Our partnership with LUPE (Latinos Unidos Promoviendo Esperanza) is evolving in exciting ways. \u00a0Last semester, the 2016’s forged connections with this organization, which seeks to sustain human dignity, community growth, and equity in Alamance County, with a focus on Latino families. \u00a0Our primary role with LUPE took shape\u00a0through our assistance with Spanish classes provided for Latino children each Saturday morning. \u00a0Continuing with the theme of promoting self-determination through bilingualism, one of our classmates, Casey, saw an additional window of opportunity in our relationship with the mothers who bring their children to class each week: teaching ESL classes. \u00a0Many of the Latina mothers of LUPE are eager to develop their basic English skills, and, in order to continue with our goals of knowledge-building, community development, and empowerment, the 2016’s have decided to take on this new role. \u00a0Each Saturday morning we will be holding an English workshop with the mothers, teaching them about sentence structure, common phrases, and basic vocabulary. \u00a0This will not only be a great opportunity for us to make stronger connections with the Latino Community of Alamance County, but also a way for us to engage in a mutual learning community where we can be both teachers and students\u00a0in our relationship with the women. \u00a0Besides, it is a great way for our Spanish speakers to work on their language skills!<\/p>\n
On Saturday, Abby and I had the pleasure of teaching one of the first ESL classes, which went very well. \u00a0As the speaking level of the women ranges from basic to low-intermediate, we choose to focus on the topics that are most desired by the women, collectively. \u00a0For many, the fear that the outside community may be taking advantage of the language barrier is the greatest motivation to learn English. \u00a0For this reason, some possible ideas for topics include language in the supermarket, sentence structure, and money vocabulary, so that they can assert themselves if they have been shortchanged by a cashier. \u00a0We look forward to our continued partnership with LUPE and the future of the ESL classes. \u00a0All 2016’s–regardless of their Spanish level–will have the ability to participate, and we hope to use funds to purchase teaching\/learning materials, dictionaries, etc. to make these classes as beneficial to\u00a0the women as possible. Chao and have a wonderful week, Pericleans!<\/p>\n
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