It is always a treat to have former NOVA students return to campus for a visit. Today Daniel Ruff, who studied Spanish at NOVA Alexandria and has a passion for language learning, stopped by to talk about his work as an ESL instructor. Over the summer he earned a Certificate in Teaching English to Speakers of Other Languages from Cambridge English Language Assessment.

The world is your oyster, Daniel. ¡Te deseamos lo mejor!

Looking for Spanish-language resources at NOVA? The Alexandria Library has a wide assortment of books and films to choose from. Here are some ways to access them:

1. Browse the bookshelves for books. PQ6001-PQ8897, PC 4117 and PC4127 are where you will find literary works. PC4000-PC4961 is where you will find books about grammar and language.
2. Browse the library catalog for books. Visit www.nvcc.edu/library and type “fiction” or “poetry” or “literature” or “short stories” or “drama” or “anthology” in the search box. Limit your results to books, by campus, by language (Spanish).
3. Browse the library catalog for films. Visit www.nvcc.edu/library. Type “feature films” in the search box. Limit your results to multimedia, by campus and by language (Spanish).
4. Watch streaming videos. Visit www.nvcc.edu/library and type “kanopy” in the catalog search box. Limit your results by language.

For more information about NOVA’s libraries, visit http://www.nvcc.edu/library/campus.html 

For many professors, the next best thing to working with students is interacting with colleagues at professional conferences. This weekend at the Foreign Language Association of Virginia (FLAVA) annual conference in Williamsburg, professors from NOVA, Central Virginia, Thomas Nelson Community College and others are presenting and attending workshops and presentations. We are learning how to guide students in a mural art project, support (bi)literacy, learn about the Spanish poet Federico García Lorca and much more. There’s even karaoke…

Prof. Martha Davis, NOVA Spanish students and friends enjoyed a night at the historic Tivoli Theatre in Columbia Heights, home to GALA Hispanic Theatre on Saturday, September 30th. They attended GALA’s production of Don Juan, The Infamous Seducer of All Times, adapted from the 19th-century work by Spanish playwright José Zorrilla. The play featured an abundance of verbs in the “vosotros” form as well as timeless themes about love, betrayal, loss and redemption.

To access the text of the original play, Don Juan Tenorio, visit http://ciudadseva.com/texto/don-juan-tenorio/ 

For more information about GALA Theatre and their 42nd season, visit http://en.galatheatre.org/2016/05/galas-mainstage.html 

Discounted tickets are available for students, military, seniors and patrons under 30 years of age. All performances include English surtitles projected above the stage.