On March 12 and 13, the University of Salamanca hosts the Training Days for Catalan Studies Teachers from universities and other training centers in Spain and Portugal. Specifically, these studies are taught at 11 universities, 8 of which receive grants from the Ramon Llull Institute.
The conference will explore how the Catalan language and literature are taught, studied and disseminated at the university, with special attention to new teaching methodologies, multilingualism and cultural projects that bring Catalan closer to new audiences.
The presentation of the conference will be carried out by the vice dean of teaching at the University of Salamanca, Javier Sánchez Zapaterothe academic head of Catalan studies at the University of Salamanca, Alex Martín Escribà and the director of the Language and Universities Area of the Ramon Llull Institute, Josep Anton Fernandez Montolí.
There will be presentations and workshops such as “Catalan Studies in Salamanca: past, present and future”, which will offer a tour of the history of Catalan studies at the University of Salamanca from its beginnings in the mid-1950s by university teachers, Alex Martin and Oriol Pratand a session on “Learning Catalan to understand multilingualism (of the State)” byElba Roda Serrafrom the University of Granada.
In the 2024-2025 academic year, 400 students enrolled in Catalan-themed subjects in Spain, mainly language but also culture and literature, 90 of whom did so at the University of Salamanca. Through this university, which dates from 1218 and is considered the oldest in Spain, authors like Fray Luis de León, Calderón de la Barca, Maria de Maetzu or Carmen Martin Gaiteamong others.
The 11 universities in Spain and Portugal where Catalan studies are taught are: University of Zaragoza, University of Santiago de Compostela, National Distance Education University, Complutense University of Madrid, Autonomous University of Madrid, University of Granada, University of Alcalá de Henares, University of Salamanca, Euskal Herriko University and University of Lisbon.
The Ramon Llull Institute deals with the continuing education of the teaching staff of the University Network of Catalan Studies Abroad through the organization of courses, seminars and conferences on methodology, strategies and didactic resources for learning and teaching Catalan as a Foreign Language (CLE), with the collaboration of universities and institutions both in the Catalan language domain and abroad.
