias Rodriguez for the first time, however, are taken aback when they find their predictions fail to come true in her Latin American aura. Professor Claudia tries to add a spice and tang to avoid bland and predictable classes: students learn Spanish by singing songs and explaining spicy recipes for 5 minutes as a one-time chef. “I’ve never done repetitive classes. I realize that is boring. I teach my classes in a much freer way, a Latin American way. And boring classes are certainly not like Latin America.” Thanks to her efforts, many students in the Spanish department have greatly enhanced their Spanish skills and have gone into related fields of expertise, instead of the conventional English-related ones.
Professor Claudia first came to SNU in 2001, and quickly proved her passion and expertise in teaching, becoming a tenured professor within just 7 years. Her passion and willingness to teach students have gone beyond classroom boundaries, and students frequent her office or apartment for great meals and good conversation, true to the customs of large Latin American families.
Besides guiding Korean students in an exciting manner in their pursuit of Spanish fluency, Professor Claudia has worked closely with the Korean government whenever there is a project concerning Latin America, being an eminent expert. She has also tirelessly translated Korean works of literature in an effort to bring them to Spanish-language readers. Her efforts have not gone unnoticed. She received honorary Korean citizenship from the Korean government for bringing Korean literature to the Spanish-speaking world.
Asked what her future plans are, Professor Claudia answered, “I am going to continue working to enhance the communication between Korea and Latin America.” Using the example of a movie titled Under the Same Moon, she explained how the two cultures’ histories have similarly endured through strong-willed maternal strength. “There are just so many works of Korean literature that Latin American readers will embrace with joy.”
With that, the professor was left again to ponder exactly how to bottle the essence of Korean prose for waiting Spanish-language readers.
January 2, 2009
Written by Min Hee Choi, SNU English Editor