Using Literary Texts in Foundational Spanish Courses: Why I Teach "A Julia de Burgos"

Abstract

Abstract: This essay examines the poem “A Julia de Burgos” by the great Puerto Rican poet Julia de Burgos and how students of Spanish interact with the poem. In this poem which de Burgos addresses to herself, the theme of the dichotomized self in relation to society and the notion of identity as performance is expressed. Language students know dualities and they come to see how this poem written in the late 1930’s is especially relevant today. Dualities are everywhere – images and screens projecting one’s constructed reality contending with one’s inner self. Within current pedagogy practices, there, too, is a dualistic state: a need to use technology and incorporate social media within the language classroom and a “back to basics” approach to get students back into reading and writing and reestablish the fundamental importance of the humanities. I explain how it is possible to get high-beginning/low-intermediate-level students of Spanish to read, process, and engage with a poem in the target language. This essay demonstrates how I foster interest and success in my students, giving them a greater appreciation for reading in the target language, which in itself reveals a duality of purpose: decoding and comprehension.