I want my Spanish to improve…

Text and Photos by Kristopher Schmidt

Why did you decide to come to Peru on SST?

There are several study abroad options at Goshen College, so it seemed like a fair question to ask students early in the program.  Students have a number of reasons for choosing Peru.  Some are looking for a very urban experience (for some of the time at least) while others choose it for scheduling reasons (e.g. Premeds need a summer option).  Most of this group chose Peru because they wanted to improve their Spanish.  Many of them took a good amount of Spanish in high school, or they fell in love with Spanish at Goshen College, and now want to improve significantly.  They see the immersion option in Peru as a great vehicle towards personal language goals.  I was most impressed by one education student who remarked that she wants to be able to relate well with her native spanish speaking students and their parents when she is a teacher in Goshen IN.  She would eventually like to include both languages in her classes.  What a great bridge-builder!  ¡Maravilloso!

Students studying here in Peru take 4 credits of Spanish and are placed in small groups with one of three stellar teachers (Ana, Irene, and Moises).  Students get vocabulary and conjugation lessons as well as a lot of time to practice speaking, listening and writing.  We also work hard to connect the language classes to what we are studying in our intercultural communications and history courses, and in their conversations with host families.  It warms my professorial heart to be able to so easily offer links between numerous courses and experiences all at the same time.  For example, if we are talking about the current political climate in Peru our students will read an article in El Pais or La Republica in Spanish and then will ask their parents (using Spanish) how they feel about the upcoming run-off election between Keiko Fujimori (daughter of former dictator Alberto Fujimori) and PPK here on June 5th.  Great right?

We can also do very practical things using our Spanish.  For example this morning we went to the market for one hour and then had a cook-off.  Students made ensalada de frutas, triples, butifarras, and  sándwiches de atún.  These are simple meals but students will had to buy the items themselves and then present the dishes to their peers.

Also, here is a recording of a little Spanish hymn we sang together.  The recording is terrible, but you get the idea.

 

See you soon!