Program Promotes Languages

Hispanic Students Learn About Heritage, Biliteracy

Jeanette Arnhart, a student at the University of Arkansas, shows students at J.O. Kelly Middle School how to decorate sugar skulls during a lesson on the Day of the Dead, a celebration in central and southern Mexico on Nov. 1-2. Arnhart is working with other university students in the Latino Youth Biliteracy Program, an after-school program in its second semester at the school.
Jeanette Arnhart, a student at the University of Arkansas, shows students at J.O. Kelly Middle School how to decorate sugar skulls during a lesson on the Day of the Dead, a celebration in central and southern Mexico on Nov. 1-2. Arnhart is working with other university students in the Latino Youth Biliteracy Program, an after-school program in its second semester at the school.

— Jeanette Arnhart instructed a group of middle schoolers standing around a circular table on how to decorate calaveras de azucar, or sugar skulls, with icing and candy, a tradition associated with the Mexican celebration of the Day of the Dead.

At A Glance

The Latino Youth Biliteracy Project’s main objectives:

To promote linguistic competence in both English and Spanish.

To achieve greater cognitive development through language across the curriculum activities.

To foster deeper understanding and appreciation of Hispanic culture.

To develop cross-cultural communication skills.

To provide mentorship to Latino students and promote college readiness.

Source: Luis Restrepo, Professor Of Spanish, Latin American and Latino Studies, University Of Arkansas

Across the room, Marianela Alicea led another group of students in telling spooky stories in Spanish.

The regular school day had ended Thursday, but some students at J.O. Kelly Middle School still were getting an education through a pilot program designed to teach Hispanic kids more about their heritage and the language tied to it.

The Latino Youth Biliteracy Program was launched earlier this year by Arnhart, a Spanish teacher in Rogers who is pursuing her doctorate in interdisciplinary Hispanic studies at the University of Arkansas, and Luis Restrepo, a Spanish professor at the university.

Three times per week, Arnhart and UA Spanish students meet with about 30 Hispanic students from J.O. Kelly. Activities are intended mainly to promote linguistic competence in both Spanish and English. The J.O. Kelly students regularly practice writing in both languages.

Restrepo and Arnhart said Latinos face multiple socio-economic challenges that contribute to an educational achievement gap and low college enrollment rates. They said the predominant educational approach to English learners has been described as a “subtractive education” that views the students’ native language as a problem.

This after-school program encourages students to understand their native language, as well as the academic and professional advantages of being bilingual and bicultural, they said.

“Many of the Latino students are able to speak Spanish because they get it from their parents, but they are not able to read or write it,” Restrepo said. “All research shows that being literate in your native language really increases your English proficiency.”

At the same time, students learn about such cultural things as Dia de los Muertos, or Day of the Dead, which is celebrated every Nov. 2. It’s a day set aside to remember friends and family members who have died.

UA students like Alicea, who is Puerto Rican, join the after-school program in part because of a community service requirement. Alicea, however, doesn’t see it as a chore.

“We have fun making a difference in (the middle-school children’s) lives,” Alicea said.

Restrepo said he hopes the program helps participants to better communicate with their parents, for whom Spanish might be their primary language. If parents aren’t able to carry on a fluid conversation with their kids, that can be problematic, he said.

He added there’s a more global perspective to be considered.

“We understand English is the main language of this country, but more than half of the population of the world is multilingual,” Restrepo said. “We’re pushing for the value of bilingualism in our region.”

The J.O. Kelly students involved in the program seemed happy to be there.

Janelle Castillo, 11, said she is communicating better with her family because of it.

“I finally know how to read Spanish,” she said.

Thomas Bucklew, 12, said his mother usually speaks to him in Spanish. He said knowing two languages will help him find good jobs when he’s an adult.

“If you speak two languages you get better pay than normally,” he said.

Luis Villanueva, 12, said he enjoys the program simply because “I get to do a lot of fun stuff.”

Arnhart and Restrepo also want the UA volunteers to serve as mentors to the middle-schoolers, showing them that college is a possibility in their future.

“That’s a very important part,” Restrepo said. “For the (UA) Spanish students, they can practice their Spanish there, so that’s an opportunity for them.”

The program started at J.O. Kelly Middle School, but organizers hope to expand to other schools starting next school year.

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