Reflect on a time when you challenged a belief or idea. What prompted you to act?

Would
you make the same decision again?

Hablas espaol? Do you speak Spanish? A simple question, yet my mind went blank.

Back home, alone, I could answer that question with ease. But standing in Costa Rica, face to

face with a local, I was at a loss for words. Some rudimentary Spanish tumbled out of my

mouth, and the man nodded, but I knew I sounded like a preschooler. I wanted to shout Im not

stupid! I know what Im trying to say! It was the first time Id ever struggled to express exactly

what I want. It made me feel powerless, frustrated, and honestly, a little stupid.

I took that trip to Costa Rica as a learning expedition with my sophomore class. It was

the first time Id traveled to a Spanish speaking country, and after that experience, I gained

some insight into how foreigners must feel when they come to America. They arrive surrounded

by Americans who think fast and talk even faster, and their formation of personal connections is

hindered by the language barrier. I paralleled this barrier to my own trip, and wondered how my

interactions might have been more genuine if I could speak Spanish.

While there, we also learned about EARTH Universitys Spanish immersion program.

Students who speak another language arrive in San Jos three months before school begins to

live with a host family, and by the time classes start, they are proficient enough in Spanish to

take college level courses in their non-native tongue. This made me question why Id been in

Spanish class for four years and still wasnt at the fluency level of those university students who

were immersed for only three months.

My frustrations peaked during my junior year. I was taking AP Spanish IV, and class

consisted of perfecting grammar and answering analysis questions over random passages. I felt

misguided, and I doubted the practicality of those AP skills in a real world environment like

Costa Rica. I realized that authentic Spanish cannot be learned effectively while preparing for a

Spanish AP Test. The idea that students can improve their language skills in such a technical
classroom setting is just wrong. Whats the point of getting a five on the AP Exam if I cant

converse with a native Spanish speaker and form those personal connections that make

traveling so special? Why are we stuck in Spanish classes for most of our academic lives, yet

when we go to another country, we have no sense of the language at all?

My Costa Rica expedition and my lack of progress prompted me to create an innovative

Spanish class that wasnt already offered at my school, a class taught for application in the

world, not on a test. After discussing my idea with the Spanish department head and the school

counselor, I searched for a teacher who would agree to instruct the course and rallied up twenty

student signatures. By the end of junior year, my counselor confirmed that my class would

become a reality next fall.

Now its senior year, and my school offers one period of Spanish V Conversation.

EARTH University taught me about Spanish immersion, and I decided that the most important

aspect of the course would be to speak Spanish at all times. Instead of taking a quiz on the

preterite tense, we discuss our goals in Spanish. We read the news in Spanish, play games in

Spanish. We understand each other, we learn from each other, and we dont need a textbook.

Our teacher and other fluent students support us and engage us. We are replicating Spanish

immersion to the best of our abilities, and its working. I have never felt more productive in a

Spanish class. And although I wont be taking the Spanish Literature AP Exam in the spring for

college credit, Ill be doing something more valuable: Ill be learning how to understand an entire

culture through language.