That being said, I don't think most classes for non-biology majors necessarily include labs, even in the United States. Instead, they focus on big ideas, basic concepts, and important theories, like the ones we're reading about right now in my class here in Chile.
At first it worried me that we were reading so many scientific articles in Spanish, because I've seen some pretty dense, confusing studies in English in the past, and I expected that the Spanish articles for this class (even those written for a more general audience) would be nearly impossible to understand. Much to my surprise, they're actually not! It turns out that these papers are pretty easy for me to read, even though they're in Spanish, which is great because it means that everyday people without much knowledge of biology or scientific vocabulary should be able to understand them, too.
The readability of scientific literature is very important because it directly affects the way that non-scientists understand scientific concepts and discoveries. One of the most valuable skills for students in STEM fields is being able to explain their ideas in not only a technical, scientific manner but also for a more general audience. It seems to me that the articles I'm reading in Spanish do a much better job of being readable and accessible to everyday people than writing I've experienced in English. Of course, it doesn't matter how easy an article is to understand if people never take the time to read it!
