Auburn Spanish Majors Take a Step Outside the Classroom
Auburn University Spanish students’ work does not stop when they exit the classroom. For some, it just begins. Jessica Foster, Ashley Freeman, Kelsey Westerman and LeAnne Maksin, all Spanish majors, meet every Thursday night at Cancun’s Mexican Grill in Auburn, Ala. to practice conversation in Spanish.
The girls met through their Spanish Literature class at Auburn, and in the fall of 2009 they began the weekly meetings at Cancun’s to improve their Spanish. Cancun’s employs people from many different Spanish-speaking nations. Foster, Freeman, Westerman and Maksin have not only been able to practice with each other, but with Spanish natives.
“I think my Spanish has improved and I have learned a lot about other cultures just from being exposed to the other cultures represented by the different employees at Cancun’s,” Foster said.
According to Freeman, many of the waiters, waitresses and hostesses at the restaurant with whom they practice their Spanish do not know English. This prompted these Auburn students to start an outreach plan, involving free English lessons for the Spanish-speaking community in Auburn and Opelika, Ala. This is still in the planning stages, says Foster, but their goal is to give back to the individuals who have been exposing them to the Spanish language by teaching them English.
Another benefit of the students’ practicing Spanish with native Spanish-speakers has been their newfound compassion for the culture, says Freeman. “It’s not something you can necessarily learn in the classroom,” she said. The wide variety of cultures the students are exposed to has helped them learn Spanish as it is truly spoken in other countries.
“We learn proper Spanish in classes, but by talking with the servers at Cancun’s we can study how they speak to one another, and the differences between the cultures first-hand,” Foster said.
Auburn students are constantly finding ways to improve their studies, even outside the classroom. What these Spanish majors didn’t know, they say, was the assistance they would receive from the servers and the positive effects it has had on their Spanish practice and understanding.
The girls met through their Spanish Literature class at Auburn, and in the fall of 2009 they began the weekly meetings at Cancun’s to improve their Spanish. Cancun’s employs people from many different Spanish-speaking nations. Foster, Freeman, Westerman and Maksin have not only been able to practice with each other, but with Spanish natives.
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“I think my Spanish has improved and I have learned a lot about other cultures just from being exposed to the other cultures represented by the different employees at Cancun’s,” Foster said.
According to Freeman, many of the waiters, waitresses and hostesses at the restaurant with whom they practice their Spanish do not know English. This prompted these Auburn students to start an outreach plan, involving free English lessons for the Spanish-speaking community in Auburn and Opelika, Ala. This is still in the planning stages, says Foster, but their goal is to give back to the individuals who have been exposing them to the Spanish language by teaching them English.
Another benefit of the students’ practicing Spanish with native Spanish-speakers has been their newfound compassion for the culture, says Freeman. “It’s not something you can necessarily learn in the classroom,” she said. The wide variety of cultures the students are exposed to has helped them learn Spanish as it is truly spoken in other countries.
“We learn proper Spanish in classes, but by talking with the servers at Cancun’s we can study how they speak to one another, and the differences between the cultures first-hand,” Foster said.
Auburn students are constantly finding ways to improve their studies, even outside the classroom. What these Spanish majors didn’t know, they say, was the assistance they would receive from the servers and the positive effects it has had on their Spanish practice and understanding.
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