Students in Spanish II and up had the opportunity to Skype with other students from a Spanish speaking school in Chile. The Chilean students were taking English classes at their school and some of them had been taking English since the third grade.
This was a great opportunity for students from here to practice their Spanish with real life Spanish speakers, and for students in Chile to practice their English.
Spanish teacher Nathan Mueller went to Valdivia, Chile to enjoy the Spanish culture and become more fluent in the language. While he was there he met an English teacher from a private school and made arrangements for their students to Skype. Students in Spanish II were reading a novel named Casi Se Muere about a girl that went to Chile, which gave students even more knowledge about the country.
“I thought it was a great opportunity for students in Spanish class to use their Spanish in a real life setting,” Mueller said
“It was also a great experience for students to get to know another culture that’s not just right in their backyard.” Mueller said
Sophomore Jordan Kelly was one of the few students who was given the opportunity to Skype a student from Chile. She thought it was a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity, and loved getting to meet a new person from a different country to see what his or her life was like.
“I hadn’t realized how stereotyped our country is until I talked to another person from a different country. One of the first questions was ‘how much do you smoke?’” Kelly said.
Sophomore Grace Clawson thought this was by far one of the most culturally enriching experiences she has ever had. She got to meet a guy named Pablo that was being trained to be a firefighter. They both also played instruments and shared musical interests.
“I thought it was fun to hear and see the person instead of just hearing about it or reading about it out of a book,” Clawson said.
It is experiences like these that some students will never get to have or experience anywhere else. An opportunity like this is not available anywhere, and Mueller believes an experience like this is valuable for the students.
