Code Switching: Spanish Immersion

Heather L. Hutcheson

Code Switching: Spanish Immersion,

English Instruction, and Social Service

Fall 2012

18 March 2013

Abstract

In Fall 2012 I had the opportunity to focus on my own Spanish language acquisition in formal classes through the Instituto Cultural de Oaxaca (ICO – www.icomexico.com). I began at the intermediate level and progressed to advanced by the end of my stay. In addition to expanding my lexicon, developing my ability to translate, and acquiring idiomatic expressions, I had the opportunity to observe the teaching techniques of four different language instructors and six cultural workshop instructors. I attended cultural workshops on weaving, cooking, ceramics, mask making, piñata making, Spanish conversation, and more. I was able to pick up on the patterns and techniques the instructors use to engage their students.

In addition, I developed my ability to work with non-native English speakers through teaching semi-weekly classes in conjunction with a micro-lending program (En Vía – www.envia.org/) and developed curriculum and assessments for teaching English to adult and elementary-age English language learners (ELLs) in a non-traditional setting. I further honed my ability to work with non-native speakers through formal and informal intercambios (language exchanges).

I immersed myself in the culture of this region of Mexico through observing religious and civic holidays, including Independence Day, Dia de Los Muertos, various virgins’ birthdays, small towns’ special festivals, Noche de los Rabanos, posadas, and a host of other celebrations. I also learned more by taking public transportation, touring archaeological sites, visiting museums, churches and cultural centers, visiting markets, and building relationships with people who welcomed me into their homes and lives.

Further, I worked with an organization (Friends of Oaxacan Folk Art http://www.fofa.us/) focused on promoting the folk artists of Oaxaca and prepared fifteen portfolios for wood artists who otherwise had no record of the striking work they create. Moreover, I facilitated a community dinner between artists and tourists.

I return to the CRC community with a renewed passion for learning, writing, and teaching. Many of the lessons I have learned directly apply to my writing courses and to community college students in general.

Of course, there were many unanticipated outcomes along the way. One of the most significant for me was the opportunity to recover from a medical trauma that occurred in July 2012. While the sabbatical was rigorous in many ways, I was sincerely grateful for the opportunity to remove myself from the stresses of grading and my other community commitments. The timing of this sabbatical was perfect as it allowed me the time I needed to learn, reflect, and recover at the pace of Mexico (a more humane way to live, in my opinion).

Additionally, the act of writing daily over the course of more than four months to record the challenges and magic I encountered on this adventure has reinvigorated my writing routine and has offered me a venue to reflect on my personal growth and this experience overall. See shewhodaresnothing.wordpress.com.

Activities

Spanish Study

Four hours a day for five days a week for ten weeks, I attended Spanish classes at the Instituto Cultural Oaxaca (www.icomexico.com).

At least twelve hours a day seven days a week for more than twelve weeks I practiced speaking, reading, listening to, and even watching the Spanish language.

In my free time, I often sought out conversations, developed rapport with baristas and waiters to have additional resources for information, translation, and practice.

English Classes and Curriculum Development

Two hours a day for days a week over the course of nine weeks, I taught English to fourteen children, up to eleven at a time, ages eight to ten in Tlacochahuaya.

I researched curricula, developed assignments, identified resources, and contributed to the beginning of a workbook for English students.

Cultural Workshops

Two days a week for ten weeks, I participated in a variety of cultural workshops, including weaving, cooking, ceramics, mask-making, piñata making, and more. These workshops were an excellent venue to develop new skills, practice Spanish, and observe teaching strategies and classroom management techniques.

Observation of Holidays

Although I originally intended to head to Oaxaca in October, I changed my plans to go on September 13 in order to give me a good amount of time to study and travel before I returned to the US for the SHAREfair in November. This enabled me to see the celebration of Independence Day on September 16. Two weeks before I returned to Sacramento, I celebrated Day of the Dead. And, when I returned to Oaxaca at the end of November I was present for the Christmas season which begins with the celebration of several virgins’ birthdays, includes nine days of posadas, Christmas Eve and Christmas celebrations, New Year’s, and King’s Day (the day I returned home).

Intercambios

I participated in formal and informal language exchanges in a variety of settings, including my language school (with Maricella), the Oaxaca Lending Library (on Saturdays with whomever dropped in for the two-hour-long sessions, including Javier and Raphael who have stayed in touch by email), Llano Park (with people I invited to walk and talk), my posada (with Mari, Miguel, and Jesus), at a café (with Rosa, an accountant for a local museum who could periodically meet over coffee for an hour after work on Friday nights). These relationships helped me to:

1. Practice Spanish, for up to two hours at a time.

2. Teach English in a setting that required me to be responsive to the unique needs of the other person.

3. Learn about the culture and sites of this region of Mexico.

Microfinance

I had the opportunity to contribute to the work of En Vía (http://www.envia.org/) and to learn about some of the promising practices and challenges of this organization. Among the challenges, they have had a difficult time securing a fiscal agent or obtaining non-profit status. As a result, they cannot pursue grants or other public funding to support their great work. Additionally, donations to the organization are not tax deductible, including the two packed suitcases of supplies that I brought with me.

Among the promising practices is their approach to repayment. They literally visit the sites of each of the grantees each week to pick up a partial repayment of the loan. This is partially due to logistics and the fact that Oaxaca is a cash-based culture (no credit, no direct deposit), etc. It turns out to be a great way to hold the people receiving the loans accountable financially and otherwise. There are not surprise inspections, there is an ongoing relationship where the people receiving the loans can share successes and challenges regularly and where the organization can see the investment growing.

Work with Artists

One of the most interesting parts of the sabbatical was my work with Oaxacan folk artists. The basic job was to talk with local folk artists, acquaint them with the work of the Friends of Oaxacan Folk Art (http://www.fofa.us/), and get them to permit me to take photographs to provide them with an electronic and hard copy portfolio of thirty pieces of their work. In addition, I decided to organize a dinner for the artists to meet one another and have the opportunity to meet with tourists in the city of Oaxaca. It was a great learning opportunity and really tested my Spanish skills while helping me to expand my vocabulary.

Tours

Through a variety of tours led in Spanish and English, I was able to learn about all that Oaxaca has to offer. And, I was able to gather historical and cultural information that would enable me to lead similar tours with groups (not that I want to be a tour guide). Among some of the highlights were the Libros para Pueblos (www.librosparapueblos.org) tour where I was able to get behind the locked gates of two elementary schools and see the delighted children as we delivered boxes of new books. A tour of Tlacochahuaya taught me more about the town I was teaching in, and introduced me to an antique and enormous organ, a hacienda that has become a satellite campus for an art school in San Francisco, and an organic farm, among other things. Tours of archaeological sites in Oaxaca as well is in Mexico City helped me to understand more about pre-Columbian life in the region as well as some of the traditions that continue today. And, regular visits to enormous markets introduced me to regional cuisine, traditional dress, and other observations.

Blogging

For most of the adventure, I was posting approximately three blog entries and some photos on a daily basis (www.shewhodaresnothing.wordpress.com). This allowed me to record and reflect on my findings. It also helped me to engage in English with an audience. This was helpful as the majority of my interactions I had throughout the day were in my developing Spanish. As a result, writing in English seemed so much easier, and I looked forward to it. I am thrilled to have my blog as an album to document the adventures and to share them with people far and wide. It was a great way to keep my husband, mother, nieces and nephews, and others in the loop. It also made me think about writing for a wider audience, one not so familiar with the cast of characters in my “real” life or my sabbatical life.

The recurring characters were one of the highlights of this adventure. As I came to know and love, for example, The Little Businessman (a four-year-old panhandler) and Airyn (an artist living in a troubling domestic situation) and Juan (the flirtatious waiter where I had coffee and posted blog entries every morning) and Mari (my friend at the inn where I stayed who enjoyed taco Friday with me every week), the people reading the blog and learning the stories seemed to love them, too.

Critique of the Leave

This experience…

Offered me fodder for creative writing – As a practicing writer, I am interested in the potential for Spanish to expand my vocabulary and my ability to play with words. I am particularly interested in writing in “code-switching,” jumping in and out of one language and another. This has the potential to add great depth to the writing and the comprehension of the “story” of a poem. In addition, by photographing and blogging in response to my experiences, I now have material to draw from long after I return to Sacramento.

Exposed me to art and culture which are helpful in my role as a Sacramento Arts Commissioner – In my appointed role, I am more effective in advocating for, evaluating, and encouraging the creation of quality arts experiences when I have experienced them. As an art center, Oaxaca provided me with opportunities to experience dance, visual art, folk art, ceramics, and even literary art and drama. I had have opportunities to see pre-Colombian pottery collections and to experience folktales performed. In addition, I will viewed dance and music exhibitions and art identified with specific villages in Oaxaca, including textile weaving, black and green pottery creation, and carving and painting of alebrijes (wood carvings of animals), among other arts. In fact, a faculty member from the University of Chicago asked me to lecture on my “expertise” in the field of alebrijes related to my work helping fifteen artists in two villages to create portfolios.

Built my confidence – Traveling independently and practicing a foreign language built my confidence and self-reliance. Successfully navigating daily life in a foreign country, mostly alone, expand my confidence in my ability to navigate a new language and culture.

Built my capacity to translate Spanish-speaking community members and literature written in Spanish as well – Many of the people I work with in the community are Spanish-speaking. Improving my Spanish skills has already enabled me to build better rapport with community volunteers. In the long run, I am sure this experience will help me to be an even more trusted community leader. This is important because these community volunteer opportunities show students how the advocacy I teach them in writing can be effective outside of the classroom. Professionally, I rely on my interactions with diverse community members.

Provided me with knowledge on micro-lending – As part of my learning, I went with En Vía (www.envia.org), a microfinance group, to Teotitlán del Valle and Tlacochahuaya, two towns about half an hour outside of Oaxaca de Juarez, to see first-hand how microfinance works. I met women who are applying for small loans, and learn about the women's lives and businesses - which could be anything from weaving beautiful rugs to raising chickens, making tortillas, or selling flowers in the local market. I not only learned about the benefits of these small loans to their communities, but I contributed to the micro-lending process by teaching English. Learning how En Vía works (as a primarily face-to-face model that offers tours of the women’s worksites and/or shops) has given me ideas about how some of our students would benefit from this type of small, temporary investment while others would find this an appealing first step into charitable giving/philanthropy.