Max Lizano

Research interests: Spanish as a second language, Spanish and Spanish American literature, myths and legends of El Salvador, Central America, and music as a learning and teaching tool

Education

M. A. in Spanish, Queen’s University, 2000
B. A. in Agricultural Science, University of El Salvador, El Salvador, 1980

About

Professor Lizano held Teaching Appointments at different educational institutions in Canada and at the Bader International Studies Centre in UK. At Queen’s, he has been teaching Spanish courses since 1996 when he became a graduate student.

In his classes, he creates an active learning environment, in which he energetically engages students and makes the material more comprehensible. He aims to provide a student-centred environment to encourage class participation and student motivation. By using music in his classes he is fostering the development of oral communication skills, as well as phonological and phonemic awareness and overall fluency. Songs learned in the class also expand vocabulary, promote words and retell stories.

Professor Lizano strongly believes that through the study of Spanish, students gain a knowledge and understanding of the cultures of the Spanish-speaking world and that mastering of the language occurs only when the awareness of cultural contexts is achieved.  

A former student Elena Champagne in the article  “I Want to Give My Teacher … a GOLD STAR!” in The Kingston Whig - Standard (30 Mar. 2004) speaks about Professor Lizano's teaching style: “Max conceives of all sorts of fun activities, which allow us to participate and learn at the same time…and every student seems to walk out of Max’s class knowing much more than just Spanish. We now have an open mind and an understanding of different cultures.”

Teaching

Professor Lizano teaches the following course(s):

SPAN 111: Beginning Spanish I
SPAN 112: Beginning Spanish II
SPAN 204: Intermediate Spanish
SPAN 205: Advanced Spanish
SPAN 206: Spanish Conversation and Culture