Finding space in a University Spanish class isn’t always easy — but a full class doesn’t mean students have to give up entirely on practicing Spanish for the term. Volunteer and internship opportunities can help students pick a career path, learn about Hispanic culture and become part of the community.
Sophomore Andrew Slade spent fall and winter term tutoring Spanish-speaking sixth and eighth graders in math at Kelly Middle School twice a week. He translated for the students and helped them with basic concepts.
“Some of the kids don’t know any English, or very little.” he said. “Spanish is the only way to communicate.”
Kelly Middle School has the highest number of English as a Second Language students in the county, and few teachers are fluent in Spanish, Participatory Learning Experience Coordinator Doris Baker said.
Slade received two credits a term as part of the PLE course, which is offered to students taking either Spanish or French. The credits go towards a student’s bachelors of arts or bachelors of science requirements, but they don’t fulfill any Spanish major or minor requirements.
As part of the PLE program, students who have taken 300-level or higher Spanish classes can tutor ESL students in elementary, middle or high schools or help high school Spanish teachers plan lessons. Students interning for Amigos de Los Sobrevivientes will help plan activities for Hispanic families that have recently moved to the Eugene area, and students can also intern for Birth to Three or the Family Literacy Program.
“Students will be able to practice their language skills and learn more about the cultural issues related to the Hispanic culture,” Baker said. For students considering education as a career, the internship “helps you understand what it means to be a teacher,” she said.
Students seeking extra speaking practice can find an ESL partner from Lane Community College. Academic advisor for the LCC downtown branch Paulina Mross said that many Hispanic students — primarily from Mexico, Columbia and Peru — live with Spanish-speaking families or friends and don’t have many opportunities to speak English. The exchange program allows American and Hispanic students to learn from each other, she said. Partners can meet at their own convenience and rotate speaking in Spanish and English, so that each person gains the language skills and cultural exposure from the other native speaker, she said.
The High School Equivalency Program — a federally funded project to help migrant, seasonal workers and their families receive their General Educational Development Diploma and move on to higher education — always looks for volunteers from the University and LCC to tutor the students in grammar, literature, math, science and social studies, HEP director Emilio Hernandez said.
Eighty percent of HEP students are Hispanic, Hernandez said, and most students are between the ages of 19 and 22, though some are in their 30s and 40s. Some have just moved to the United States; others have been involved in agricultural work in Oregon and Idaho for some time “and see themselves in a dead-end place,” he said.
HEP students will begin arriving for the 10-week term April 9, and Hernandez needs volunteers who can dedicate 8 to 12 hours a week, he said.
Slade plans to intern with Kelly Middle School again this term, he said. During the past two terms, he’s formed a relationship with his students, he said. Some invite him over for dinner with their parents, and they’ve all come to depend on Slade to understand the material.
“I feel like I’m making a difference,” he said. “When I’m not there, (the students) really don’t learn anything.”