Immigrants Mentoring Students and Vice Versa: The Mutuality of Service

Today as part of the final exam in the Spanish for Service Professionals class, the students will be interviewing a panel of recent immigrants about their experiences in becoming integrated into life in the United States. What are the local institutions and agencies that have been welcoming, and how? What challenges do newcomers to the US and to NW Indiana face? How can we be a community of welcome?

 I am grateful to the students, agencies and local Latino community for their commitment to this learning process, and am proud of what these groups have accomplished since January while working together as a team. The group of twelve committed students have translated dozens of pages of documents for the local public school system, have translated and edited Spanish-language forms for a health clinic, have started an ESL class, have served in two tutoring programs in the community, and have worked in other capacities to make the local community more welcoming to newcomers.  Each student has given between 30 and 60 hours of community service time over the course of the past four months.

Today's exam is an opportunity to reflect on the experiences of our service, and how working in collaboration with the local Latino community we can strengthen the fabric of our city while learning from one another.  I look forward to hearing students' ideas for ways they will carry this experience into their future professional endeavors.

Reflexiones acerca del trabajo en la comunidad local

Hoy en la clase de Español para Profesionales de Servicio Social, hicimos una actividad de reflexión y evaluación de varios aspectos del servicio que se está llevando a cabo este semestre en varias agencias de la comunidad local en Valparaiso:  La escuela Central Elementary, la Misión Hispana Luterana Gloria Dei, el Centro Internacional de Valparaiso, la clínica HealthLinc, Porter County Prosecutor's Victim's Advocate Unit, y en unos programas de servicio que varios estudiantes hicieron durante Spring Break en Costa Rica y Honduras.  Hicimos las conversaciones en parejas, y luego cada pareja reportó sus conclusiones a la clase.  Las preguntas que hicimos y las instrucciones que les entregué a la clase siguen: 


REFLEXIÓN Y ANÁLISIS


Preguntas breves para hacer en parejas (tipo “speed-dating”) para reflexionar acerca del trabajo de servicio en la comunidad a lo largo del semestre.

Pónganse en parejas de dos / Escuchen una pregunta / Contesten la pregunta en parejas / Reporten sus respuestas a la clase.

1. ¿Cuáles son los 2 objetivos personales más importantes que tenías al comenzar tu proyecto, y cómo crees que has logrado esos dos objetivos?

2. ¿Cuáles son algunos retos o miedos que has podido superar a lo largo del semestre?

3. Nombra y explica 2-3 retos o dificultades con el trabajo en la agencia local? (La comunicación, las expectativas, la falta de orientación, etc)

4. ¿Cómo crees que tu experiencia de servicio te ayuda en tu futuros planes profesionales? ¿Cómo quieres servir en tu comunidad en el futuro?

5. Para otra generación de estudiantes y/o trabajadores que te sigan en tu agencia en la comunidad, ¿cómo quieres que se siga el trabajo que has comenzado este semestre?

6. ¿Cuáles son 2 cosas importantes que aprendiste de tu supervisor/a o del proyecto que estás llevando a cabo este semestre?

7. Da 2-3 razones que piensas que el servicio es un componente importante de la vida de un ser humano. (Aspectos posibles serían la experiencia, la educación práctica, el apoyo mutuo, etc.)

A Pioneer in Self-Correcting Grammar Exercises / Online Culture Activities

Colby College is a college in Maine.  Prof. Barbara Nelson teaches Spanish and for over 10 years she has been sharing self-correcting grammar exercises and culture activities online, for students to practice the concepts they're learning in class. 

http://www.colby.edu/~bknelson/SLC/index.php

My favorites are the song "Ojalá que llueva café" and the beautiful images for the Día de los Muertos activity.  On the right-hand column, the grammar activities are listed by topic.  When you complete an activity and submit it, you get feedback about your answers right away.

With Quia and Pearson's My Spanish Lab, many college classes have their workbook lab manuals available to students online, with auto-correct options for many activities.  But Professor Nelson was one of the pioneers, and her simple activities are still some of the best drills available. 

This website also provides instructions for making accent marks and setting up your computer with "international" keyboard settings.    Click on "resources'' to locate these instructions. 

Para practicar la interpretación oral / traducción simultánea

Ayer en la clase de Español 308, Spanish for Service Professionals, los estudiantes hicieron una práctica en clase de la interpretación.  Una representante de HealthLinc, una clínica médica local, vino a dar una orientación al trabajo en la comunidad con su organización.  Los estudiantes se turnaron para traducir la plática de la representante del inglés al español para el público de sus compañeros de clase.  Antes de hacer las traducciones, hablamos sobre la metodología de la interpretación.  Les di una lista de trucos para los principiantes de la traducción. 

Algunos trucos para hacer la traducción oral / la interpretación simultánea:



• Trata de hablar con la persona para la cual vas a ser traductor/a. Pregúntale si le han hecho alguna traducción antes, para saber si está familiarizado/a con el proceso.

• Pídele que hable despacio, muy claramente, y que se detenga después de cada frase. Recuédale justo antes de comenzar la conferencia que si puede hacer las frases breves, te ayudaría muchísimo.

• No tengas miedo de pedir que la persona se repita a veces. Es necesario que entiendas lo que vas a interpretar. La audiencia puede observar que el trabajo que estás haciendo es difícil, y ellos esperan recibir una traducción muy clara.

• Si vas a traducir en una reunión o conferencia, puede ser buena idea compartir esa información con toda la gente que asiste, para que sepan por qué estás susurrando o hablando en otro idioma. También, así se puede facilitar el entendimiento y la bienvenida para la comunidad inmigrante que asiste a la reunión.

• Si no sabes la palabra exacta, trata de seguir traduciendo. A veces, una persona del público te puede ayudar ofreciéndote una sugerencia para esa palabra. Si no, puedes seguir traduciendo y si quieres, puedes describir con otras palabras lo que el hablante quiere decir. Si no entiendes la idea o el concepto del hablante, no te preocupes. Píde disculpas y pídele que lo explique con otras palabras antes de que hagas la traducción.

• Trata de dar una interpretación honesta y exacta. Pero no entres en pánico si no sabes todas las palabras. Con tu habilidad y tu disponibilidad para hacer este servicio, estás facilitando la comunicación entre dos culturas. Trata de hacer el mejor trabajo que puedas, y deja las preocupaciones acerca de los errores. Acuérdate que la perfección no existe, y es más fácil pensar cuando estás relajado/a, tranquilo/a, y listo/a con las ganas y la confianza de seguir adelante.

Motivating Language Immersion

Language immersion camps have been around for a long time.  Middlebury in Vermont is an example with a long history:  http://www.middlebury.edu/ls/approach/pledge  Like study "abroad" at home, the programs offer students an academic environment for learning the language through immersion without leaving the country.  In the Midwest, there are the Concordia Language Villages:  http://www.concordialanguagevillages.org/newsite/Languages/spanish1.php  Some campuses have language houses: 

Where I teach here at Valparaiso University, we have a World Language Village in one of the nicest dorms on campus.  The deadline for the Spanish House is coming up in January.  Check it out:  http://www.valpo.edu/foreignlanguages/spanish/spanishhouse.php

Does making a promise to speak only the target language really work?  Middlebury has the trademark on the term "Language Pledge".  Asking a group to abide by a single language during an immersion experience has mixed results, according to students I know who have done these programs.  A key, I believe, is having particpants on board with the idea of signing a promise.  Also, there must be reasonable consequences for speaking, reading or writing anything but the target language. 

Being aware of the positive outcomes of such an immersion experience is key...especially when suffering through the headaches and frustrations of trying to spit out what you're trying to say in another language.  In essence, to learn a language through immersion, a person has to WANT to.  When I spent a year in Barcelona as an undergraduate with students from universities in California and Illinois, there were students who were already fluent in Spanish in our group.  There were others whose Spanish sounded just like the textbook, with an American accent (I was one of those!)  I pledged with myself early on to be wary of befriending Americans, and to speak as much Spanish as possible.  I chose a home stay option with a Señora who spoke no English.  I spent weekends meeting people who spoke Spanish and Catalán exclusively.  I particpated in a few "intercambios" (language exchanges) but found that I was giving English lessons during the precious time that I could be speaking Spanish with people who didn't want to use me for my English-teaching abilities.  I felt very selfish--but my theory worked, and I learned a ton of Spanish in my year in Spain.

What about studying local culture right here among the Latino community in Chicago?  This week I am learning more about a program organized by the Mexico Solidarity Network on immigration and community organizing.  http://mexicosolidarity.org/ausm/alternativebreaks.

We have great local resources for learning language through immersion.  Potential new friends live all around us!  Having the motivation and the "I want to  and I can do this" attitude helps a lot, too. 

Prayers: CPH's En el nombre de Jesús

Omar Weber published a book of prayers, a series of conversations with God about day-to-day matters of joy and concern, written in Spanish, which was a delight to me when I ordered a copy from Concordia Publishing House, entitled _En el nombre de Jesús_.  Our God is not just a god who sits in the heavens and looks down on us as sinful scoundrels making mistakes as he points and laughs at the entertainment of the fixes we get ourselves into by our own pig-headedness.  Ours is a God who came to dwell among us, to sit at the table with the down-and-out, the sorrowful, and the cheaters.  Some followers of Christ become friends of their Savior who first befriended us, enjoying communion, advice-seeking, confession, and a safe haven for fears, ideas, rants, hopes, and needs through conversations with the Lord. 

In his book of prayers, Pastor Weber intercedes about quotidien concerns that are common to Christians at particular moments in our lives.  He includes personal situations such as, "Thank you for all that I have and am" and "I have too much to do" and "I need to learn to work on a team", as well as prayers for community, including "Prayer for my sister" and "Prayer for those who are angry at the church";  these prayers are overflowing with love and devotion for the God who loves us infinitely more than we deserve, who invites us to cast our burdens and cares upon his strong shoulders. 

Back in early 2008, I asked the editors of CPH if I could translate a selection of twenty five or so of the prayers for a booklet to use as a Christmas gift the coming year for my family.  The editors granted permission and I got started.  They asked me to submit those translations for approval by the copyright office, and when I did, they offered me the translation job of the entire book.  I was surprised, a bit overwhelmed, and soon delighted by the task ahead of me.  I enjoyed a summer of sitting in the coffee shop, the public library, and at the kitchen table mediating on the words of the prayers until the pages fell out and I felt I knew the author as a friend.

If Advent is a time of reflection and prayer for you as it is for many believers, or if you're thinking of a gift for Christmas for a person of prayer:  hot off the press, the bilingual version of Pastor Weber's book of prayers In the Name of Jesus is available for less than $15. 

Chi-Chi-Chi Le-Le-Le

Without knowing whether the outside world was aware of their plight, "los 33" spent seventeen days in isolation below ground, rationing their eating to two spoonfuls of tuna every other day.  When they received the first contact from the outside, they scrawled a note in red marker and sent it to the surface in a ziplock bag: "Estamos bien en el refugio los 33". 

The tenacity for survival in the mountains of Atacama's mining community is rooted in faith.  Pictures broadcast around the world of Camp Hope, and the baby named Esperanza who was born during her father's captivity in the earth's entrails, gave the world a reason to smile as we received a couple day's worth of exciting and happy news.  When backed by the grit and resolve of a team of brave and hard-working heroes, a little bit of hope goes a long, long way.