MAGNOLIA—Four students from Southern Arkansas University who are studying Foreign Languages spent a month of their summers far from southeast Arkansas.
Amanda Anderson, who is pursuing teaching; Laquita Houston, a double major in business and Spanish; and Martha Walker, a double major in Spanish and history, visited Cuernavaca, Mexico near Mexico City. Elcia Olivo, who is pursing teaching, spent her time in Barcelona, Spain.
Studying abroad or being involved in an intensive job or community service where students are required to use Spanish daily is a requirement set by the American Association of Teachers of Foreign Languages. This type of study is necessary to obtain a degree to teach foreign languages said Dr. Elba Birmingham-Pokorny, Spanish professor at SAU. She said there is no substitute for traveling abroad in terms of learning how language is used.
“It is an excellent opportunity to really immerse themselves in the language and culture, and that is very important,” Birmingham-Pokorny said.
While abroad, students live with host families who are selected based on how similar their backgrounds are, Birmingham-Pokorny said. The host families are middle to upper class.
Students visiting Cuernavaca took a walking tour of the city, visited a museum paying tribute to Mexican Muralists called Casa-Museo Diego Rivera and Frida Kahlo and saw the pyramids of Teotihuacán.
Martha Walker, one of the three students who went to Cuernavaca, said her entire outlook has changed following her trip to Mexico.
“It is an eye opening experience to remove yourself from your norm and get outside your comfort zone,” Walker said. “Being around the culture makes you a better person and changes your outlook. So many people say things about immigrants and they don’t even know who they are talking about. This makes you realize the people are real and realize what type of people they are.”
