Spanish Biliteracy Project Promotes Heritage Language Maintenance Among Latino Students

Sin Limites Volunteers

Sin Limites at Walker Elementary in Springdale.

Take SPAN 4563 The Latino Youth Biliteracy Project to participate in Sin Límites! an afterschool program helping elementary Latino students to develop reading and writing skills in their home language. Come participate in this hands-on service learning course to promote heritage language maintenance within elementary Latino students in Springdale.   

The class offers an empowering curriculum for social change, covering topics such as engaged scholarship, Latino education in the U.S. and bilingual education. Students in the class participate in projects on topics related to Latino education.

Sin Límites, The Latino Youth Biliteracy Project, is an outreach initiative of the Department of World Languages, Literatures and Cultures of the U of A established in 2011 in collaboration with the Latin American and Latino Studies Program and the Oficina Latina. University students enrolled in SPAN 4563, an upper-level Spanish service learning course, participate in a bilingual literacy enriching program for elementary school Spanish heritage speakers. The main goals of the program:

• To develop literacy in the home language
• To provide a culturally relevant curriculum
• To promote academic excellence and college readiness
• To offer mentorship by college students and
• To establish bridges between the students' families and the school.

Nahomi Gonzalez, who is a first-generation college student herself, took the course and worked with underrepresented student populations. "The Biliteracy Project course has been an eye-opening experience where I have learned the importance of biliteracy and how it can benefit not only myself, but also, those around me. This class also helped me understand that as a scholar, I have the responsibility to work with my community to make positive changes in our society. Through Sin Límites, we were able to promote the advantages of being bilingual and encourage students to embrace their unique linguistic backgrounds. It has been wonderful to see students feel empowered to express themselves in Spanish and reconnect with their heritage culture."

If you are interested, this course is open for enrollment; class code is SPAN 4563 and class time is MWF 9:40 - 10:30 a.m. Prerequisites: SPAN 3003 and SPAN 3103 or SPAN 3123. Questions should be directed to Raquel Castro, rcastros@uark.edu.