A Student's Perspective on Spanish Community Service Learning
by Ann Abbott
It's really nice when students are genuinely excited about doing Spanish community service learning (CSL) because it connects to their values, experiences and goals. Here is an e-mail I received this summer from a student. It also shows the appeal that Spanish CSL can have for heritage speakers. And finally, it's so nice to have males take an interest in the class; most of our Spanish students are females.
To Whom This May Concern:
I'm writing regarding the class SPAN 232, Spanish in the Community. I was browsing through classes I was interested in adding to my schedule and this one struck me as really intriguing. I've taken a Spanish placement exam at UIUC, but don't really recall what I received, as my foreign language requirement was met in high school. So, while I don't have any formal Spanish language education at the collegiate level, as I'm sure you can tell my surname (and first name for that matter), I am of Hispanic decent, thus Spanish is in fact not a "foreign" language to me.
While English is the primarily language spoken in my household, I do believe I have strong (enough) Spanish skills to allow me to succeed in this class. I've traveled many times to Spanish-speaking countries for personal and professional reasons where I had to employ my language skills in addition to communicating with relatives with limited English skills. More than developing my Spanish skills, the prospect of being able to help Hispanic residents of Champaign-Urbana, which this class if offering is really the selling point for me. Far too often does the University and University students place themselves in a bubble and isolate themselves from the outside community. My involvement with [XYZ] (a co-ed Latino fraternity) and employment at the Latino/a Studies Program helps keep me informed to some of our community issues and it would be great to actually engage in them.
I do understand that the course was reserved for Spanish majors, but I thought it wouldn't hurt to ask if there are still some openings. ... If there is any information about how I can go about possibly being in this class, please don't hesitate to contact me, it'll really mean a lot.
Thank you in advance,
X
It's really nice when students are genuinely excited about doing Spanish community service learning (CSL) because it connects to their values, experiences and goals. Here is an e-mail I received this summer from a student. It also shows the appeal that Spanish CSL can have for heritage speakers. And finally, it's so nice to have males take an interest in the class; most of our Spanish students are females.
To Whom This May Concern:
I'm writing regarding the class SPAN 232, Spanish in the Community. I was browsing through classes I was interested in adding to my schedule and this one struck me as really intriguing. I've taken a Spanish placement exam at UIUC, but don't really recall what I received, as my foreign language requirement was met in high school. So, while I don't have any formal Spanish language education at the collegiate level, as I'm sure you can tell my surname (and first name for that matter), I am of Hispanic decent, thus Spanish is in fact not a "foreign" language to me.
While English is the primarily language spoken in my household, I do believe I have strong (enough) Spanish skills to allow me to succeed in this class. I've traveled many times to Spanish-speaking countries for personal and professional reasons where I had to employ my language skills in addition to communicating with relatives with limited English skills. More than developing my Spanish skills, the prospect of being able to help Hispanic residents of Champaign-Urbana, which this class if offering is really the selling point for me. Far too often does the University and University students place themselves in a bubble and isolate themselves from the outside community. My involvement with [XYZ] (a co-ed Latino fraternity) and employment at the Latino/a Studies Program helps keep me informed to some of our community issues and it would be great to actually engage in them.
I do understand that the course was reserved for Spanish majors, but I thought it wouldn't hurt to ask if there are still some openings. ... If there is any information about how I can go about possibly being in this class, please don't hesitate to contact me, it'll really mean a lot.
Thank you in advance,
X
A mí, esa letra fue una inspiración. Es muy especial que esa persona tiene un interés genuino en ayudar a los otros. En adición, me gusta aprender que alguien quiere utilizar sus habilidades especiales para ofrecer algo a la comunidad. Aun que muchas estudiantes hablan español, pero cuando se considera como gran es la comunidad hispánica en Champaign se da cuenta que todavía hay más oportunidades de estar voluntario que voluntarios actuales. Esa letra me recordó de las razones que empecé estudiar el español. Quise tener la habilidad de ayudar a no solo los quien hablan el inglés, pero también a la comunidad hispánica que todavía crece cada día. Empecé estudiar al español en escuela secundaria y por los anos he olvidado la razón más importante de aprender un idioma nuevo. He estado más concentrado en aprender el español para mí. Mi interés fue enfocado en mi propia. Yo quise ser “hispano-hablante”. La razón más importante aprender el español y esta razón es para tener la habilidad de ayudar a los otros, específicamente los hispano-hablantes. La meta de aprender español es comunicar a los otros, y aun que creo que es importante aprender español para razones personales, es más importante utilizar sus habilidades en la comunidad. El estudiante quien escribió la letra no olvidó a este hecho. He tenido mucha experiencia con hablar español en la comunidad cuando fui de viajes voluntarios en Peru y también Costa Rica. Durante mis viajes, me parecía una buena oportunidad a utilizar mi español. Aun que a veces no fue necesaria, quise mostrarme mis habilidades de hablar español. Me faltó el propósito del viaje. Este semestre me gustaría cambiar mi actitud un poquito. Voy a aceptar que no solo voy a hablar en español, pero también habrá situaciones en que es necesario que uso mi ingles. Mi primera razón estudiar español es poder utilizarlo para hacer contribuciones en la comunidad y hacer una diferencia con mis habilidades especiales. Creo que esta actitud puede hacer la mejor diferencia a los otros mientras también mejorar mi habilidad hablar el español. También, creo fuertemente que voy a ganar más con mi experiencia en la clase “Español en la Comunidad” que una habilidad mejor hablar en español. Si escojo prestar atención, tendré la oportunidad de aprender como ser humana mejor. El estudiante quien escribió esta letra me recordó que estoy suerte tener la oportunidad de no solo usar mi español pero también contribuir en la comunidad y expandir a mi perspectiva.
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