MAY TERM 2016
TRAVEL COURSE INFORMATION
Proposed course listing and title: “Guatemala: Service-Learning in Language,
Culture, and Education”
Offered by:
Office information:
Barbara Conboy
_
Truesdail 119
Date course begins: May 1 (day to arrive in Guatemala)
Date course ends: May 28
Course fee: 1700.00 (any money left over will be returned to students). Initial deposit
($500.00) is due by Oct. 15, 2015; balance is due by Dec. 15, 2015.
Includes payment for: __ Airport shuttles in Guatemala, transportation for field trips
during the week and on the weekend, room & board (except food during weekend trips),
and program fees.
Anticipated expenses beyond course fee borne by each student:
Due to variability in airfares depending on students’ departure cities in the U.S.,
airfare to and from Guatemala City is not included. Currently published roundtrip fares
from Los Angeles are under 600.00, but these fares could rise. Students will also need
to pay for their own transportation to and from the airport in the U.S. Students will need
to pay for their own meals during weekend trips (approximately 15.00 -20.00 per day),
for bus fare to and from the placements (approximately 20.00), and for travel insurance
(estimated at 100.00), if their health insurance plan does not cover them in Guatemala.
The Hepatitis A, B and typhoid vaccinations are also required, and anti-malarials for the
4-5 days we will be in malaria areas are recommended. These may be covered by
students’ insurance, but not. Students may want to visit a travel clinic prior to the trip to
determine whether other vaccinations are needed.
Course enrollment limit: 12
Pre-requisites (if any): Some Spanish background is required. Fluency in Spanish is
not required. Students will be asked to complete an application by the course instructor.
Course features/short description: Students spend approximately 4 weeks in
Antigua, Guatemala. During the workweek (Monday – Friday), students volunteer in
educational programs for children located no more than a 20-minute bus ride away from
downtown Antigua. Volunteering consists of tutoring and engaging students in language
enrichment activities. Students also have the opportunity to observe several programs
that serve children with special language and learning needs, and to interact with local
professionals. The sites have been selected by the course instructor based on the
student learning opportunities provided and interest from personnel at those sites.
Students also have an opportunity to interact with professionals working with children
with language learning disorders. Student placements are determined primarily based
on Spanish language skills and student interests. Weekend trips (Friday – Sunday,
sometimes 4-day weekends) are planned so that students can experience some
important aspects of Guatemalan culture. We will travel to other sites throughout the
country to learn about Guatemala’s languages, cultures (including pre-Hispanic
archeological sites), and educational approaches being used with children. For two
hours each day (Mon-Thurs), students also receive Spanish language instruction
through a local language school (students who are fluent in Spanish may negotiate a
different activity with the course instructor).
There are three major goals of this course. The first goal is to introduce students to an
educational system in another culture, so that students can better understand the
diverse expectations and worldviews of immigrant parents whose children are attending
preschool and K-12 programs in the U.S. Experiential learning, self-reflection, and
discussion are used to help students foster an understanding of how educational
systems are similar and different. A second goal is to provide students experience
working individually or in small groups with children who speak Spanish. The course
comprises a combination of hands-on service work, reading, discussion, journal entries,
and a short written project. A third goal is for students to develop an understanding of
how language development issues (e.g., bilingualism and language-learning disabilities)
are treated in a Latin American country. Although Spanish is the official language of
Guatemala, several indigenous languages are also spoken and many families are
bilingual. We will visit communities and programs where indigenous languages are
spoken and we will read about and discuss language revitalization efforts. Students will
also have the opportunity to work with programs designed for children with special
language learning needs.
Learning outcomes will be evaluated based on several methods. Students will be given
the readings on Moodle prior to travel to Guatemala. During the first week in Antigua,
orientation to Guatemalan culture and languages and the volunteer placements will also
be provided. Students are expected to attend and participate in all class discussions
and orientation sessions. Throughout the remainder of the term, students will be
expected to attend biweekly class meetings to discuss their volunteer experiences and
strategies they are using with children, as well as strategies they are observing at their
placements. Learning will also be evaluated through journaling: each week, students will
be given a prompt related to the course readings and their placements and will submit a
journal entry by the end of that week. Finally, learning will be evaluated based on a
short written paper completed by the end of the term, which will include a language
sample analysis completed in collaboration with a classmate.