Experiential Learning & Service Learning
Omaha is a diverse city where a wide variety of languages are spoken and many cultural backgrounds are present.
In response, the Department of Foreign Languages and Literature sees this as an educational opportunity, and every semester, we offer multiple language courses that incorporate service-learning. This not only gives students a chance to use and apply the knowledge and language skills that they are learning, but also allows them to connect with the relevant local communities. Through service-learning students meet academic objectives while performing meaningful community service.
The benefits of service-learning for students are numerous: they practice the target language, form long-lasting relationships with community members, develop leadership skills, and gain a sense of civic duty that lives within them long after leaving UNO.
Many of our projects seek to expand access to information and educational resources specific to non-English speaking communities in Omaha and the state of Nebraska. Students who participate in these projects are able to achieve first-hand knowledge of field-specific practices.
These collaborations between students and community partners allow for future career opportunities that will be mutually beneficial.
Past Events
Spring 2023 Experiential & Service Learning Projects
Assessment & Curriculum Design
The service-learning project in FLNG 8040 is a continuation of the project initiated by SPAN 3010 students. In this course, we will develop reading materials for more books, in English, Spanish, French, or German, and we will make them available online for school administrators and teachers to use, at no cost, for their One School, One Book programs (or any reading initiative they might have!).
One School, One Book is a reading program where all the students in one school read the very same book and engage in the same reading tasks. You can learn more about the One School, One book program here.
Schools usually purchase the books and accompanying materials from companies that deliver: reading quizzes, chapter summaries, a letter to parents, a reading calendar, bookmarks, and other items that are useful to schools as they implement the One school, One book program.
Recently, undergraduate students in SPAN 3010: Spanish for Heritage Speakers in the Foreign Languages and Literature department created a reading package for a book called Esperanza Rising that was used in a school in OPS that includes a dual language program. UNO students completed this project as a service-learning initiative for their SPAN 3010 course, and created all reading materials in both English and Spanish so children could choose to complete the reading and other activities (e.g., reading quizzes) in the language of their choice.
Intermediate Spanish II
SPAN 2120 students will be partnering with Omaha Public Schools Title 1 Parent Engagement Program in their Adult ESL classes. They will help to facilitate English language learning and have opportunities to engage in conversation in Spanish. The parents will group up with UNO students and participate in roundtable conversations, chalk talk, or other collaborative activities that allow for communication and support learning in both languages. The objectives of this project include engaging parents in school and community; highlighting differences between high school and university through collaboration; learning about different cultures and traditions through conversations; giving parents a better understanding of college life and students an understanding of first-generation families through learning their stories; creating connections between individuals and learning different perspectives. In April once the ESL course has concluded, adult learners will be invited to tour the UNO campus and celebrate their language achievements.
SPAN 1110, 1120, 2110 & 2120: Evento Cultural (Cultural Event)
Over the course of the semester, students in SPAN 1110, 1120, 2110 and 2120 attend one event organized within the Spanish-speaking community or relating to Latino issues at our university, locally in Omaha, in the state of Nebraska, or where they reside in the US.
The purpose is for students to get acquainted with local US Latino and worldwide Spanish-speaking cultures and histories. This exposes them both to the language and those who speak it within the community and helps connect them to everyday opportunities to use the language and immerse themselves in the culture.
Student Samuel Logeman had a very memorable experience while attending a cultural event. He had an unexpected meeting across four generations:
“Turning the corner to see the first installation my mom exclaimed “That’s my grandma!” and sure enough there was a large black and white framed picture of my great grandma, Juvencia Reyes, hanging on the wall. […] Next to her picture was a transcript of an interview from her. […] There was also an audio recording of my great grandma which we listened to. It was honestly amazing to hear my great grandma’s voice for the first time […] It was also emotional for my mom because she had not seen a picture of her grandma or heard her voice in over 20 years.”
SPAN 2120: Community Exploration
Every semester, students in SPAN 2120: Elementary Spanish II visit a Spanish-speaking area in the city of Omaha and complete a scavenger hunt. This allows them to see first-hand that Spanish is not just a language that we study in our little bubble in the university. This language and these cultures are alive in our country and our city!
The area that students visit in small groups is La Veinticuatro (24th Street, between L Street and Q Street). During the Community Exploration, students eat at a restaurant, go to a grocery store and find specific products and publications in Spanish, etc. This assignment includes an action report with pictures, as well as an essay in which students reflect on this intercultural experience in their own hometown.
Fall 2022 Experiential & Service Learning Projects
Latin America in Context and Heritage Speakers II
FELICIDAD PARA COMPARTIR | HAPPINESS TO SHARE
In this Community Learning project, UNO students from SPAN 3050 and SPAN 3020 are teaming up with community partners Bellevue East High School, Schuyler Central High School, and Learning Community Center of South Omaha (LCCSO) to practice the “12 Practices of Happiness” in their classrooms. All students will also participate in “Happiness Support Teams”, under the leadership of UNO students. Each team, consisting of 5-6 students, will meet virtually through Padlet three times during the semester to share their experiences as practitioners of these very simple happiness enhancement techniques. An in-person celebration is scheduled for November 17 at the UNO campus. All activities will be carried out in Spanish.
The project involves around 120 students from Omaha, Bellevue and Schuyler. We are expecting over 60 individuals on November 17. LCCSO parents will be accompanied by their young children, so we are hoping our project will reach people of all ages, spreading happiness all around us.
Our goals for this project are:
- To promote wholesome emotional and mental-health habits
- To reduce stress and discomfort in everyday social situations
- To rediscover our common humanity
- To build trust in others
- To enhance awareness and well-being inside and outside the classroom To embed language practice in the wider context of body-mind balance
Advanced Spanish Conversation
SPAN 4030/80036 students are participating in a service-learning project developed in conjunction with the Heartland Workers Center to promote voter registration and voter participation. The project requires students to conduct group canvassing in South Omaha, which is the part of the city with the greatest concentration of Spanish speakers. Students have an opportunity to converse in Spanish with a broad array of Hispanic citizens, under supervision at first and eventually on their own. During their visits, students ask people whether they can vote in the U.S. and, if so, if they are already registered to vote, if they intend to vote, or if they need additional information on the voting process. Through this project, students provide non-partisan information, such as dates, eligibility requirements, registration instructions, information on how to go about voting on Election Day, as well as information on early voting, which can be particularly important to citizens with limited mobility or with work scheduling conflicts.
Introduction to Translation
Students in Spanish 4060/8066 are completing a service-learning (SL) project in partnership with several local organizations, including Omaha Public Schools (OPS) and Lauritzen Gardens. The purpose of the SL collaboration is twofold: (a) to provide UNO students with opportunities for real practice interpreting and translating (English-Spanish), and (b) to meet a need in the community by facilitating means to overcome linguistic barriers.
For this SL project students engage in two activities, including interpreting at parent -teacher conferences in Field Club Elementary, and translating materials for the various organizations that they can then use in promoting their services or knowledge among Spanish-speaking individuals in Omaha.
Spring 2022 Experiential & Service Learning Projects
Structure of Spanish
SPAN 4220 students will develop an interactive activity (e.g., scavenger hunt, guided walking tour) that features and teaches about the rich culture, history, and traditions of Latinx peoples in Nebraska. The finished activity will be used in the future by students enrolled in freshman Spanish courses.
Through this activity, students in SPAN 4220 will put to use their Spanish skills by either reading, writing, or speaking in Spanish, and they will increase their knowledge about Latinx individuals living in Nebraska. At the same time, they will create an artifact that will help beginning Spanish students learn more about Nebraska and the presence of Latinx peoples living in the state.
Spanish for Heritage Speakers II
ONE SCHOOL, ONE BOOK PROGRAM
SPAN 3020: Spanish for Heritage Speakers II undergraduate students will have the opportunity to engage in a Service Learning project encompassing interdisciplinary collaboration with Crestridge Elementary School students. This Service Learning project has UNO students identify limitations in book translations and design supplementary materials such as lesson plans, quizzes, letters, and bookmarks revolving around the book Esperanza Renace. Crestridge students will have the opportunity of engaging and further their learning with these materials as part of their curriculum during the Fall 2022 semester
Linguistic Justice & Latino Health
Students in Dr. Dauphinais’ SPAN 4970 class partnered with The Wellbeing Partners. Students worked with the community partner to conduct health narrative interviews among the Spanish-speaking community in Omaha about language and mental health.
Students analyzed transcribed, translated, and analyzed these narratives to look at ways health communication from healthcare providers can reduce language barriers and incorporate greater cultural humility. These interviews and narratives were then used by The Wellbeing Partners to create a social media campaign within the Omaha Latino community to increase mental health awareness and access to mental health resources.
Fall 2021 Service Learning Projects
Research Methods
In Fall 2021, the graduate students enrolled in Dr. Cecilia Tocaimaza-Hatch's FLNG 8020 partnered with ADL (Anti Defamation League). ADL hosts a walk every November where people are able to visit sights in Omaha that are significant to the civil rights movement. With the COVID pandemic, starting in 2020, ADL looked to provide participants with a virtual alternative for the in-person walk where people could learn about historical places in Omaha online.
Students in FLNG 8020 contributed to this project by researching sites in Omaha that have historical significance to the civil rights movement and designing lesson plans and materials that high school teachers can incorporate into their curriculum. All the materials produced by FLNG 8020 students will be featured in ADL’s site supporting the November walk.
Advanced Spanish Conversation & Spanish Conversation and Pronunciation
Since the state of Nebraska has funds to help small and medium-sized businesses, as well as self-employed workers affected by the pandemic, it is urgent to produce a quantitative and qualitative study that records the adverse effects of the pandemic on those businesses whose owners are Latino, in order to justify that a portion of available state funds can also reach this segment of the population.
Thus, Dr. Steven Torres and Dr. Jose Sequeros-Valle's SPAN 4030 & 3030 students participate in a community engagement and research project in South Omaha that will primarily benefit the Latino population. Students work in pairs to complete interviews and surveys to collect data.
Fall 2020 Service Learning Projects
Latin America in Context
Dr. Garcia’s Fall 2020 SPAN 3050: Latin America in Context class included a weekly exploration of simple mindfulness practices which have a positive impact in our levels of happiness, especially during the COVID pandemic before vaccines became available.
As part of this Community Outreach Project, students created a YouTube playlist, sharing in Spanish their favorite Practices of Happiness, encouraging Spanish-speaking community members to take simple but effective steps to improve emotional and physical wellbeing.
Prácticas de Felicidad |Practices of Happiness Community Outreach Project