![\"Photo](\"https:\/\/www.wisconsin.edu\/all-in-wisconsin-new\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/378\/2020\/12\/EAU_Spanish_Dr.CarterSmith_20191016-Pablo-Farm-0175-four-three-300x225.jpg\")
\u201cLanguage isn\u2019t something you keep to yourself,\u201d Bethany Johnson, a UW-Eau Claire sophomore from Rice Lake, says of studying Spanish. \u201cYou have to get to know people and cultures because a language is something you share with other people. Spanish is a way to make connections and to learn about other people.\u201d<\/p>\n
Bethany, who is majoring in biology and Spanish, is among the Blugolds making those important connections with Spanish speakers through UW-Eau Claire\u2019s \u201cCommunity-Based Spanish\u201d University Honors course.<\/p>\n
Now in its third year, the class gives students opportunities to put their language skills to use by immersing them in Eau Claire or nearby places where native-Spanish speakers often gather.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe students experience different groups of Spanish-speaking people from different parts of the world who are here for different reasons,\u201d says Dr. Carter Smith, the professor of languages who teaches the class. \u201cIt gives them a unique experience outside the classroom.\u201d<\/p>\n
For example, some students volunteer at the Chippewa Valley Free Clinic, greeting native-Spanish-speaking patients or playing with their children during their parents\u2019 appointments. Others visit with people after the weekly Spanish mass at a church in Altoona or help area schools translate documents into Spanish.<\/p>\n
Still others visit a local cafe where Spanish-speaking community members gather weekly for coffee and conversation. The people who meet there are from various Spanish-speaking parts of the world, many of whom are professionals or are married to professionals who have found their way to the Chippewa Valley for different reasons, Smith says.<\/p>\n The opportunity to communicate outside the classroom with native-Spanish speakers who have had different life experiences is a wonderful learning experience, Bethany says.<\/p>\n \u201cGrammar and conversational fluency are very different things,\u201d Bethany says. \u201cWe get to experiment with communicating with people from different places who often have different accents.\u201d<\/p>\n Every fall Smith\u2019s class also tours a western Wisconsin dairy farm that has long hired migrant workers from Mexico.<\/p>\n The students use their Spanish language skills to talk with the workers, learning about the farm as well as the workers\u2019 families and their lives in western Wisconsin and in Mexico.<\/p>\n \u201cIt\u2019s a unique out-of-the-classroom experience,\u201d Smith says of the visit to the farm. \u201cThe classroom is a controlled environment, but this isn\u2019t controlled. It\u2019s more spontaneous, which is important to language growth.\u201d<\/p>\n Bethany agrees, noting that by touring the farm she gained knowledge about the agricultural industry \u2014 an industry that is important to the region \u2014 while also growing her Spanish vocabulary.<\/p>\n \u201cWe spent the day on a dairy farm learning about and from workers who are here from Mexico,\u201d Bethany says of the daylong visit. \u201cAgriculture is a big part of our community, so it was interesting to learn about the farm. We also learned a lot about the workers’ journeys, all while being immersed in the Spanish language.<\/p>\n \u201cThere are lots of aspects of Spanish that you can\u2019t learn in the classroom or in a book, so this was a great opportunity to get to know new people and cultures.\u201d<\/p>\n Grace Johnson, a sophomore accounting and Spanish major from Menasha, says she also found the time at the farm valuable.<\/p>\n It was interesting, she says, to think in advance about questions to ask the workers, to learn new Spanish words that relate to farming, and to then put her language skills to use by talking with the Spanish-speaking farm workers.<\/p>\n \u201cIt was really fun to be out there talking with them in Spanish,\u201d Grace says. \u201cMaking the connections by talking to them in their own language was fun. We asked questions and they talked a lot in response. I can tell that they really appreciate that we are learning Spanish and that we were interested in them.\u201d<\/p>\n Bringing his students to the farm also helps them put a face on immigration, a topic that students often hear about from media and other sources, Smith says.<\/p>\n \u201cIt gives the students a different perspective about immigration than what they hear in politics or on TV,\u201d Smith says. \u201cThis is not a political class; it\u2019s not about current events. But immigration is a topic that often makes people get on one side or the other and that\u2019s not necessary.<\/p>\n \u201cThe students get to know the workers here. They find out what life is like for them here, why they are here, what their life is like in Mexico. They find out they are different from each other but not that different.\u201d<\/p>\n Through the community interactions, students also learn that their language skills don\u2019t have to be perfect, Smith says, adding that the Spanish-speaking community members appreciate the students\u2019 interest in them and their language.<\/p>\n \u201cWhen they are out in the community, they are finding out that they can make mistakes, but still be understood,\u201d Smith says. \u201cMost of these students have not yet studied abroad. They are learning that they will survive in a Spanish-speaking country. It\u2019s giving them more confidence.\u201d<\/p>\n While she values the connections she\u2019s making in the community, Bethany says the class also is helping her meet new people on campus.<\/p>\n For example, she recently met with members of UW-Eau Claire\u2019s Latinx Student Association, something she likely wouldn\u2019t have thought to do on her own.<\/p>\n \u201cI took this community-based Spanish class because I wanted to form connections,\u201d says Bethany, who will study abroad in Spain in the 2020 spring semester. \u201cI wanted to force myself to speak Spanish outside of the classroom. It\u2019s easy in class to hide behind a book or know how to speak in that setting. It\u2019s intimidating to talk with native Spanish speakers because it\u2019s easy to think you\u2019re not good enough. In this class, I\u2019m making those connections on campus and in the community.\u201d<\/p>\n Looking ahead, Grace and Bethany say having strong Spanish language skills will broaden their opportunities after graduation.<\/p>\n Knowing a second language is valued by employers, and the community-based Spanish class will help them demonstrate that they have experience interacting with people from different backgrounds, the students say.<\/p>\n \u201cI will be able to make connections with more people if I can speak to them in Spanish, which means the business I work for can broaden the scope of people they can reach,\u201d Grace says of why a future employer would find her Spanish language skills valuable.<\/p>\n Bethany, who is leaning toward a career in education, says having Spanish-speaking skills, as well as an understanding of different Spanish-speaking populations and cultures, will help her better understand and connect with diverse student populations. Recognizing that a significant number of Spanish-speaking people live in western Wisconsin is what first inspired her to begin studying Spanish when she was still in high school, Bethany says.<\/p>\n \u201cYou don\u2019t have to travel thousands of miles to encounter someone who speaks Spanish,\u201d Bethany says. \u201cThey are in our communities. It\u2019s important to know them and their stories.\u201d<\/p>\n That philosophy, Smith says, aligns perfectly with the goals of his community-based Spanish class.<\/p>\n \u201cYou don\u2019t take a language to conjugate verbs,\u201d Smith says. \u201cYou take a language to build community and make connections. That\u2019s what this class is all about.\u201d<\/p>\n![\"Photo](\"https:\/\/www.wisconsin.edu\/all-in-wisconsin-new\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/378\/2020\/12\/EAU_Spanish_20191016-Pablo-Farm-0093-four-three-300x225.jpg\")