by Aaron Marvel

Two small girls toe the line of the white tile in a first grade classroom at Sallie Cone Elementary in Conway. They impatiently grip a flyswatter while waiting for their Spanish teacher to call the next animal name — tigre! At the word, both flash to the dry-erase-board, hoping to be first to swat the face of the tiger, which sparks an eruption of applause for the winner.

The girls and other youngsters in the class are part of a new initiative of the Department of World Languages, Literatures and Cultures at the University of Central

Arkansas designed to provide extracurricular Spanish courses to primary school students. The first courses were offered in the spring, with UCA Spanish majors and minors serving as teachers in hopes of integrating a new language and culture into the 501 community.

According to Rachael Small, one of the students teaching in the program, the rewarding moments come when the children begin to think in Spanish.

“Sometimes they’ll surprise you and say something like ‘Es un chofer!’(It’s an automobile driver!)”

Small knows that while this is only a simple sentence, it is also the beginning of a language learning journey to fluency, which can be mind expanding.

Studies show as individuals age, the harder learning a language becomes. Therefore, the World Languages Department encourages starting a second or third language as soon as possible. “With the rise in globalization, it is increasingly important for American children to learn a second language in order to compete in the marketplace and to communicate in society.  “Only 9 percent of Americans report being able to speak another language as compared to over 30 percent of Europeans,” reported Phillip Bailey, professor of French, and chair of the UCA World Languages Department.

Learning a second language can also improve critical thinking abilities, cognitive abilities and enhances creativity, according to the American Council on the Teaching of Foreign Languages. Thus, learning a second language can help improve learning experiences in other subjects as well.

According to Sera Streiff-Vena, director of the Community Language School in the World Languages Department, not only does the program help native English speakers learn a new language, but it also provides a medium for native Spanish speakers in the class to lead in learning activities and to share their culture with their peers, which can lead to a unified community. 

“It has been a big learning experience for the students, teachers and the administrators,” says Streiff-Vena. After some modifications and more planning, the off-campus language program will be available once again in the spring semester along with the usual Community Language School courses. The UCA World Language Department already offers Chinese, French, Japanese, German, Italian, Arabic, and Spanish to children and adults on the UCA campus but now hopes that the off-campus courses will become a permanent branch of the Community Language School.

On April 13, the Sallie Cone students and their teachers presented what they have learned through the 10-week class. “We threw these undergraduate Spanish major and minors in the classroom with only a little experience teaching children, but they have worked very hard, and I commend them,” said Streiff-Vena.

Because of student-teachers like Small, the hallways of Sallie Cone Elementary may continue to be filled with children pointing out perros rojos and gatos bonitos — red dogs and beautiful cats — and singing “The Wheels on the Bus” in Spanish for years to come.

Bear Camp

During the summer, the University of Central Arkansas offers Bear Camp, week-long day camps focusing on different languages and cultures.
The first week highlights Hispanic culture; the second week is Camp Global with a tour of China, Germany, Japan, Italy and Brazil; the third week celebrates France and Francophone countries.
For information about the camp or the Community Language School please visit www.uca.edu/wlan or contact Sera Streiff-Vena at 501.450.3168.