The curriculum will emphasize students’ backgrounds and individual cultures
About three decades ago, Burlington Township High School language teacher Margaret Buck noticed among her Latino-descendent students a phenomenon presented by many first-generation Americans: They could speak and understand Spanish, but they couldn’t write or read in the language.
And so Buck worked to develop a class just for these students, who were too advanced for beginner’s Spanish but did not feel confident enough to pursue accelerated courses. This year, students who meet the enrollment criteria will once again be able to participate in the unique language experience and polish their literacy skills.
But the purpose of the course, titled Spanish Language for Heritage Learners, hardly begins and ends with writing essays and analyzing texts. Buck and her cohorts in the language department see it as an opportunity for Burlington Township’s Latino students to connect with their backgrounds and educate their non-Hispanic peers.
“Especially for the students who didn’t grow up in the countries where their families hail from, it will help them identify with their roots and celebrate their heritage,” Buck said. “It’s so important for our kids who aren’t from a Hispanic background to learn about those who are. A lot of times in our culture, different means ‘weird’ or ‘bad,’ and I don’t want to just talk about the Day of the Dead. There is a lot more to Latin America than that, so I want them to make real-world connections. I’m really excited about it.”
The new course is designed much like an ESL curriculum, an area in which Buck has a strong foundation. After giving students a preliminary assessment to identify which of them would benefit from the class, they are put into one of two levels depending on their abilities. They can then move on to AP Spanish Language and beyond after completing the program, which acts as a kind of jump-start and offers double credits at the first level.
Spanish, Buck said, is valuable in any career within the United States, and especially in the globalized economy, which increasingly demands multilingual participants.
“We evaluate them based on whether they speak the language at home, understand it, speak it casually and things like that,” she added. “We have two students who were educated in Ecuador, and their skills are already really good. My job is to polish them a little bit so they can use them professionally.”
Recognizing each student will enter the course with different needs, the program aims to further customize lessons so they are tailored to each student. Vanessa Rivera, who will take the class next year, is looking forward to improving her proficiency and sharing what she learns with her family members from Puerto Rico and Honduras.
“It’s perfect for us, because we can focus on our individual cultures rather than just getting a brief overview of Hispanic heritage as a whole. It’s more specific to us and our families,” Rivera said. “Despite us all speaking the same language and sharing a similar home life based on the language and how our parents grew up, we’re all so different. Not every Spanish-speaking country is the same.”
To learn more about the program or find out how to enroll, contact mbuck@burltwpsch.org.
