Pepperdine students and on-site staff share language learning

For college students learning a new language, it can be difficult to apply classroom concepts to real-life situations, especially listening or speaking.

At Pepperdine University, the partnership between the Spanish language instructor and the facility staff helped provide students with practical language skills and build relationships between the two groups.

The initiative has helped dozens of students improve their Spanish and spurred other language learning courses at the university.

Background: Pepperdine’s Facilities Services Department employs more than 100 people, many of whom are native Spanish speakers, who are responsible for the maintenance, preservation and landscaping services of the Malibu campus.

Alison Stewart, associate professor of teaching Spanish studies, has heard from some of her students who regularly greet staff on campus in Spanish but don’t feel comfortable extending their conversational skills beyond “Hola” or “¿Cómo estás?” ”

Incorporating language exchange into the classroom environment allows students to improve their Spanish listening and speaking skills in a safe environment and gives them the opportunity to connect with staff they might not otherwise interact with.

How it works: Students enrolled in Spanish 251, most of whom are native English speakers, participate in a Spanish-English conversation group. “Spanish students at this level know present and past tenses, and their vocabulary covers a wide range of topics,” says Stewart.

The class usually meets late in the morning, with one 50-minute class session per month divided into conversation groups. The first half of the course focuses on English articulation and pronunciation, and the last half focuses on Spanish.

“The learning objectives are to increase English and Spanish vocabulary for both student groups,” says Marilyn Koziatek, director of facilities services and campus operations.

Each lesson begins with basic introductions in Spanish, followed by sharing conversation topics such as family, class schedules, majors, hobbies, and food.

“I started by preparing talking points for joint discussion, but as the day goes on I discover that students and staff are finding their own interests to share, whether it be sports or fashion,” says Stewart.

10 to 12 students and the same number of staff participate in the groups. “I am proud to report that most, if not all, of our staff participants visit the 251 classroom repeatedly throughout the semester,” says Stewart.

Marilyn Koziatek/Pepperdine University

Effect: Stewart has incorporated conversation groups into all sections of Spanish 251 since its launch in spring 2023.

Koziatek says students and staff enjoy the fun, cheerful atmosphere while in the classroom and the opportunity to maintain relationships around campus outside of the classroom. Staff also share that they appreciate the direct interaction with students that is not often common during their daily work.

“Employees also say the classes give them the confidence to interact with English-speaking colleagues, alumni, and parents of the Pepperdine community,” adds Koziatek.

Stewart says some students admit to being nervous when meeting their conversation partners, but by the end of the lesson, students feel more confident and successful in using real-world Spanish. “One student was so excited that he called his parents right after one of our sessions and told them: ‘Mom, Dad, I spoke entirely in Spanish to a Spanish speaker who works here on campus; ‘It was beautiful.’ ”

Building for the future: The initiative also resulted in Stewart creating and teaching an English as a Second Language course that is free for DFS employees and available to anyone who wants to participate. Each month, Stewart teaches a group of 30 to 35 students from DFS’s surveillance, landscaping and irrigation departments in the Pepperdine School of Public Policy building.

“We covered basic English grammar concepts, a variety of vocabulary topics, and most recently in October, we focused on vocabulary terms related to the specialized jobs of Pepperdine employees,” says Stewart.

Stewart’s hope is that ESL can be formalized, allowing students to own textbooks and take assessments, and perhaps even host an end-of-year lunch to celebrate their work.

“Ultimately, we are building meaningful bridges to connect members of our community, and I am so grateful to be a part of it,” says Stewart.

Get more content like this delivered straight to your inbox every weekday morning. Subscribe here.