Humanities

Humanities’ Narbona wins Sarofim

BY JENNIFER EVANS
Rice News staff

When senior lecturer Jose Narbona teaches Spanish, he hopes to bring together language and culture in a way that enhances the students’ learning experience and world view. He calls it a “total learning experience.”

“Being a foreigner living in this country allows me to show different perspectives, opinions and cultural behavior to my students so that they enrich and complete their knowledge of the world,” Narbona said. “It is essential to treat them as adults and make them feel fully engaged in the contents of the class, precisely because the content is a response to their diverse interests and ambitions.”

That kind of dedication to his students has earned Narbona the Sarofim Teaching Award for Excellence. Created with support from Rice endowment manager Fayez Sarofim, the award is given to a lecturer in the School of Humanities who has shown exceptional professionalism and dedication to students.

Narbona loves to hear about the students’ busy lives, which he does not only in the classroom but also through hosting “language tables” at the residential colleges, giving students a chance to flex their developing language skills over lunch with other students and faculty.

“Running the Spanish tables every week is a wonderful experience since it allows me to interact with the students in a more relaxed and casual atmosphere,” he said. “Students are not afraid of using their Spanish or making mistakes — even if they are currently taking courses with me. They use the language to communicate in real life, telling me about their stories and opinions. Students get to know you better through conversations at these tables, and they feel more satisfied with Spanish since they can actually use it.”

Narbona, who earned his bachelor’s degree at the University of Seville, Spain, and his master’s at Rice, said he owes a lot to the university. “I pretty much shaped myself as an instructor here [at Rice],” he said. “All the knowledge and techniques for teaching that I learned here make me feel very proud, especially because they include important concepts like excellence, efficiency and professionalism that I consider essential in the work of an educator.”