Author Archives: Estefany Barrios Robles

Community Service Experience

One community service experience that I have had at UMass has been working as a lab assistant. In spring 2023, I worked in Dr. Megan Gross’s bilingual language development lab, where I had many roles. I worked collaboratively in creating arts and crafts that went along with a bilingual book read to the participants. I also went to a center in Holyoke, called Enlace de Familias, where other lab members and I offered to babysit the children of families while the parents learned about cooking and about the Dr. Megan Gross’s study of bilingualism. We also went to a school in Northampton, where Dr. Megan Gross talked to families about the study while we babysat the toddlers and did some activities that went along with the bilingual book that we brought to keep the children entertained. In the lab, I had the role of transcribing what the children responded to each picture of the study, whether it was in English, Spanish, or code-switching. It is interesting to see children ages 4-7 and how they respond to bilingualism. I would recommend community service, because seeing how you can positively influence others’ lives is a very rewarding experience. In my case, I loved helping children develop their language skills and become bilingual in order to have better opportunities in the future.

Learning Through Different Disciplines

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Since I am a Spanish major, most of the courses that I have taken at UMass have been in the Spanish department. Spanish 394 PI Preparation for Programs Abroad has taught me a lot about being open-minded when traveling in view of all the different cultures/traditions, lifestyles, and different dialects of a language. This course of preparation before studying abroad connected specifically to another course I took, Spanish 350, Translation Today. Spanish 350 has provided me with the opportunity to translate several types of documents from Spanish to English and vice versa. Spanish 394 PI has opened my eyes to variations of a language spoken in a country. Whereas in Spanish 350, for example, I translated documents from the Holyoke Zoo. When I learned that they wanted the translation in Puerto-Rican Spanish, this was mind-opening for me as a native Spanish speaker, to see that not all Spanish speakers use the same name to refer to an animal. I also think that both of these classes are related because, in a way, both of them required me to see the importance of translation and variation within one language in one’s daily life. These different disciplinary perspectives have taught me that knowing or learning another language opens doors to meeting new groups of people and getting to know different cultures. In addition, these courses have shown me that there is a strong need for translation in order to take down linguistic barriers in all types of situations, whether it is in a doctor’s appointment, while shopping, or when going out to the zoo or to an amusement park, while spreading news and in communications with family and friends. Last, after taking both of these classes, I see the importance of translation as a form of inclusivity. In conclusion, learning through different disciplines in the Spanish major has helped me open my mind to the diversity of cultures, dialects, and the importance of translation to bring communities together in the Spanish-speaking world, also about the linguistic barriers that exist in our community.

Spanish & health certificate and possible job opportunities