Category Archives: Language

Service-Learning in Cusco, Perú

When I went abroad to Cusco, Perú, my program offered a service-learning component. The service-learning component acted as a deciding factor for me to go through the program. The program offered several options for service-learning placements including at an alpaca farm, afterschool programs, kindergartens, medical centers, and a human rights organization. They conducted phone interviews the winter before I left with those who signed up for service-learning. During the phone interview, they took note of my level of Spanish fluency. We had a basic conversation, asking where I was from, where I went to school, and what I enjoy doing. This conversation mattered because some positions, like the human rights organization, required higher levels of fluency whereas the alpaca farm did not require these levels of Spanish. They also asked what I was looking for in a position. I told them that when I went abroad, my main goal was to gain Spanish fluency, and I viewed service-learning as an opportunity to speak more Spanish with the local community. I ranked working with children and the human rights organizations as my top two choices. They gave me options on the same call, saying I could do either. They recommended that if my goal was indeed to practice Spanish, working with children would be my best bet. The other position revolved around administrative tasks and Microsoft Excel which would have also been a great opportunity, but I figured I could develop these skills just as easily with an English-speaking position in the United States. I confirmed being placed with children. Continue reading →

Nicaragua and Becoming a Spanish Major

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I have always had a good relationship with Spanish ever since I took my first Spanish class in 7th grade. I remember having to choose whether I wanted to take Spanish or French in Middle school and it was such an easy decision. I enjoyed the way my teacher taught the class and I always did well. My relationship only grew when my brother got a job at the local ski mountain. He worked with a bunch of kids from Argentina, Peru, and Brazil. I was so amazed at how nice and welcoming these people were. They would meet someone once and immediately become their friend. As a result I started to work at the same place and made some friends of my own. While these things contributed to my decision, my love for Spanish really endured during high school. Continue reading →

The Spanish and Portuguese department wants you to succeed

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At UMass, I am in an interesting position of being a part of two very different colleges. One is CNS for my biology major, and the other is HFA for my Spanish major. Beyond the obvious differences within the classes and material, over the past three years I have been able to observe some wild differences between the advisors and professors. In CNS, it can be very difficult to make a connection with my teachers, as in the majority of my classes, I am one of two hundred students sitting in a lecture hall. When I first came to UMass, I had not yet declared a Spanish major, and was unable to enroll in any classes before all the seats were taken by upperclassmen. For this reason, all of my first experiences with my professors were within CNS and therefore extremely distant. Once I began taking classes within the Spanish and Portuguese department, I was shocked at how willing some of the professors and advisors are to help you find what you truly love. Within this department, there are truly genuine people who want you to succeed and will help to get you to your goals. Continue reading →

The importance of being bilingual

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What does it mean to be bilingual?

A bilingual person is someone who completely masters two languages at the same time, but these languages must meet the same level of knowledge.

My parents have always insisted on the importance of being bilingual. They talked about all the benefits and opportunities that I would get if I knew more than one language. My mom being from Colombia and my dad from El Salvador spoke Spanish to me from an early age. They always wanted me to speak their native language and that’s why they started to teach me from an early age. Knowing more than one language is of great importance today. Being bilingual is very important as it opens many doors in life. Spanish is one of the most spoken languages around the world. There are too many reasons and advantages as to why a person should learn Spanish. Here are a few reasons on why I believe people should learn Spanish… Continue reading →

Salamanca Summer Program

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As a foreign language major (or minor), I think that having a study abroad experience is so important. Last spring I decided last minute that I wanted to do the Summer Salamanca program in Spain. I was in desperate need of credits in order to graduate in a timely manner and I had heard from a friend who did this program that it was amazing and that you get 9 credits. I thought that this sounded amazing and was very happy to hear that you get 9 credits in just one month. It seemed like an opportunity I could not pass up. Continue reading →

Reach out to your professors and advisors, they are here to help you succeed!

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When I first got to UMass, I was very shy about advocating for myself. When I had any type of issue, I would usually avoid it instead of talking to my advisor (Luis Marentes). I have since come to realize the importance of meeting with advisors and appreciate all Luis has done for me over the past 4 years I’ve been here. As I’ve gone through many ups and downs during my time at UMass, I think the most important thing that I’ve learned is to not be afraid to advocate for myself. If I don’t do it, no one else will do it for me.

This semester is my last semester at UMass. This past September, I was enrolled in an intensive intermediate Italian course. It turns out that I hated it and needed to find a new class to switch into fast before the end of the add-drop period. With no luck finding anything on my own, I decided to reach out to Patricia Gubitosi, who I’ve had the pleasure of having as a professor and advisor. I told her about my dilemma, and she put me in contact with Danielle Thomas of the Spanish and Portuguese department. Professor Thomas does a lot of community work with Spanish speaking communities in and around Amherst. When I met with Professor Thomas, she told me that I could do an independent study with her. I had no idea what an independent study was before our meeting. I honestly thought it was something that graduate students do. During our meeting, she told me she was working on a research study, looking at the linguistic backgrounds of native and non-native Spanish speakers. She proposed that I could help with the study by doing data collection. Basically, my job would be interviewing Spanish speaking participants and doing several speaking activities with them. At first, I was a little bit nervous because I’m naturally a timid person, and feel like I’m not the best at talking with people. But I wanted to give it a chance because I knew it would get me out of my comfort zone. Continue reading →

Why a Spanish Major if I am a Puerto Rican?

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I was placed in an ESL (English as a second language) class in third or fourth grade. I was unaware at the fact that I was going to lose my ability to speak the Spanish language fluently. I learned grammar rules, wrote essays and conversed with the teacher in English. I eventually became “proficient” in English and was placed in regular classes with monolingual children.
At the beginning of Fall semester 2018, I met with my advisor about studying abroad in Spain, Salamanca. (I was currently taking the 240 Spanish course.) She said to me in Spanish, “Why are you taking that Spanish course? You already know Spanish.” I was embarrassed to tell her that I barely knew anything about the grammar rules in Spanish. I spoke back to her in Spanish making sure to avoid making any mistakes, afraid that she would figure me out. She proceeds, “you can easily take the Spanish proficiency test and receive all the credits you need because you are a native speaker.” I believed her and made the appointment to take the test the following week. (My family speaks Spanish; I attend a Hispanic church and I can do what I call “defend myself” in conversations.) Continue reading →

Learning the Value of Connections Through Language

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When I went to college, I was certain that I wanted to be a doctor. I had taken Spanish classes from 7th-12th grade, and I planned to continue to take them, mostly per the suggestion of my parents. I completed three semesters at the University of New Hampshire studying Biomedical Sciences, on the pre-med track, and planning to minor in Spanish. During my time there, I toyed with the idea of changing my major a few times, and went through the typical add-drop period taking some natural resource conservation classes, or some sustainable agriculture classes, but ultimately ended up sticking with my original plan. I spent my time at UNH generally unhappy, mostly because I refused to put myself out there upon arrival in college. I was shy and was uninterested in having what I thought to be forced conversations with people, so I isolated myself and ended up often being pretty lonely. I applied to transfer, but then doubted my gut feelings and tried to push them away, convincing myself that I simply had to give UNH more of a chance. Finally, right around the approach of finals during my sophomore year fall, I woke up one morning and something just snapped. I was done being in this cycle of misery that I was caught in. I opened my laptop and submitted an application to transfer to UMass for the following spring semester. I called my mom after the fact, and told her what I’d done, and she was supportive. Continue reading →

Following the Signs: You’ll always make the right choice.

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I applied to a program in Valparaiso, Chile. It offered both Spanish and Sociology classes which is perfect because I just added my secondary Sociology major in the spring of my sophomore year and really need to play catch-up. While Argentina also offered these courses, the Valparaiso program cost less and sounded more colorful, interesting, and suitable for me.

Unfortunately, things took a turn after the long process of running around getting approval from this person and that person and after turning in this document and that document. I was accepted into the program, turned in my housing and course information, and paid what I needed to pay after my financial aid award. Then I began to hear of trouble brewing in Chile. Thanks to the weekly assignments in my Spanish Speaking World Prep program class (Spanish 394Pl) to read a Latin American newspaper story and write about it, I kept a close eye on Chile. With a slight increase in metro prices after an increase in electricity costs a month before, the country blew up in nationwide protests. Continue reading →