{"id":8769,"date":"2020-04-24T13:57:57","date_gmt":"2020-04-24T13:57:57","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.furman.edu\/news\/2020\/05\/01\/44835\/"},"modified":"2022-09-07T15:33:01","modified_gmt":"2022-09-07T19:33:01","slug":"44835","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.furman.edu\/news\/44835\/","title":{"rendered":"La familia assists Spanish learners"},"content":{"rendered":"

Adaptability, creativity and resilience are hallmarks of a semester upended by a pandemic, and nowhere are those traits more evident than in Spanish 215, a conversation and composition class taught by Ang\u00e9lica Lozano-Alonso, professor of Spanish and Furman\u2019s Spanish Language Coordinator.<\/p>\n

When COVID-19 made lemons out of Lozano-Alonso\u2019s plans, she regrouped and made memorable lemonade for her students and her family in Mexico.<\/p>\n

\"Screenshot<\/a>

James LaLonde ’23, at home in Baton Rouge, practices Spanish with Michele Polit in Mexico.<\/p><\/div>\n

The class relies heavily on student conversation, and it is kept purposely small \u2013 just 10 students this semester \u2013 so participants really engage in meaningful interactions.<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019ve been teaching it for many years, and I love to teach it because I get to know the students really well, but it requires us meeting,\u201d said Lozano-Alonso, who is also the faculty director of Furman Innovation and Entrepreneurship<\/a>. \u201cWe think of it as comparable to a lab in the sciences. It has to be hands-on.\u201d<\/p>\n

When COVID-19 hit South Carolina, it resulted in a quick change to remote learning for students and faculty. Lozano-Alonso admits that she was worried about how this would change the dynamic of a class that relies on personal contact, but like any good educator in changing circumstances, she figured out a new way to teach.<\/p>\n

\u201cI have five nieces and nephews in Mexico who are college age and I have 10 students in the class,\u201d she said. \u201cMy nieces and nephews were also going to work from home for their school. I thought they could be conversation partners. We have this unique opportunity where people are stuck at home and this could break the monotony.\u201d<\/p>\n

It worked beautifully and added a richness to the class that would not have been possible otherwise. Lozano-Alonso paired her nieces and nephews with students with whom they had something in common. She then let her students take the leap to figuring out how to make it all work with texts and video calls.<\/p>\n

\u201cI just gave them a phone number,\u201d she said. \u201cThey texted the person and coordinated the interview and did it.\u201d<\/p>\n

The contact was spread over three units. First, Furman students interviewed Lozano-Alonso\u2019s nieces and nephews about college life in Mexico and how the virus has impacted their experience. Next, Lozano-Alonso recruited family members of all ages and had her students talk to them about the pandemic\u2019s impact.<\/p>\n

\u201cMy mom is in Mexico right now, and I paired her with one of my students,\u201d Lozano-Alonso said. \u201cMy mom is a retired high school Spanish teacher, so it was right out of her bag of tricks.\u201d<\/p>\n

The final unit would normally involve students writing a letter as part of applying for an imaginary job in a Spanish-language country, but the connection to Lozano-Alonso\u2019s family offered a unique opportunity. She had her older relatives conduct mock job interviews with the students.<\/p>\n

David Polit, one of Lozano-Alonso\u2019s nephews, said the experience was equally valuable for him.<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019ve never been to South Carolina,\u201d he said. \u201cIt was really helpful for me. Here in Mexico, I don\u2019t really get to practice my English. I never knew the college life of students in the United States. It was nice to see their point of view from there. I could see the big picture.\u201d<\/p>\n

Molecular biology major James Lalonde ’23 is back home in Baton Rouge, Louisiana, but this experience made a profound impact on him. He credits Lozano-Alonso with challenging her students.<\/p>\n

\u201cHer enthusiasm and passion \u2013 she makes these outside activities that really help you engage in the language,\u201d he said. \u201cIt has allowed me to practice all my skills. It\u2019s kind of terrifying at first because you have no idea what to expect. I thought I wouldn\u2019t gain as much through Zoom classes, but I feel like I\u2019ve learned more and gained more proficiency during this time.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>

Katherine McCann ’23 at home in Greenville chats with Michele Polit Soria in Mexico.<\/p><\/div>\n

Katherine McCann ’23, a Greenville student with a double major in biology and Spanish, agreed.<\/p>\n

\u201cI was really worried,\u201d she said. \u201cIt\u2019s much harder if you can\u2019t be there and interact with your professor and classmates. I have been so excited by the results of this and the opportunity to talk with members of her family. I think there are things we have lost, but it has been made up for through this experience.\u201d<\/p>\n

Lozano-Alonso\u2019s niece, Ana Karen Polit Tavera, is from Mexico but is studying in Spain this semester. She said what began with nerves quickly transitioned to an everyday conversation between peers.<\/p>\n

\u201cI love meeting new people and now that I have plenty of free time, I had the chance to change my routine and meet new friends,\u201d she said via email. \u201cI was also shocked when I had the chance to ask one of the girls the same questions about her because I found out we have a lot in common. It\u2019s funny and interesting to know that even in another country and a different culture you can be really similar to someone.\u201d<\/p>\n

Lozano-Alonso said it is unlikely that her family will have as much time to participate with future classes once social distancing has ended, but she hopes to continue using technology to connect her students with language learners in other countries. The biggest takeaway may extend beyond language proficiency to making the world a bit smaller for all.<\/p>\n

McCann said hearing Lozano-Alonso\u2019s mother\u2019s concerns about the impact of the pandemic hit home.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt gave me a much different perspective and encouraged me to do my part locally even,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Adaptability, creativity and resilience are hallmarks of a semester upended by a pandemic, and nowhere are those traits more evident than in Spanish 215, a conversation and composition class taught […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":389,"featured_media":18514,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[15,16],"tags":[246,255,278,262,279],"class_list":["post-8769","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-academic-department-page","category-modern-languages-and-literature","tag-coronavirus","tag-covid-19","tag-mexico","tag-pandemic","tag-spanish"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.furman.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/8769","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.furman.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.furman.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.furman.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/389"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.furman.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=8769"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.furman.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/8769\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.furman.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/18514"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.furman.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=8769"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.furman.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=8769"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.furman.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=8769"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}