Hispanic immigrants often form a silent population in America, but Auburn University is trying to give them a voice.
Last year, College of Liberal Arts developed a program to help immerse foreign language students in their area of study while helping in the community.
The "service-learning component" is an addition to upper-level language courses. The program is intended to encourage Auburn students and the local immigrant population to help each other learn about their respective languages and cultures through cooperative interaction.
"It was part of a civic engagement initiative from the College of Liberal Arts," said Gilda Socarras, Spanish professor. "The idea was to connect (the Hispanic community) with the University and the students through the community; not only to provide service, but to empower them. We're doing something to help society."
In her side of the project, "Closing the Gap," Socarras requires her students to meet weekly at La Vida Nueva, a Hispanic church in Auburn, to help tutor non-English-speaking immigrants in English as a Second Language (ESL) classes.
The students participation in ESL classes counts as a portion of their grade.
The weekly sessions' topics vary from "trip to the doctor, navigating the classifieds or going to the bank."
The sessions are designed to help diminish the debilitating language barrier that makes daily social interaction awkward and tedious.
Socarras said she hopes Auburn students gain a different perspective of Spanish by teaching their own language, as well as receiving the opportunity to practice conversation with native speakers.
Allie Kreimer, senior in Spanish and international trade, said her experience in ESL classes has been beneficial to her Spanish education.
"I would have to say my one-on-one interaction with the immigrant population has been extremely positive, especially in the ESL class, because a majority of the immigrants that I deal with seem to want to learn the English language and want to just improve what they already know," Kreimer said.
The classes begin with the graduate students presenting the day's topic for about 45 minutes or an hour.
Afterward, the undergraduate students help ESL students with their pronunciation and grammar in one-on-one help sessions for about 30-45 minutes.
Students have served as translators for parent-teacher conferences in local schools and have prepared a list of useful expressions and commands for the Auburn Police Department.
Other language departments also offer some form of service learning.
One class in Italian studies interviewed local Italian-Americans to study American misconception of Italian-American relations with the Mafia.
Rico Huerte, of Auburn, moved to the U.S. from Tabasco, Mexico, in 2005.
Garcia said his experience in the U.S. differs greatly from his former life in Mexico.
"It's all different; the work, the transportation, the quality of life," Huerte said. "In Mexico, there is no respect for authority. There is more vandalism, murderers, corruption and drug trafficking."
Huerte said he came to the Auburn area in late 2007 to search for a job in this time of economic uncertainty.
Huerte said the language barrier is the greatest challenge for immigrants when they arrive in America.
Socarras said she hopes the service-learning component can start to break down the language barrier between American citizens and immigrants.
So far Socarras said she thinks the program has been successful.
"It makes the language real," Socarras said. "When you go to the class and you need to use the language, it's real."
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