The Universidad Nacional de Asuncion in Paraguay is in the process of developing a Spanish program for international students with the help of Ángel Tuninetti, associate professor and department chair for the Department of World Languages, Literatures and Linguistics at West Virginia University.
Tuninetti will travel to Paraguay in September as a recipient of the Fulbright Specialist Grant where he will work with the Universidad Nacional De Asuncion’s Office of International Relations to build a Spanish language program and other cultural programs for international students.
“One of the main things that international students require is help with the language,” Tuninetti said. “It’s important for the Universidad to have these language courses for students to take to increase their language skills for other courses they are taking, and to integrate them into Paraguayan society.”
While in Paraguay, Tuninetti will also help the Office of International Relations develop recruiting and marketing strategies to recruit international students.
“We have to start from scratch,” Tuninetti said. “I will be helping with all areas, from setting up the curriculum, setting the metrics for students to achieve, and different learning strategies. It’ll be a little bit of everything.”
Tuninetti joined the Department of World Languages, Literatures and Linguistics in 2007. His main area of research is travel literature in the Southern Cone, from the late colonial period to the 20th century, and was accepted as a Fulbright Specialist on international education in 2014. He received his Ph.D. in Spanish from Washington University in St. Louis, Mo.
The Fulbright Specialist Program, part of the larger Fulbright Program, was established in 2001 by the U.S. Department of State, Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs. The program pairs highly qualified U.S. academics and professionals with host institutions abroad to share their expertise, strengthen institutional linkages, hone their skills, gain international experience and learn about other cultures while building capacity at their overseas host institutions.
