Spanish Program
Members
Gilberto Garcia, Ph.D., M.Ed., M.A.
- Assistant Professor, Director
E-mail: gilberto.garcia@ttep.edu
Phone: 915-215-4176
Structure
As a health sciences center along the U.S.-Mexico border, Texas Tech Health El Paso provides impactful healthcare to the unique Borderplex community.
Since the El Paso campus opened, the need for medical professionals to communicate effectively in Spanish became evident. Nearly 70% of El Pasoans speak Spanish, making it one of just 22 U.S. cities and towns with more Spanish speakers than English speakers.
The Texas Tech Health El Paso Spanish Language Program is one-of-a-kind and the first to address this growing need. All medical and dental students must take medical/dental Spanish throughout their education, which prepares them to provide quality and comprehensive care in the rapidly changing border community.
Teaching Approach
It is a PSCI and DSCI experience where Spanish plays a fundamental role. Our teaching focus during Immersion is Spanish Foundations and Conversational Spanish. During the regular semesters, our teaching focus is medical/dental Spanish. We have a variety of strategies depending on the student's proficiency level.
Objectives
- Enhance students' level of competency in conversational Spanish.
- Learn culturally appropriate conversational skills according to students' level of competency in the Spanish language.
- Gain familiarity with medical/dental Spanish sufficient to communicate in a limited but valuable way with Spanish-speaking patients to establish a comfortable rapport.
- Recognize when their language competency constitutes a significant limitation that must be assisted by requiring the services of a skilled interpreter.
Populations Served
Foster School of Medicine
Hunt School of Dental Medicine