Breaking out of the normal lecture routine and participating in real world application is irreplaceable. Spanish professor Patricia Pérez took this idea to heart and created a project to connect University of Nebraska–Lincoln students with students at Zamorano University, a private university located in the Honduran valley of the Yeguare River.
Both groups of students read an article and then discuss with each other via Skype, a video conferencing tool. Pérez chose to pair with Zamorano University because she had worked there over the summer and made many connections with professors.
“I wanted to create this project because it’s a good opportunity for everyone to practice the languages. I hope this project allows my students in Spanish 203 and 341 to have confidence in their speaking abilities and to lose the fear of talking in a different language,” Pérez said.
After the discussion via Skype, students translate the articles and write a personal opinion about the discussion. However, the project became so much more than just discussing and translating an article. Nebraska students embraced the opportunity to personally get to know the students in Honduras and learn more about a culture so different from their own.
Kaiti Hill, a student at Nebraska, said, “the opportunity to speak with the students in Honduras via Skype is great. I always look forward to the days that we’re scheduled to Skype.”
The first meeting was on Sept. 13, 2016 and, as with many first time projects, had some minor problems.
“The Skype connection is weak sometimes so the audio cuts in and out,” Hill said. “It can be difficult to understand what my partners are saying between the poor connection and background noise.”
Once everyone was finally settled, however, groups enjoyed getting to know each other and having conversations about their lives, hobbies and future plans.
“We enjoy Skyping with the students in America,” Aldo Cifuentes, a student at Zamorano University said. “We have fun and we like to practice our English and have funny conversations and it’s a very cool way to learn more about things and help the American students with their Spanish too.”
Many new friends and relationships were formed from this project. Many groups added their Skype buddies on Facebook to stay connected, and some even intend to make plans to travel to meet their Skype buddies in person.
“It would be cool to come visit the U.S.,” Saul Aguilar, a student at Zamorano University said. “Probably in my fourth year at the university I could go because I could have a practice and work there.”
Cifuentes has already been to Atlanta and Miami because his uncle lives here, but he would like to visit again.
“After Skyping with the American students I would love to get some friends together and come explore Nebraska. My friend Mateo’s dad used to work in Nebraska so it’d be cool to get to see where he worked also,” he said.
Pérez hopes to continue this project in future classes.
“I want to create an agreement with the university so any classroom can use the Honduran students and use this project,” she said. “We can send in the class schedules from both schools and work to pair classes together.”
Pérez looks forward to receiving feedback about the project at the end of the semester to improve and make it better for the years to come.
It is evident that this hands-on project is an invaluable opportunity. It allows mutual benefits in students helping each other learn a foreign language. It is rare that students get to know about another culture first-hand without having to be abroad. While cultures may vary greatly, it is nice to remember that students have a common goal of getting a degree and creating a better future for their families and themselves.
Photo above: Junior Kaiti Hill talks to her Skype partner about the assigned article about ecotourism in Latin America. Photo courtesy Elizabeth Snyder.
