Spanish & Illinois

by Ann Abbott Yesterday I gave a talk at the Law School here at the University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign. It was for a meeting of the Immigration Law Society, a group of students interested in immigration law. I built the slides and the information on a talk I gave earlier this semester to the interpreters in the Champaign school district. Here are my slides: Interpreting: Language, Culture and Ethics by AnnAbbott If you would like for me to speak to your group about this, you can reach out to me at arabbott@illinois.edu or 217-333-6714. I was very interested in the student questions afterward. Some asked for more detail about ad hoc intepreting, but a lot of students were interested in knowing more about how to improve their language skills. For people who feel that their second language is rusty, I suggested doing a lot of listening and reading (input); then they can find opportunities to practice speaking. If you're watching movies or binging on Casa de Papel on...

by Ann Abbott El Centro Latinoamericano de Aprendizaje y Servicio Solidario is a wonderful example of a service learning program in Latin America. Looking through their site, I am struck by how much our students can learn by analyzing the site and comparing their conceptualization and practice of community service learning (CSL) with ours. I am struck by several things on the site. Cultural meanings of words. "Solidario" and "solidaridad" are used frequently throughout the site. As a cognate, students will easily recognize the word. But culturally, solidarity and "solidaridad" feel very different to me. Aprendizaje-Servicio. In Comunidades (my textbook), I use the term "aprendizaje en la comunidad." CLAYSS and a similar Chilean program I am aware of, both use the term "aprendizaje-comunidad." Obviously, we're talking about the same thing, but I wonder what we gain or lose by using the term "comunidad," or not. Int...

Translation plays a very big role in Spanish community service learning, so I always like to share information about the University of Illinois' Center for Translation Studies. Here is a program update from Elizabeth Lowe, Director. "Dear colleagues and students, "I am pleased to announce new course offerings for the Center for Translation Studies in the 2009-2010 academic year. "We welcome Dr. Anastasia Lakhtikova to our instructional staff. Dr. Lakhtikova has a doctorate in English and Comparative Literature from Washington University in St. Louis, MO. A native speaker of Russian, she has specialized in the work of writer and translator Vladimir Nabokov. She will be teaching and developing new courses for our program. Open to undergraduate and graduate students for registration for Fall 2009 is her new course titled "The World of Translation" (CWL 496). This course introduces students to a number of masterpieces of world literature and the challenges th...

by Ann Abbott Not only do the undergrads who take "Spanish in the Community" and "Spanish for Entrepreneurship" go on to do great things that I like to highlight here; so do our department's former grad students. Brenci Patiño is a perfect example. She is now at Texas Lutheran University and recently took students to Nicaragua. You can read about it here . Brenci and I are friends on Facebook, so I was thrilled to follow her updates about the trip and then see the pictures and videos she posted. It gave me an glimpse into the local culture and the reach of their service project. Congratulations, Brenci!

by Ann Abbott This morning I received another issue of the Entrepreneurship Educator Newsletter . It has good content about using Twitter in your teaching and generating income by offering workshops to the public. The last point led me to brainstorm some potential workshop topics that I could offer. I'll post more about that later. One of the things that I enjoy about the Entrepreneurship Educator Newsletter is that it often offers some grab-and-go classroom exercises that you can implement right away in your own classroom. So I thought I'd offer one of those here today. ( I offered another one using Kiva.org in a previous post .) Remember, I am teaching my students Spanish at the same time that I am teaching them about entrepreneurship. You may want to tweak the activity if you teach in English. If you teach Spanish, like I do, tell your students that they will read the information in English, but they need to speak in Spanish. Learning Objectives: Recognize that local commu...

by Ann Abbott In my previous post I talked about some ways to connect Spanish CSL to a job search . In this post, I want to share a way that I am asking students to do that as part of the curriculum. I wanted to make a final exam for my "Spanish & Entrepreneurship" students that was meaningful, not just in exercise in proving that they could do a final exam. So this is what I have done. 1. I found this job listing on http://www.idealist.org/ . (Update: the job ad expired at that link. You can read it here .) These are the things I liked about it and thought would add to the meaningfulness of the exercise: It's real. I didn't want anything fake. It's for a job in Mexico . Several of my students have expressed interest in at least considering the idea of working abroad. It's got a good job title. The job title might intimidate some students, thinking they could never apply for that. However, resource-gathering and strategic alliances are all things that w...

The Spanish Ministry of Education, Social Sciences and Sports (MEPSYD) is offering some 1200 scholarships for US university students or recent graduates to serve as conversational tutors for Spanish students learning English in Spain during the 2009-2010 academic year. Please pass this information on to your university students and other interested parties. The deadline for applications is April 15, 2009. For more information and application forms, CLICK HERE : El Ministerio de Educación, Política Social y Deporte (MEPSYD) de España ofrece más de 1.200 becas para enseñar inglés en España como auxiliares norteamericanos de conversación para el curso académico 2009-10. Solicite su participación en el programa hasta el 15 de Abril de 2009. Para más información haga clic aquí .

by Ann Abbott Beth Chasco, our Spanish advisor, just alerted me to this course that is available to accompany a student's internship . You do not have to be an engineering student to take the course, describe as, "a guided experiential learning course that focuses on developing professional and interpersonal skills in students, and also covers basic business concepts to help them to be more successful in their internship role and future career. The course is open to any undergraduate student with a professionally-related internship during the summer." Check the link for costs and more details. And consider talking to other students who may have taken the course. As we know from community service learning, regular reflection and tying your experiences to an academic content are the keys to experiential learning. If this course helps you achieve that, it may be well worth the registration fees.

I know that a lot of Spanish students double major with premed and want to have the opportunity to develop their Spanish skills for a clinical setting. There are some obvious risks involved with using students with developing language skills in a medical setting. But there are benefits, too. A former University of Illinois student has created a nonprofit organization to organize volunteer trips to Ecuador. Volunteering in a medical context is just one of the opportunities. I don't have any personal, first-hand knowledge of these programs, but you can read more about them here .

I'm sure my students will be interested in this workshop presented by Illinois CIBER. International Careers in Business Tuesday, March 10, 2009 6:30-8:30 pm Levis Faculty Center Want to work internationally? Professionals and distinguished alumni will talk about preparations for international careers in business. This workshop will give you practical advice on opportunities, expectations and preparations for international careers in a variety of business settings. Students from all majors are welcome! AGENDA 6:30-6:45 pm Lynnea Johnson, Center for International Business Education and Research (CIBER) 6:45 - 7:00 pm Monica Francois Marcel, President, Language & Culture Worldwide, LLC 7:00-7:15 pm Mickey Steffeny, Communication and Training Coordinator ADM 7:15-7:30 pm Parry Dixon, Director of Economic Research, ADM 7:30-7:45 pm Roshani Sheth President, AIESEC Illinois 7:45-8:00 pm Garrett Whitsitt, UI Student Leader, Global Business Brigades 8:00-8:15 p...

Government linguist. What does that term mean to you? Well, in a meeting I recently attended, that phrase set off quite a controversy. Combining the terms "government" and "languages" can be contentious. Language educators strive to teach a language so that students can gain greater insights and respect for the peoples who speak that language and their cultures. Spanish community service learning is certainly an example of that. We want our students to work in the community in culturally-appropriate ways and to exit the community with a more informed view on immigration issues. On the other hand, it's no secret that sometimes the US government looks at language skills as an "arm" in their military and political strategies. That conflict of interests is hard to reconcile. And that's what makes the National Language Service Corps so interesting. No spying. No military work. Instead, members of the corps would help in situations like these: " A...

La Casa Cultural Latina is looking for a student to facilitate its Convo Table. SPAN 232 students: This would allow you to learn more about the Latina/o community on campus at the same time you are working with Latinos off campus. SPAN 332 students: Want to change your team project? If you want to switch, just update your information on the wiki. Spanish Honors Students: This would make a terrific James Scholar Project for one student. Act fast on this! Dean Lozano sent this message: We would really like to find a student to facilitate the program so that we can start it up again this month. Here is the specific information about being the Convo Table and being the Facilitator: Convo Table Information Convo Table Facilitator Description Please contact La Casa directly. This is a great opportunity that I'm sure will interest many, so contact them soon.

Lynnea Johnson from Illinois CIBER sent this message: Please join us for the International Careers in Government and the Non-Profit Sector workshop Tuesday, February 10, 2009 6:30-8:30 pm Levis Faculty Center Professionals and distinguished alumni will talk about preparations for international careers in government and the non-profit sector. This workshop will give you practical advice on opportunities, expectations and preparations for international careers in these two fields. AGENDA 6:30-6:45 pm Lynnea Johnson, Center for International Business Education and Research (CIBER) :45 - 7:00 pm Brian Flora, Diplomat in Residence, University of Illinois in Chicago 7:00-7:15 pm Shari Stout, International Trade Specialist, US Department of Commerce 7:15-7:30 pm Meg Thilmony, Global Village, Habitat for Humanity 7:30-7:45 pm Carl Burkyble, Caring for Kenya 7:45-8:00 pm Ashlee McLaughlin, Peace Corps 8:00-8:15 pm Question and Answer Session with Panelists http://ciber.illinois.edu/Icareers/F...

I must admit that I often think of the predominance of literary studies in Spanish departments as sometimes at odds with the on-the-ground work of social justice in a Spanish communty service learning course. It doesn't have to be that way, of course. My PhD is in literature. The critical thinking skills I learned in my training have transferred easily to the work of teaching culture, language and professional skills to students working within the local Latino community. The pleasure of "story" behind my passion for literature is still there whenever I hear an immigrant's story--or when I read a student describe their reaction to hear immigration stories, sometimes for the first time. And there are many more connections between literary studies and well-designed community-service learning. However, I also learned to analyze power dynamics during my PhD, and the position of literature as "real"/"important"/"rewarded" within Spanish program...

Carolyn Kloecker was one of our student bloggers last semester. She wrote about her experiences working with a Girl Scout troop for Latinas in Champaign. She also mentioned several times how excited she was to study abroad in Ecuador next semester. Well, Carolina is there now, and she sent me this message: " I started volunteering in Ecuador today! We organize after-school activities for a group of kids in Lumbisi, an indigenous town near Quito. We also help them with their homework and sometimes with English. It's great! I'll be going twice a week, from 3pm-5pm on mondays and wednesdays. Hasta luego!" Click here to find out more about the study abroad program that Carolina is on . This program is highly recommended for students who are truly interested in doing service in the community. Another former student blogger, Liz Girten, also studied on this program. (My other recommendation is that you study abroad for a whole academic year; you will thank me for the...

Although we have never been able to nail down a community partnership, I try to follow Hope Community Health Center 's work carefully and support it. Click on the image to enlarge it, and if you are in the Champaign-Urbana area, consider attending the event. Students: Although Hope Community Health Center is not one of our official community partners this semester, if you take the initiative to arrange your own volunteer work and schedule with them, you can certainly have that count for your CBL work this semester. Cristina Medrano, the founder of the clinic, attended the Social Entrepreneurship Summer Institute while she was putting the clinic together, and I met her there. It is very exciting to see how the clinic has grown and how Cris has been very entrepreneurial in this important endeavor for the community. Congrats, Cris!

It's very exciting to check in with our community partners and see what their plans are for this upcoming semester and what they have been doing during the break. I just heard from Lila Moore with SOAR, and she sent along good information about that after-school program. You don't have to be in a community-based learning course to work in the community, so consider signing up to work with this program whether you're in SPAN 232 or 332 or not. S.O.A.R. @ B.T. Washington Elementary The S.O.A.R. after-school tutoring program at B.T. Washington Elementary is looking for enthusiastic and dedicated volunteers to provide homework and reading help to students in grades K-5 who are most in need of some extra support. Currently about 45 children, mainly Latino and African American, attend the free after-school program. The S.O.A.R. program is a collaboration of the Graduate School of Library and Information Science, the College of Education, and Don Moyer Boys and Girls Club. S.O.A...

In addition to being an internationally known researcher on aesthetic education and qualitative research methods, my friend, Prof. Liora Bresler, is working on intellectual entrepreneurship. She's teaching a graduate course this spring on this new area. Spring 2009 C & I 507/590 Academic Intellectual Entrepreneurship: Vision, Team Leading, and Creativity Tuesdays, 10-1 Liora Bresler, Instructor The overall goal of the course is to develop an entrepreneurial perspective of the role of faculty in academia. The three components of the academic endeavor--research, teaching, and service--will be conceptualized as highly entrepreneurial activities. Building on their individual passions and strengths, the course will empower students (prospective faculty) to experience each of these three components of academia along the three entrepreneurial axes: recognize opportunities, acquire resources, and create a new entity of value. Specifically, the course will address the following: 1. Exp...

The University of Illinois' Office of the Vice Chancellor for Public Engagement will host a symposium this spring, and they announced their call for proposals. I love the fact that students and community partners are invited to submit. I will suggest that one of the student teams in SPAN 332 present a poster, and I will let Spanish & Illinois' community partners know about this opportunity to tout their programs. Call for proposals: 2009 Public Engagement Symposium and Tech Showcase ------------------------------------------------------------------------ The inaugural Public Engagement Symposium & Technology Showcase will be March 9. Faculty and staff members, students and community partners can submit proposals for poster sessions, performances, concurrent sessions and panel discussions. Learn from and support the quality and variety of our scholarly and creative public engagement efforts. URL: http://www.conferences.uiuc.edu/engagementsymposium/ Kristine Juhl Ca...

SPAN 208 "Oral Spanish" is a prerequisite for SPAN 232 "Spanish in the Community." This spring we will offer only four sections of 208. This is one of our most popular courses, but it is not a requirement for the major or minor. So, if you want to get into SPAN 208 (0r SPAN 141, 204, 320), click here and consider the following announcement for a study-abroad program in Barcelona, Spain this summer .