Joe Weyers is a student favorite at the College. Since 1995, he’s made learning Spanish a fun and rewarding experience, helping students to think beyond conjugations and successfully navigate the preterite and imperfect tenses. Professor Weyers took a few minutes to share his thoughts on learning a language, his favorite place to unwind and his hidden talent.
What’s your favorite class to teach? I enjoy teaching, so that’s a difficult question. I’d have to say the most enjoyable is conversation. It gives me the opportunity to interact with my students on a more personal level. At the same time, I get to see their progress in speaking, which is generally very gratifying.
Learning a language can be pretty intimidating to students. What’s the hardest part about teaching Spanish? The greatest challenge in teaching any language is trying to get students to where they don’t feel the need to question every point and instead are comfortable enough letting their brains do what they’re wired to do, and that’s acquire languages. Beginning students normally and naturally see language as a word-for-word translation and a series of verb conjugations. It takes a while to overcome that barrier of wanting rules and explanations for everything.
Why should students choose Spanish to learn? Languages are meant to be used, and the Spanish-speaking world spans continents. It’s a language of global commerce, of the European Union, of spectacular places and of warm, caring individuals around the globe. So, why not choose Spanish?
In what ways would you like to see Spanish majors get more exposure to Hispanic culture and history? Our Spanish majors are doing a great job of exposing themselves to the Spanish-speaking world through coursework, community involvement and study-abroad opportunities. I’d love to see them spend more time with each one of those endeavors for longer, more meaningful experiences. When students truly live Spanish in an extended, immersion experience – which can be local or abroad – their worldview expands and their language skills increase dramatically. Having a real-world use for language is the key to developing a high level of proficiency.
What’s your hidden talent? I’m a decent enough artist when I put my mind to it. My students would likely disagree, given some of the chicken scratch I’ve been known to draw on the board to illustrate a vocabulary point. Give me some time and motivation, however, and I might come up with a pretty
OK sketch.
What’s been your favorite travel destination? Lascano, Uruguay. It’s a tiny town in the countryside, where there are more cows and sheep than people. But, the people who live there are real, down-to-earth, wonderful people. Lascano’s a tiny dot on the map that I visited 20 years ago as a Rotary International scholar. The Rotary Club of Lascano invited me to speak at their club, and, of course, I accepted, thinking that I’d go, I’d speak and then I’d be on the next bus out. I ended up staying four days. Everyone there was so wonderful and caring. I had the pleasure of returning to Lascano in July and had an equally memorable experience. Rio is beautiful, Mexico City is exciting, Barcelona is captivating, but Lascano is really my favorite place. It makes me smile just thinking about it.
How do you relax? I love going to the beach and finding a quiet spot where I can hear only the waves. As much as I enjoy teaching and being in front of my students, once class is over, I really enjoy quiet and solitude. There’s something curative about an afternoon at the beach that provides what I need to recharge the batteries.
What is your favorite Spanish phrase? Para que en todas partes quepas, no hables de lo que no sepas. That translates roughly as “so as to fit in everywhere, don’t talk about what you don’t know about.” That’s directed to those who might think they think they know more than they do and insist on making sure you know that they think they know what they really don’t know. I find it very useful.
Do you dream in Spanish or English? Both. In my dreams, people I know speak the language they speak. I rarely remember the details of my dreams, but I do often recall those dreams that were a flurry of back-and-forth between English and Spanish as English-speaking friends and family interacted with Spanish-speaking friends.
What is one Spanish-related book that every person should read? One Hundred Years of Solitude by Gabriel García Márquez. It’s a beautiful, captivating story that, in short, presents an allegory of Latin American history and culture through one family.
And what Spanish-related movie should every person see? Any of the multiple versions of the Man of la Mancha, on film or on stage. As a novel, Don Quixote might be difficult to follow, but on screen, you can follow the wonderful adventures of that crazy old man with big dreams and a big heart, who might not be so crazy after all.
You grew up in Pittsburgh. Tell us about the Steelers. I’ve never been a sports fan, but there’s something in the air or water there that makes you a Steelers fan. It’s the law. When I was growing up – late middle school, beginning high school – the Steelers were winning Super Bowl after Super Bowl, so there was an amazing energy that permeated the city. Their last win two years ago was certainly a point of pride, and I made it my business to watch Super Bowl XLIII because the Steelers were in it. It was a worthwhile couple of hours.
If you weren’t a teacher, what would you be? I’d be involved in travel and tourism. I always thought I’d missed my calling and might have been a great travel agent. If you need to make some plans for a trip, feel free to contact me.
