Foreign Language

New Spanish Language Units Spur Student Engagement

New grade-level themes in the Middle School inspired Spanish Teachers Sara Hodges and Coleman Rose to spend the summer developing six new Spanish units to broaden students’ perspectives on the world, especially Spanish-speaking countries. The new units draw on history, culture, literature, and current events to investigate topics such as water conservation (6th grade), immigration and migrant worker rights (7th grade), and Spanish colonialism (8th grade). Throughout the units, students further their skills in reading, writing, speaking, and listening to Spanish.

All of the new units tap into complex issues of contemporary relevance and connect to content that students are exploring in their other classes. The water conservation unit ties into the 6th grade study of climate change in humanities and their investigation of oceans in science. The unit on immigration and migrant worker rights parallels the 7th grade humanities unit on immigration to the US between 1850–1900 and the trends that continue today. In 8th grade humanities, students delve into pre-Hispanic history and civilization in South America, so the Spanish unit on colonialism and its lasting impact on indigenous cultures follows the story of history through to the present day.

The combination of challenging content, the connections to learning in other disciplines, and the emphasis on social justice is a recipe for student engagement in Middle School. With compelling content, students have new reasons to use the language.

Immigration and Migrant Workers’ Rights Unit Inspires 7th Graders to Take Action

Having just completed the first of the new units—immigration and migrant workers’ rights—Sara and Coleman saw new energy in their classrooms. Coleman said, “[The students] felt accomplishment at reading a short novel from cover to cover in Spanish.” He also noted, “The child labor they learned about in our own country was what seemed to most hit home to them.” In response to his students’ engagement, Coleman gave them the option to extend the unit by creating action projects to address what they perceived as injustices that had surfaced during the unit. They, along with a few students from Sara’s class, jumped at the chance.

One group of 7th graders was concerned about instances of unjust deportation and searched for an organization that helps immigrants with legal representation. After hearing about the Capital Area Immigrants’ Rights (CAIR) Coalition from Coleman, the group decided to hold a bake sale to raise money for the organization, which provides legal services and education to immigrants, as well as training for attorneys specializing in immigration and criminal justice. Students also reached out to see if the Coalition could send representatives to speak to the Middle School about their mission.

The second group chose to create an awareness campaign about labor laws as they apply to the children of migrant workers. After completing research, they produced a silent film with text in both English and Spanish to draw attention to the problem of children who labor on farms instead of going to school. They also sent out a call to action urging lawmakers to pass laws that protect child farm workers and provide them with an education. In addition, they asked the government to make information about current laws and protections more accessible to immigrants, especially those who speak other languages.

Social Justice and the Language Classroom

In our interconnected world, learning to speak another language well is an invaluable skill. But, language education is about so much more. As the mission of the American Council on the Teaching of Foreign Languages states, “The US must educate students to be linguistically and culturally prepared to function as world citizens.”

The new social justice themes that have been woven into the Middle School Spanish curriculum give students extra motivation to develop their language skills, and they also prompt students to examine the world through a critical lens. Head of School Debbie Gibbs reflects, “Learning about struggles that happen across the world helps students develop understanding, empathy, and a sense of global connection.” And action projects like the ones that Coleman encouraged his students to undertake give students a way to channel their newfound understandings. In Middle School Spanish, students are learning the many ways they can use their voices to communicate, connect, and contribute as citizens of the world.

Compelling Content Promotes “World-Ready” Learning

Materials for the new Middle School units were selected and created to stretch students’ skills while making sure the content would be accessible for all. As much as possible, teachers sought authentic materials from the Spanish-speaking world. In addition to addressing grade-level themes and questions, the units were designed to meet the “World-Readiness Standards for Learning Languages” created by the American Council on the Teaching of Foreign Languages (ACTFL).

6th Grade Water Conservation—In this unit students discuss the importance of using water resources wisely as well as practical strategies for doing so at home and at school. They read articles in Spanish and watch a short film with no words for which they write a script, also in Spanish. As a final project, they create water conservation ads.

7th Grade Immigration and Migrant Worker Rights—Class discussions focus on the various political and economic factors that cause people to migrate. After learning about the history of Guatemala, students read Esperanza by Carol Gaab, a Spanish-language novel about a family’s experience during the Guatemalan civil war. They also review US migrant labor laws and watch La Cosecha, a documentary film from 2011 about the children of migrant workers in the US.

8th Grade Spanish Colonialism—In a preliminary unit, students explore the Cochabomba water crisis in Bolivia and its impact on indigenous populations. Later, students watch Y Tambien La Lluvia in which a film crew goes to Bolivia to do a movie about the conquest of Christopher Columbus and gets caught up in the water crisis. This film becomes the jumping-off point for lessons exploring the history of Spanish colonialism, including the role of Christopher Columbus and Bartolomé de las Casas.