'U' students to teach English to migrants

University students looking to gain experience teaching English as a second language will have their opportunity this summer through an innovative language program that unites students and area migrant farm workers.

In its second year, Linguistics 385 trains students during spring semester to teach English. The course uses guest lecturers to teach students about the politics of language, language discrimination and cultural awareness.

Students in the course travel to migrant camps in Adrian County to teach the mostly Spanish-speaking community of workers who come from Mexico and the Texas border regions.

Holly Cashman, one of the class coordinators, said she hopes the course will expose students to the life and culture of the migrant community.

"It is also a great way for students to try out what they've developed as an interest in teaching ESL professionally," Cashman said.

Cashman said she hopes the second year of the course will help further the trust developed last summer between the migrant workers and the students.

"We want to be a positive force and a consistent one," Cashman said.

LSA senior Bonnie Malczewski said she plans to take the course to gain teaching experience and to help further social justice.

"The migrant workers don't have the money or time to go to classes, so it's important to me that they have that opportunity," Malczewski said.

"They're the ones who need (language instruction) the most. They're not just learning it for academic purposes, they need it to survive," Malczewski said.

Katie McGee, an LSA senior who took the course last summer, described the experience as a unique opportunity to learn and share cultures.

"I remember coming home from the camps and talking for hours and hours with my friends about what a wonderful experience it had been that night," said McGee, who helped coordinate this summer's program.

McGee said the spring training sessions gave her the cultural and linguistic background necessary to successfully teach at the camps. But often the teaching conditions were hard to adjust to, she said.

"The most difficult part for me was the social issues, because you feel so powerless against the social structure and the discrimination (the workers) face," McGee said.

LSA senior Jon Molenar, who also participated in the program last summer, said many of the students' worst teaching fears never materialized.

"We had been afraid that our lessons wouldn't be good enough," Molenar said. "But we actually found out that with a little winging it, it was fine."

Molenar said that last summer's group enjoyed their time with the workers and their families so much that many times they stayed beyond the two hours of teaching time designated for the sessions.

"One night they taught us the Cumbia and we danced for a good two hours," Molenar said. "Everybody seemed really excited not just for the chance to learn English, but that we were taking an interest in them. Our presence was a break in their week."

Beth Campbell, an LSA and Art and Design senior, said she hopes to take the course this summer because she has an interest in the environment.

"It's great to see classes developed like this that are very practical instead of classroom theory-based," Campbell said.

"I work at an organic farm and am interested in the agricultural aspect of the class," she said.

The course has no prerequisites, but coordinators said they are accepting students who are committed and willing to participate in all the summer activities.

Organizers said they hope to receive increased funding to expand the course so students from across the country could take part in the volunteer program.

To find out more information or to register for the course, students can e-mail hcashman@umich.edu.

04-16-98