Teaching and Learning Spanish Language at San Quentin

Virtually all college program classes run in the evenings at San
Quentin. However, this semester, for the first time in its history, the program has been granted permission to run a class from 3-5pm. This is during “count time,” when students ordinarily must return to their housing unit. “Out-counting” now allows us to run an intensive Spanish language class five days a week, without sacrificing precious evening classroom space or creating scheduling conflicts for students who want to take multiple classes. Not only can students use the class to fulfill elective requirements, but a full year of a foreign language is a requirement for transfer eligibility to many four year universities, and
so is of critical importance for students who intend to pursue a B.A. degree. We are deeply grateful to the San Quentin administrators
and staff who have made this possible.

The Introductory College Spanish class has been enthusiastically
embraced by the students, teachers, and administrators alike. There are 25 students enrolled in the class, which meets five days a week for a total of eleven hours. It is worth three transferable units and taught by a team of experienced teachers. It is an intensive course that provides a challenging experience for students with little or no previous experience in the language, as well as for those who wish to review some basics while concentrating on their Spanish conversation skills. The benefits are not only academic but also personally enriching
for all of those involved.

Students have expressed many reasons as to why they want to learn the language, from their interest in learning another language, to a desire to learn Spanish in particular in order to communicate with others within their surroundings. Some also want to prepare themselves for employment by knowing more than one language.

Regardless of why students are taking the class, the academic caliber of those students is impressive, as is their dedication. We are positively challenged in every class, and this helps with our directional focus. We work together to form and modify the content as we prioritize practical learning for communication. Memorization of content is an important base, but it is secondary to the collective goal of language usage.

— Carlos Cevallos (with Daniel Bao, Krista Brune, Seth Kimmel, Tom McEnaney, Sharon Moy, Lindsey Newbold, and Kara Urion)