Posted: Saturday, May 26, 2007 12:00 am
OSU class meets 15 hours per week, focuses on borders
By Mary Ann Albright
Gazette-Times reporter
With some classes, when the term ends, all lessons temporarily absorbed from lectures and textbooks dissipate, making room for more information that will be committed to short-term memory during late-night cramming sessions and then quickly forgotten.
Not so with Oregon State University's Spanish Learning Community, say the 25 students participating in this interdisciplinary, self-graded class that meets 15 hours per week - plus an additional 80 hours of service learning spread over 10 weeks.
Now in its second year, the spring-term course is led by Loren Chavarria, a senior instructor of Spanish, and Juan Antonio Trujillo, assistant professor of Spanish and linguistics. It's an offering of the Department of Foreign Languages and Literatures.
This time the theme is Frontieras, which means borders. Although the primary focus is the border between the United States and Mexico, and how it affects both U.S. citizens and people in Latin and Central America, other types of divisions are explored.
Socio-economic, gender, religious and political barriers are all constructs that separate people, the students said.
"The class helps us recognize some of the borders we have, some of the stereotypes we hold, and ways to break them," said sophomore Caitlin Wilson.
"As we get to know each other and through education about each other we build compassion for one another, and we can build bridges that help break barriers," added Elise Megale, a senior majoring in Spanish.
The participants are an even mix of native Spanish speakers and Spanish as a second language students, and are diverse in terms of age, heritage, major and political viewpoints.
They speak entirely in Spanish, except when other OSU faculty members not fluent in the language drop by as guest instructors.
For most of them, this is the only class they're taking this term. Spending so much time together has turned them into more of a family than just schoolmates, and although discussions can get pretty intense, and sometimes there are tears, they hug it out and walk away friends.
The students meet three times a week for five hours at various locations on campus and around town. On Friday they gathered in the bright, cozy living room at the Corvallis Multicultural Literacy Center.
Students signed up for the course looking to hone their Spanish skills, get practice in English Language Learning for future teaching careers and become immersed in the local Latin community.
"It's the closest I can get here in Corvallis to studying abroad and the immersion experience," said Elizabeth England, a fifth-year student earning degrees in Spanish and liberal studies. "I also liked the idea that I could be in one class and study art, literature, history, politics and economics."
For Kaitlin Callahan, the best part of the class was feeling like she had the right to converse in Spanish with native speakers, and get involved with cultural advocacy efforts.
"By far the coolest thing is it's gotten me to be a part of the Spanish-speaking community," said Callahan, a senior majoring in Spanish.
Through the service component of the class, students are doing everything from teaching English Language Learning classes in local schools to running bilingual drama programs to offering nutrition clinics to help native Spanish speakers cook more healthful versions of their favorite traditional fare.
Jake and Vanessa Baez, for example, are providing childcare while mothers learn English at a local community center.
For her part, Yecenia Martinez, a fifth-year ethnic studies major, is planning Si Se Pudo, a graduation ceremony for Latino students and their families put on by Casa Educacional.
The Latino population has a high college drop-out rate, so it's important to celebrate student success, said Martinez, who herself will graduate next month.
As the class winds down, students are getting ready to do a photography project, and will create portfolios of their work.
But even when the class ends, the cultural explorations will have just begun, students said.
"It's a gratifying, priceless experience," according to Claudia Bolais. "We discover ourselves every day."
Mary Ann Albright covers higher education. She can be reached at maryann.Albright@lee.net or 758-9518.