Students in Spanish 251 at Pepperdine University complete a language exchange with Spanish-speaking staff to build relationships and improve conversational skills.
Marilyn Koziatek/Pepperdine University
For college students learning a new language, it can be difficult to apply classroom concepts to real life situations, especially listening or speaking.
At Pepperdine University, collaboration between the Spanish language instructor and institutional staff has helped equip students with practical language skills and create relationships between the two groups.
This program has helped dozens of students improve their Spanish and encouraged other language courses at the university.
Background: The Resource Services Department at Pepperdine employs more than 100 people who are responsible for maintenance or maintenance, maintenance and landscaping services for the Malibu campus, most of whom are native Spanish speakers.
Alison Stewart, assistant professor of Hispanic studies, heard from some of her students that they often greet staff on campus in Spanish but don’t feel comfortable in their speaking ability to go beyond “Hola” or “¿Cómo estás? ”
Incorporating a language exchange into the classroom environment allows students to practice their Spanish listening and speaking skills in a safe environment and gives them the opportunity to interact with staff they may not interact with otherwise.
How does this work: 251 Spanish-enrolled students, most of whom are native English speakers, participate in a Spanish-English discussion group. “At this level, Spanish students are able to speak in the present and past tenses and their vocabulary covers a variety of topics,” Stewart said.
The class usually meets early in the morning, and once a month a 50-minute session is devoted to discussion groups. The first part of the class focuses on English speaking and pronunciation, then Spanish in the last part.
“The learning objectives are to improve the vocabulary of both groups of students in English and Spanish,” said Marilyn Koziatek, director of facilities resources and campus operations.
Each class begins with basic introductions in Spanish and then shares topics of conversation including family, study schedules, majors, hobbies and food.
“I started by preparing talking points for discussion, but increasingly I find that students and staff find their favorite topics to share whether it’s sports or fashion,” said Stewart.
Between 10 and 12 students and the same number of staff participate in teams. “I am proud to report that most of our staff if not all of the participants returned to 251 classes during the study period,” said Stewart.
Institutional and operational staff come together to practice English grammar and vocabulary.
Marilyn Koziatek/Pepperdine University
Impact: Since launching in the spring of 2023, Stewart has included discussion groups in all of his Spanish 251 classes.
Students and staff say they enjoy the fun, relaxed atmosphere while in class and the ability to maintain relationships outside of class on campus, Koziatek said. Staff also shared that they valued the direct interaction with students that is often rare during their daily work.
“Staff also say the classes give them the confidence to connect with English-speaking colleagues, alumni and parents in the Pepperdine community,” Koziatek added.
Some students admit to being nervous when meeting their conversation partners, but by the end of the class, students feel more confident and successful in using their authentic Spanish, Stewart said. “One student was so excited that she called her parents right after one of our lessons and said, ‘Mom, Dad, I just had a conversation in Spanish entirely with a Spanish speaker who works here at the school—it was so much fun.’ ”
Building the future: The program also led to Stewart creating and teaching an English as a Second Language course for DFS staff that is free and available to anyone who wants to participate. Each month, Stewart teaches a group of 30 to 35 students from DFS’s conservation and irrigation departments in the Pepperdine School of Public Policy building.
“We’ve learned basic concepts of English grammar, various vocabulary topics, and most recently in October we focused on vocabulary words related to the special jobs of the staff at Pepperdine,” Stewart said.
Stewart’s hope is that ESL can be formalized, allowing students to have textbooks and tests and perhaps hold an end-of-year luncheon to celebrate their work.
“Ultimately, we’re building important bridges to connect members of our community, and I’m very grateful to be a part of doing that,” Stewart said.
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