The Peculiarities Of Spanish Language Class

Background and Introduction

I teach at a 2-year HBCU Private Community College in Arkansas. I have been teaching at the college for five years. Different ethnic backgrounds generally enroll in college. About 250 students are enrolled on campus this semester. The college typically has a small percentage of Hispanic students each semester. Some of the Hispanic students graduate from college here, and some transfer to other Institutions for different degree programs. The college offers General Studies, Entrepreneurial Studies, Christian Leadership, Criminal Justice, and Child Development. Most of the students transfer to 4-year Universities to earn a bachelor’s degree. The other students who do not transfer to a 4- year university enter the workforce.

The school also has a second chance program. I was one of the first teachers to teach for the second chance program in 2015. I taught English and Oral Communications at the Juvenile unit in Little Rock, Arkansas. Those students in the juvenile group would often ask why the school did not offer other languages as elective classes. The second chance pell program is held off-site at various prison sites in the state of Arkansas. The second chance pell program serves students from multiple ethnic backgrounds.

Instructors from the different prison locations teach part-time at the prisons. Although, some Instructors from the main campus teach at the prison sites. A Spanish class would be a great asset to the primary school and prison sites for off-site students. A couple of semesters ago, a Spanish course was offered at the main campus, but a situation occurred, and the Instructor could not teach the classes that semester. Also, I am not sure how many students signed up to take the course as an elective. I recommended my advisees to sign up for the Spanish course, and some of them did sign up for the class.

Review of Literature

Most 4- year universities require a foreign language before you graduate college. If the students could take a semester of Spanish and transfer that credit to the 4- year university. Once the student moves, they can focus on other required classes to complete a bachelor's degree. If a student takes the time to learn a foreign language, they will have greater success in the future. Many companies search for and hire proficient bilinguals. (Thomas & Collier, 2012). The student would have a better chance for a career if their parents enrolled them in K- 12 programs.

Although there are many benefits to enrolling in a foreign language, the fewer student is enrolling in the classes (Hiroko, 2015). This study evaluated foreign languages such as Japanese, Chinese, Russian, Arabic, and French. In 2006 the college enrollment was 17, 758, 870 students were enrolled in college, and 1,522, 770 students were enrolled in foreign languages. There were 1,170,558 enrolled from 4- year universities and 366,282 enrolled at 2- year colleges (Hiroko, 2015). Notice how small the foreign language enrollment numbers are significantly lower at community colleges.

The low enrollment numbers may connect to fewer students taking foreign language classes (Hiroki, 2015). There could be several reasons why students do not enroll in foreign language classes. Dual Language and foreign language programs are essential with us being in this century. More dual-language programs are also needed in Arkansas to better prepare the students for college.

The second chance program could benefit from the Spanish course offering in the units. If the inmates take some semesters of Spanish, they could include that on their resume. Drew, Duval, & Cyr (2015) indicate that Spanish native tongue speakers can help teach Spanish to the prisoners. Those native tongue Spanish prisoners would receive pay for assisting Instructors with Spanish courses. Spanish courses will not be an easy program to implement in prison, but in the end, the prisoners will reap the benefits. The prisoners will need a dedicated Instructor who is willing to teach the Spanish courses. Drew, Duval, & Cyr (2015) suggest that four semesters of Spanish were necessary for them to have a working knowledge of Spanish. Of course, the Instructor assistant would have to go through training with instructors to review the syllabus and curriculum for the class.

Drew, Duval, & Cyr (2015) selected four graduates to be the Instructor or Professor assistants. Two Puerto Ricans, one Dominican Republican, and one Columbian was chosen. Technology is a big part of the education system. However, prisoner’s technology use is limited in prison sites across the country. Drew, Duval, & Cyr (2015) was able to get the prison to approve compact cd for the prisoners to listen to their Spanish material in their cells. The small cd was okay if the unit experienced a major lockdown. The prisoners would still be able to listen and learn Spanish material.

Instructor assistants would have a task monitoring behavior and disciplinary issues of the prisoners them being prisoners also. (Jackson & Burke, 1965). The Instructor would have to make sure that other prisoners do not disrespect the assistants. The Instructor should come up with repercussions if the prisoners disobey the Instructor's assistant. Every program has its pros and cons. Drew, Duval, & Cyr (2015) indicated that a language program in prison improves self-confidence, respect, and job opportunities for its graduates. Also, this peer Pedagogy and curriculum can be implemented by any community college teaching at a prison (Drew, Duval, & Cyr, 2015).

Methodology

I was only able to talk with a few students to understand their feeling about foreign language classes on our campus. I was going to interview our willing Hispanic students and African American Students on campus before the COVID-19 pandemic. I was able to talk to some of my advisee students on campus. The data shows that there are 26 community colleges in Arkansas. None of the community colleges in Arkansas offer foreign language classes. Most of the foreign languages' courses are offered at the 4- year universities. More than half of our students transfer to 4- year universities in the state of Arkansas.

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Place Order

Classes are held generally held in the Sherman Tyree building or the library on campus. The courses can keep at least 20- 25 students per classroom. I consider the college to be a small campus. The college has a gym, library, Administration building, Student center with dining hall attached, Financial aid/ business building, and building for the President and Bishop to hold a meeting. The school is in a predominately African American neighborhood. This Institution has served a beacon of light for the surrounding community.

There are ten full - time faculty on the main campus. All full- time faculty are African American women and men. The entire full- time faculty are required to be members of the faculty senate. Adjunct faculty are not required to be members of the faculty senate. However, if adjunct faculty members would like to attend the senate meeting, they can participate in the meeting. Some of the adjunct faculty teach at the prison sites around Arkansas. Academic and Student Affairs are combined under the same unit. The Associate and Assistant deans teach classes at the prison sites most semesters.

The largest population student on campus is African American. The student population is composed of traditional and non- traditional students. There is a percentage of Hispanic and Caucasian students on campus. But there are usually more Hispanic students than Caucasian students on campus. Most of the students speak English. However, many of the Hispanic students have been in America since they were toddlers. Most of the Hispanic students can still talk some Spanish. Many students on campus come from low-income families.

The college recently started having Cinco De Mayo Celebrations on campus. The college partners up with Mexican restaurants and businesses, our Hispanic students, and their family to put on a big celebration every May. The festival consists of a live Hispanic band from in the community with dance and lots of food. Different restaurants set up different tables and serve Hispanic meals. The city is invited to attend the Cinco de Mayo Celebration. The Hispanic students and businesses explain the significance of Cinco de Mayo.

I know the college receives various grants and funding. The African Methodist Episcopal (AME) donates money yearly to the college. I do not know how much the AME church gives to Shorter College. Perhaps some of the extra money could be used to fund the Spanish class on campus. The campus should at least offer two sections of Spanish courses to begin. Other organizations donate various monies to the college. The college's goals are to increase funding for new programs on campus.

Findings

The study revealed a few discoveries. First, it showed that employers search for students who speak more than one language. Also, it is even better if students had the opportunity to go through or graduate from a dual-language program. During the 2012-2013 school year, the U.S. Department of Education disclosed that the most common partner languages were French, Spanish, Chinese, and Native American languages (Boyle et al., 2015: 30-31).

Second, the study revealed that the college has the means to offer Spanish classes and programs for students. The Literature review shows that Spanish courses would benefit off-site students in the second chance program. The Spanish courses were more beneficial if the Instructor if they had a previous or current student to help teach classes. There are Hispanic inmates in the prisons in Arkansas. The types of teachers have a significant impact on the student, whether they are inmates or not. Furthermore, research confirms that the most important thing contributing to a student's success in the classroom is the quality of teaching (Mizell, 2010). The college should seek out Instructors that are compassionate and committed to teaching any foreign language class.

Besides, I expected that students would register more for the Spanish language class if they knew how the course would benefit them. Many students failed to sign up for the class because they didn't realize that the Spanish class was offered. I didn't expect more than 10-15 to register for the course. When I advised my students, I always recommended the Spanish class as an elective when it was offered. It was often hard to find a committed Spanish teacher to teach a couple of levels. So, I always expected that the classes would be canceled or postponed until another semester. I expected the college to ask some of the instructors to see if they could teach the course or if they knew any committed Spanish teachers. The administration did not ask any of the faculty or staff if they knew of any instructors who had the credentials to teach the Spanish class.

The researched provided me with some insight. If the college started off offering Spanish classes, then in the future, they could add other foreign language classes. The college has transfer agreements with most the 4- year colleges in the state of Arkansas. Those 4- year universities must accept the transfer credit hours from Shorter College. Since most of our students transfer to other colleges, the foreign language classes would help lessen their load at the 4- year University.

In conclusion, the students I advise have some knowledge of how the Spanish class would benefit their futures. My research method was not as effective as it could have been. The college campus closed due to COVID 19 pandemic. It was challenging to reach out to students through college emails. It would be more effective If I could have emailed the students at an earlier date. I would have composed a list of structured interview questions to ask a select group of students. I would keep the same procedure to receive feedback from students. Next time I would interview some faculty to get some of their constructive feedback.