Course Description: This course is part of your Spanish language learning experience, and offers you the opportunity to interact in a personal way with members of the local Latino community, thereby enriching your understanding of Hispanic cultures and the Spanish language. It is intended to involve WLC Spanish majors with local Latino communities to experience real-life connections between their Spanish program education and everyday issues in the surrounding Latino communities. Students will become involved in community projects of importance and relevance that engage them in matters relative to justice, compassion, diversity and social responsibility, and help them become effective multicultural community builders.
Course Narrative: This course was very different compared to all the classes I've taken so far, since we discussed many controversial topics in class that were related to the Hispanic/Latino community. We had assign readings and then discussed them in class in groups, they mainly portrayed the cruel experiences Hispanics students went through many years ago when they weren't allowed to speak Spanish in class. Also, another important topic we focused on was immigration through the use of poetry, readings, etc. We created our own opinions as individuals based on our knowledge and how we connected or related to the readings assigned. Completing my service learning hours was a great experience since I chose to work with a kindergarten class at an elementary school in east Salinas. Through this experience I understood the importance of bilingual tutors and teachers in order to help Hispanic students learn English without forgetting to practice their native language, Spanish. This course fulfills the requirements of MLO 1 Language Proficiency, we practice our Spanish writing, reading, listening, and speaking skills.