Hands-on learning in action: Student research and engagement in Spain
This summer, Spanish majors and minors from across the colleges of Arts and Sciences, Agriculture, Engineering, and Health and Human Sciences gained valuable research experience and Spanish language immersion during a faculty-led summer program in Spain.
Rebecca Bender, associate professor of Spanish, led the Spain Today: Madrid, Pamplona y el Norte program from May 18 to June 18 that allowed students to earn six credits and gain valuable cultural and educational experiences. Students enrolled in both a Spanish course at the University of Navarra in Pamplona, Spain, and in a K-State Spanish course with Bender.
Bilingual research and cultural opportunities
For their K-State credits, students enrolled in the advanced Spain Today course designed individualized research projects with on-the-ground, immersive, interactive and project-based learning experiences. Working with Bender, students customized their research topic to their professional and career goals or to their majors. This faculty-mentored, student-driven research — in a bilingual context — sets this program apart from traditional study abroad programs.
Student research during the experience included:
- A project on beekeeping and rural tourism, which involved a tour of a family-run apiary in the Ultzama Valley.
- An examination of insect attitudes, where a student spoke to more than 100 residents of Pamplona to understand local views on insects, such as the most loathed, loved, useful or worrisome insects.
- Bilingualism research projects about public spaces, public-facing businesses and education.
- A survey on attitudes toward masculinity, which included collecting more than 50 responses.
- A "Living Cookbook" of the Pamplona, Navarra, region. Students interviewed vendors at local markets, collecting favorite family recipes from residents and tracking down several unique croquetas during Croquette Week in Pamplona.
Integrated into the student courses were visits to cultural sites and historical monuments in Madrid and Pamplona, as well as day trips to Toledo, the medieval villages of Olite and Ujúe, the Basque Coast — including fishing villages and San Sebastian — and the Baztán Valley, which featured a tour of a small-scale organic dairy farm in the Pyrenees mountains. Students also spent a day walking a 13-mile stretch of the Camino de Santiago, passing through tiny villages in the Navarran countryside before ending in Puente la Reina.
All coursework, cultural activities and guided tours were conducted in Spanish, ensuring a fully immersive learning environment.
Students value education beyond the classroom in Spain
Laura Armbruster, a double-major in Spanish and fine arts, appreciated the diversity of these experiences and noted that her nearly 5 weeks in Spain taught her so much more about the country than she could have learned in a typical classroom.
"Learning about the Basque language, adjusting to different customs like siesta and interacting with people from different nations on the Camino de Santiago was such an unforgettable and fulfilling experience!"
Emma Hamilton, who is majoring in Spanish, entomology and agronomy, echoed this sentiment.
"While in Spain, I was able to interact with native Spanish speakers, and it allowed me to learn so much more about their culture than I could ever read about in a book or online" she said. "Being able to see the history and hear the language in person was such an incredible experience!"
The Spain Today program reflects high-impact practices at K-State by combining global engagement, language immersion and faculty-mentored research. Students from STEM, health sciences and humanities disciplines alike meaningfully connected their Spanish study and bilingualism to a variety of professional and academic goals while abroad and upon returning home.
Sharing what they learned abroad
Several students will share their research beyond K-State, presenting their projects at the Kansas World Languages Association's annual conference this November at the K-State Student Union.
Their panel, "Beyond the Classroom, Beyond Tourism: Interdisciplinary Student Research in Short-Term Study Abroad (Spain)," will feature their unique project structures, on-the-ground research activities, results and reflections on linguistic, cultural and professional growth.
Together with Bender, they will highlight how continued language study meaningfully intersects with STEM and other fields while showcasing language learning as a pathway to global citizenship, intercultural competence and professional advancement.
Plans are currently underway to run the Spain Today program again in 2026, tentatively from May 24-June 24. Intermediate Spanish skills are required, typically with a prerequisite of SPAN 550 by spring 2026, or permission from the instructor. Contact Bender for more information at rmbender@k-state.edu.