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CMLL

CMLL was honored and awarded $25K in person for Teaching Excellence at the Faculty Honors Convocation in person after the pandemic.  

CMLL Qualia Room Renovation

Over spring break, the Qualia room, named after the first language department head of the University, Dr. Charles Qualia, got a much-needed aesthetic update. The room now displays all sixteen programs housed in CMLL, a wall-covering quote by psychologist Lev Vygotsky, and the words "CMLL, Equipping you for the world!" The new design of the room is colorful and vibrant, reflecting the culture and diversity so valued in the department. 

Working Group for Course Design for Healthy Enrollment!

This four-week workshop was designed for CMLL faculty who may be struggling to manage their current course size or are interested in increasing their class size to meet demand.  It also provided a creative space for those who had in mind an existing course that might be a good fit for large enrolment.  

Raider Red's “Fill the Pantry” Food Drive

The College of Arts & Sciences partnered with Raider Red's Food Pantry for a “Fill the Pantry” food drive that coincided with Diversity Week.  Several Arts & Sciences departments including CMLL housed food collection bins during collection week March 21-25.  This collection of shelf-stable foods is available for TTU students currently experiencing food insecurity.    

Languages & Cultures Study Abroad Expo

Students joined faculty in the Qualia Room on February 9^th at the Languages & Cultures Study Abroad Expo to learn about the study abroad opportunities in Spain, Jordan and Costa Rica for summer 2022.  Presentations were provided on the hour and information on how to earn the Global Readiness Certificate.   

Global Readiness Project Scholarship Competition



Congratulations to the winners of the inaugural Global Readiness Project Scholarship Competition! The first-place award for upper-division courses goes to Zarek Driver (CHIN 4308) for his presentation “Incorporation of Traditional Chinese Medicine into the West” which addresses the need for Western scientists to research traditional Chinese medical practices. Zarek will receive a $300 scholarship. Lestus Mitchell (CHIN 2302) will also receive a $300 scholarship as the winner of the lower-level course presentations. His presentation “The Social Credit System” covers the system of credit rating in China and the impact it has on individuals. Jessa Bulman (CHIN 1501) and Rachel Adejokun (CHIN 1502) each won a $200 scholarship for second and third place. “Psychotherapy and Counseling in China” “Chinese + me.” 
     Honorable mentions go to Allyson Gomez (CHIN 1502) for “Chinese Translation Studies,” Sophia Persad (CHIN 2302) for “Chinese Popular Music,” Tobias Szustak (RUSN 1502) for “Russo-United States Relations,” Kyle Westbrook (RUSN 1502) for “Russia/US Relations Post-Cold War and the Ukrainian Crisis,” Alexander Zahn (RUSN 2302) for “Russian Cars in America,” Zachary Wood (RUSN 2302) for “Russia's Relationship with Ukraine and Their Attempt to Join NATO,” Sandra Sierra (SPAN 4337) for “Reflecting on the Usage of Water and How to Share it through a Dystopian Lens: The World of Luis Alberto Urrea and his Water Museum,” and Macy Tapp (SPAN 4337) for “Mi Casa es S/”u Casa. The global readiness project is designed to help students see the connection between their language and culture studies with their careers and to prepare them to use the skills they learn in language and culture classes professionally. Over sixty students participated in the project this year. The projects listed above were recognized by their classmates and instructors as the best in their class.

CMLL Earbud Giveaway

Texas Tech incoming Freshmen register for classes during Red Raider Orientation throughout the summer.   As an incentive to begin language studies during their first semester, students could enter the CMLL earbud giveaway! Beginning language study early in their academic career provides students the opportunity to major or minor in languages. 

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Applied Linguistics

10th Annual CALICHE Conference

The Graduate Student Conference for Applied Linguistics & Intercultural Communication in Higher Education took place April 1-2, 2022 in the CMLL Building.  The conference was sponsored and hosted by the Department of Classical & Modern Languages & Literatures and the College of Arts & Sciences. 
CMLL Presenters

Keynote Speaker - Rayen Inostroza, M.A.

 

 

 

Rayen is a specialist in education technology, online/hybrid teaching, and learning strategies.  She currently teaches Spanish at Minnetonka High School in Minnetonka, Minnesota.  During the last three years, she has been a keynote speaker for 33 conferences in school district and university settings.

 

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Arabic

The Arabic program celebrated an event-filled spring semester.   Students from the Arabic program volunteered their time to various opportunities.  First, they volunteered to teach Arabic to Lubbock High School students.  



Volunteers shared culture day where they taught Arabic vocabulary, made presentations on several Arabic-speaking countries, taught dancing, and shared Arabic cuisine with students at Preston Smith Elementary School.  



Adding to their own cultural experiences, members of the Arabic program participated in a Middle Eastern dinner at a local restaurant where they discovered delicious foods from Arabic countries.

 

The Arabic Language Student's organization participated in the Worldwide Showcase at the Annual International Talent Show.   They also screened an Arabic movie in the Student Union Building for all TTU students.  

 

In addition to experiencing culture, the members hosted a table at the Diversity Week fair where they also gave a fashion show from different countries.

 

During Ramadan, students shared a Ramadan dinner for fasting students.  Professor Al-Hmoud opened her home and provided different Middle Easter dishes to enjoy while learning about Ramadan, it's traditions, and how Muslim people break their fast.  

 

Members met weekly in the campus Barnes & Noble Coffee Shop to learn more about Arabic culture and to put their Arabic language skills into practice.  One club activity included learning to make Hummus!

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ASL

The ASL program at Texas Tech was busy this spring.  Several Fundraisers were held to raise money for the new Jess Ingalls Memorial Scholarship endowment for ASL/Interpreting students at Texas Tech.  

 

On March 8, a fundraiser and silent dinner took place at Twisted Root hosted by the Silent Raiders. The Butter Braid Bread Fundraiser also helped to raise funds for the endowment.  With multiple flavors to choose from and ready to cook,  this was an innovative fundraiser.

In addition to fundraising, several events took place. The first, Interpreting students interpreted for Lubbock Community Theatre's production, “For Peter Pan on Her 70th Birthday” on March 25, 2022.

 

Followed by the “Amazing Race” signing only scavenger hunt which took place on April 2 on campus.  Interpreting students and Caprock Society of Interpreters for the Deaf hosted this fun event open to 1000- and 2000-level ASL students who were grouped with one Deaf person and one interpreting student.  

New T-shirt Design

There were two winners of the ASL t-shirt design competition this year!

 

Crystal Green, ASL alum (left) and Carlos Macias, Deaf Artist (right)

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Chinese

Chinese/Chinese American History and Culture Speaker Series

War or Peace in the Taiwan Strait? A Historical Analysis of the Cross-Strait Relations, 1987-2021



Despite 30 years of peace, stability, and exchanges, the Taiwan Strain has become a new hot spot in global geopolitics.  How have war scenarios reflected the dramatic changes of Taiwan-China Mainland relations?  How should we avoid war and sustain peace in the Taiwan Strait?

Dr. Chih-ming Wang, associate research fellow at the Institute of European and American Studies, Academia Sinica, Taiwan, and visiting scholar at the Harvard Yenching Institute (2021-2022) gave a talk entitled, “War or Peace in the Taiwan Strait? A Historical Analysis of the Cross-Strait Relations, 1987-2021"  via Zoom on March 24, 2022.

Chinese Cinema in the Shadow of Hollywood



Dr. Michael Berry (professor of Chinese and Media Studies and director of the UCLA Center for Chinese Studies) gave a presentation on the Chinese film industry's transformation from a national cinema model to a de-territorialized system informed and reshaped in many ways by Hollywood aesthetic and industrial standards before it ultimately turns back towards our current era marked by decoupling and more insular policies. The presentation took place via Zoom on April 15, 2022.

 These talks were co-sponsored by the TTU Asian Studies Program, Departments of English and Classical & Modern Languages & Literatures, and the Chinese Faculty and Staff Association. 

 

The Chinese program had the end-of-semester Chinese dumplings and hotpot party on April 30th! More than 30 students came to the party which lasted for 7 hours from 3 to 10 pm. We made Chinese dumplings together and had a Chinese hotpot, discovered the Chinese way of eating sunflower seeds, and shared Chinese jasmine tea.  Afterward, we played games including Chinese Mahjong, kick the Chinese shuttlecock, and Chinese chess.

 

Courses and Cultural Knowledge

 
 
The students in CHIN 1501 and 1502 this spring were introduced to Chinese Mahjong, a traditional Chinese game and enjoyed a field trip to Fun Noodle with their instructor, Ginny Hsiao.

TTU Chinese program supported the Cultural Day at Ramirez Elementary School on April 29th.



The students in CHIN3310 Chinese Culture and Characters learned the character qi气 (energy, vitality, etc.) in the chapter of Chinese Characters and Philosophy, and then practiced qigong (气功, a system of deep breathing exercises) in the classroom to breathe and stretch.

Students in CHIN 3310 Chinese Culture & Characters presented projects. 

 

Susan Moore and Melissa Moore presented Pipa, a Chinese traditional musical instrument and taught their classmates how to play Pipa.

  

One group of students presented a Chinese fashion show after learning some Chinese characters and folk customs. Students were introduced to the handkerchief dance, which is a prop of Northeast Yangko, a traditional and popular folk dance in Northeast part of China.

 

TTU Chinese program organized the 2nd TTU Chinese Language Speech Contest on March 26th sponsored by the TTU K12 Outreach Office. This contest attracted sixteen TTU students to participate in beginner, intermediate, and advanced level contests and five students from Ramirez Elementary School to participate in the elementary school level contest. Seven students in the Chinese program demonstrated their talents on the piano, the guitar, playing the Chinese Pipa, and by singing Chinese songs during the contests. Seventy-plus people from TTU and local communities attended the contest and talent show.

Scholarship Awards

  

Three Chinese major and minor students were awarded the Mr. and Mrs. A.H. Douglas Scholarship Award during the intermediate part of the Chinese Language Speech Contest. Congratulations to Zarek Driver, Chinese minor and Treasurer of TTU Chinese Language and Culture Association; Sydnee Cooper, Chinese major and x-CMLL Ambassador of the Chinese program; and Nolan Atha, a Chinese major.

TTU Chinese Language and Culture Summer Camp

K-6 school-age children launched into Chinese language learning this summer at a game-based foreign language camp under the direction of Dr. Yanlin Wang.  Two four-week sessions were offered, May 30-June 24 and July 4-July 29.  Class size was limited to 10 with two skill levels offered and taught by a native Chinese graduate part-time instructor, Ginny Hsiao.

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Classics

Tech Classical Society presented, “What can you do with a Classics Major?” on April 11 via Zoom.  Two featured speakers shared how their bachelor's degrees in Classics took them in two directions.  Samantha Davidson, BA Classics (Temple), MA Classical Archaeology (University of Pennsylvania) project manager at AssistRX, Philadelphia, PA and Cait Mongrain, BA Languages & Cultures-Classics (TTU), MA Languages & Cultures- Classics (TTU) doctoral candidate at Princeton University.

The Classics Research Forum made a welcome return after the pandemic hiatus, with a talk and discussion by visiting poet and Distinguished Professor at Hunter College, NYC, Tom Sleigh. 

      

Prof. Sleigh spoke to a large audience in the Qualia Room on 7th April, 2022 on "Three Ways Out of Homer and 'The Poem of Force'". He examined how three poets--Christopher Logue, Alice Oswald and Michael Longley have responded in their own work to Simone Veil's famously provocative essay, "The Iliad, or The Poem of Force" published in wartime France in 1940. The talk was supported by The Classics Excellence Fund. 

Prof. Sleigh also gave a reading in the English Dept. that evening from his latest collection of poems, The King's Touch.

AIA Spring Lectures

March 9, Women at Work: Archaeological Approaches to Women's Labor in Classical Greece by Katherine Harrington (Emory University)

April 20, The Reign of the Snake Kings. The rise and fall of the Kanu “1 Dynasty in the Maya Lowlands by Kathryn Reese-Taylor (University of Calgary)

This semester the Tech Classical Society hosted weekly study halls and organized a visit with the Khameleon Performance Group, with whom we had a great chat about their production of Medea and the future of Classics.

2022 Classics Awards

L to R: Haley Mimms, Jessi Thompson, Joanna George

2022 Awardees:

Joanna George: The Julian Frederick Suppe Classics Study Abroad Prize
Jessi Thompson: Howard & Fotini Perlmutter Classics Scholarship
Haley Mimms: The Leonid A. Jirgensons Scholarship in Latin.

Comparative Literature

The 54th Comparative Literature Symposium at Texas Tech University- “Perspectives on Water on the Llano Estacado”

Water flows through Lubbock, the Llano Estacado, and the Earth itself.  Fostering an acute awareness of the local importance of water builds sensitivity to the importance of water for the planet as an integral system.   

The 54th Comparative Literature Symposium at Texas Tech took place March 30-April 2, 2022, to jumpstart a conversation around community practitioners and academics in the humanities and sciences about the indispensability of water. The symposium included presentations that approach water from archeological, historical, engineering, scientific, and humanities perspectives, especially focusing on the Southern High Plains. Unique to the symposium was a field trip (with Ogallala Commons), a musical performance (with Andy Wilkinson), and an art exhibition (with the Texas Tech School of Art).  

Support of the Symposium was generously provided by the Department of Classical & Modern Languages & Literatures; Department of English; College of Arts & Sciences; Humanities Center of TTU; Charles B. Qualia Endowment in the Department of Classical & Modern Languages & Literatures; Office for Research & Innovation; Department of Geosciences; Office of the Vice President for Institutional Diversity; International Center for Arid and Semiarid Land Studies; Office of International Affairs; and Texas Tech Center for Water Law and Policy.  In association with Texas Tech University Social Justice and Environment Program (LSJE); Ogallala Commons and the Landmark Arts in the School of Art; and the J.T. & Margaret Talkington College of visual & Performing Arts.

The conference featured a keynote talk by Spanish Ph.D. alumnus Luis (Iñaki) Prádanos.  The conference resulted in ongoing community; art; and academic projects about water and the region. It also coincided with the publication of an article about a ballad in Spanish and the region, "Water Ecology in a Nuevomexicano Ballad: The Death of Manuel Maés in the Llano Estacado," authored by Dr. John Beusterien.

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French

Pi Delta Phi National Honor Society Induction 

On May 2, 2022, the 2022 Pi Delta Phi National French Honor Society, held the annual initiation ceremony.  

Inductees: (pictured left to right)

Michaela de la Houssaye
Elizabeth López
Cristian Isabel Hendricks

2022-2023 French Scholarship Awards 

Aline Kenfack: Beatrice Alexander Fellowship
Michaela de la Houssaye: Beatrice W. Alexander Scholarship
Leigh (Alex) Wright: Wendell E. McClendon Scholarship
Jerome Boasiako: Christine de Pizan Scholarship
Sophia Omueti: Christine de Pizan Scholarship
Jude Omoregie: Christine de Pizan Scholarship

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German

CMLL and the German program bid farewell to Marlene Selker

It is with grateful but heavy hearts that we bid farewell to Marlene Selker, Senior German Lecturer. After 15 years in the Department, she will be moving back to Germany to be closer to family.
Marlene Selker grew up in the border region of Germany and the Netherlands. She received a degree in education from Universität Osnabrück, taught in Wales (GB) for one year, and then moved to Lubbock.
At Texas Tech University, she received an MA in German and a PhD in English (Comparative Literature). Both her Masters' thesis focusing on androgyny and doctoral thesis on national myths reflect her interest in borders and the blurring of boundaries.
After several years of concentrating on her German/ Ugandan/ US-American family, she joined CMLL again in 2007, where she taught a variety of classes. For 15 years, she worked as coordinator of foundation German classes, always enjoying facilitating students' first encounters with a new language and diverse cultures, mentoring graduate student instructors, and exchanging ideas with colleagues. She sees language classes as a moment in students' days where subject matter and each participant's personal experience blend into communication: CMLL as a place where students can cross borders and experience something new.
A farewell celebration was held in her honor on May 2, where German students and faculty gathered to acknowledge the deep impact she has had on their language experience and their lives.
We are incredibly happy for Marlene as she moves to her next phase of life and we wish her much joy and happiness, but her absence will certainly be felt.

German program launches SPARK for German Lab

In Fall 2021, Dr. Alec Cattell coordinated the first cohort of SPARK leaders studying German at Texas Tech University, including Sarah Costanza, Briana Gary, and Taylor Holvey, pictured here delivering a SPARK session to students at Roscoe Wilson Elementary School.

Supported by the Goethe Institut and the American Association of Teachers of German, SPARK provides university students with practical, hands-on experiences to support their own language development while introducing members of the broader community to the benefits of learning a new language and exploring different cultures. SPARK leaders benefit from the program as they develop and are able to articulate a range of transferable skills that will be an asset to them on the job market.



TTU's SPARK Lab, shown here on the map of SPARK Labs across the nation, will be integrated in second-year language courses in order to provide students of German with high-impact learning experiences and professional development opportunities.



In Spring 2022 Dr. Anita McChesney coordinated two SPARK for German Labs at Roscoe Wilson Elementary School. This is an expansion of the program first launched in Fall 2021 by Dr. Alec Cattell. SPARK is supported by the Goethe Institut and the American Association of Teachers of German and provides university students with the opportunity to develop their own language with practical, hands-on experiences while introducing members of the broader community to a different language and culture. In this second SPARK cohort, 9 Texas Tech students from Dr. McChesney's intermediate German course, GERM 2302.002, delivered high-impact German lessons to two groups of elementary school students over a ten week period. Group 1 met every Tuesday afternoon with children continuing from the fall SPARK program, while group 2 (pictured below) met each Friday afternoon to introduce a new cohort of children to German language and culture. Over 45 children from Kindergarten through 5th grade participated in the program. There are plans to continue this relationship between the TTU German and the community with another SPARK for German Lab in Fall 2022.

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Italian

A Conversation with Sonali Gulati

Made in Italy - A Conversation with Riccardo Illy, Chairman of Polo del Gusto 

A Conversation with Susan Margolin: A Life in Independent Film and Media  

The World Cinema and Italian program with the departments of Classical & Modern Languages & Literatures and Women's & Gender Studies presented a talk with Susan Margolin, Co-Founder of New Video/Docurama Films and former President of Cinedigm Entertainment, Producer and Founder of St. Marks Production.   “A Conversation with Susan Margolin: A Life in Independent Film and Media” was held on March 23, 2022, via Zoom. 

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Japanese

 

The Japanese program hosted a Japanese Game Night on March 10 in the Qualia Room.  Students enjoyed playing Ball Bounce Scooping and Chopsticks Challenge.  In addition, students made bookmarks with their names written in Japanese.

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Korean

 

 

Learners of Korean enjoyed Korean Game Night on March 10 in the CMLL Qualia Room.  Featured games included Hacky Jegi, Gonggi (Jactstons), Choptsticks , Red Light-Green Light.  Students also had the opportunity to write their names in Korean and to learn a K-pop dance!

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Russian

CMLL Language Olympics

Winter Raider Welcome took place on January 11th during which CMLL hosted an event to promote language programs to undergraduate students.  The Russian program's table exhibited the beautiful Russian culture.  Students engaged in interactive games and activities and challenges with Russian tongue twisters.
 


The Tech Russian & Slavic Association held its first Officer/Advisors meeting of the spring semester on January 20th.  Discussion of club officer elections, brainstorming new ideas and using social media for club promotion took place during the meeting.



Students participated in the “Looking for an internship?” webinar hosted by Texas Tech University Career Center on January 25 and 26th.  This strategic webinar informed students about finding internship opportunities that will enable them to increase their career endeavors in globally connected fields.



On Thursday, Jan. 27 students of Russian participated in a live-stream presentation by SARS for Irkutsk Site Visit to explore the opportunities to study abroad in Irkutsk, a beautiful city with numerous colleges, institutes, and universities that draws students from all over Siberia and the Russian Far East. Its vibrant diversity is complemented by its laid-back small-town-like charm and the natural beauty that surrounds it. Students and instructors learned about programs and the opportunities as well as natural surroundings that include an amazing ecosystem thriving around the world's oldest and deepest freshwater lake Baikal.



The LLRC began offering Russian Conversation Hours and free tutoring sessions beginning January 31, 2022!  Conversation hours included interactive games and took place on Mondays and Wednesdays in the Language Lab and tutoring via Zoom on most Fridays.

With the start of the Russian-Ukrainian war, Drs. Qualin and Collopy organized a panel discussion (via Zoom) titled, “Ukraine and Russia – History and Context” with specialists including themselves and Dr. Alan Barenberg (TTU History), Dr. Eric Hammerson (Institute for Peace and Conflict), Dr. Frank Thames (TTU Political Science), and Kyle Rable, Graduate Student in History & Panel Host.  



The panelists shed light on the historical relationship and tensions between Ukraine and Russia and highlighted the implications of Russia's attack on the sovereign nation of Ukraine. An audience of 300 participated in the lecture with an additional number of requests to watch the video recording.



The TRSA organized a Ukraine Resource table on March 28-29 in the CMLL lobby to provide information on ways to help Ukrainians.  In addition, the proceeds from the sale of hot coffee and treats were donated to the American Councils of Teachers of Russia Emergency Support for Ukraine.



On a brighter note, Irina Drigalinko, lecturer of Russian, presented a lecture on Spring Festival in Eastern Slavic countries. This year's festival had a somber note due to the current political situation, but students learned about Malenista's traditions, customs and food including samplings of traditional festival blinis, pirozhki, and sweet buns with poppy seeds. 



On March 7th TRSA and SGA (Student Government Association) organized a Vigil for Peace that was opened to all Texas Tech students and the Lubbock community at large. Among the participants were the Departments of CMLL and History colleagues and students, Texas Tech President Schovanec, and members of Russian and Ukrainian communities. All united in support of peace and to protest the war.

With the development of the war in Ukraine, several presentations were held this spring to educate and inform students, faculty, and the community on the history behind the current tension between Ukraine and Russia.  



On March 24th, the Texas Tech Department of Journalism & Creative Media Industries and the Honors College hosted a lecture via Zoom by Bohdan Nahaylo, editor, Kyiv Post via Zoom shed light on the situation.



Members of the TRSA joined the virtual talk and then on March 25th, they joined via Zoom in the discussion with the Belarusian Nobel Laureate Svetlana Alexievich.  She is the author of The Unwomanly Face of War: An Oran History of Women in World War II; Last Witnesses: An Oral History of the Children of World War II; Zinky Boys: Soviet Voices from the Afghanistan War; Voices from Chernobyl: The Oral History of a Nuclear Disaster.    The talk was part of the lecture series Voices from the Eastern European Anthropocene sponsored by the Cooper Series at Swarthmore College.  Although it was scheduled prior to the Russian invasion of Ukraine, emphasis was given to current events in Belarus, Ukraine, and Russia. 

National Slavic Honor Society Dobro Slovo Induction Ceremony

Seven students of Russian were inducted into the National Slavic Honor Society Dobro Slovo on April 29, 2022.  In addition to the Dobro Slovo Key of Society (representative of Slavic academic studies) and a certificate that each inductee received, they received honor cords of black (representative of hard work, struggle and sacrifice in Slavic folklore) and gold (representative of reward, rebirth and valor in Slavic folklore) to wear proudly with their commencement regalia.  

Inductees:
A. Talamantes
Benny Loya
Zachary Wood
Juan Ramirez
Ryan McCrea
Tinsley Ryan
Merrill Cooper

The annual end-of the year picnic for the TRSA and Russian program took place on May 1.  After a few years of cancelled picnics, this spring, the breezy day did not hinder the faculty and students to finish the semester with great food, fun and games and heartfelt conversations. 

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Spanish & Portuguese

XXIII Annual Hybrid Céfiro Conference on Latin American and Iberian Languages, Literatures, and Cultures

The theme of this year's conference is "Powerful Heritages: Cultural, Literary and Linguistic Reflections on Periphery and Globalization". The conference took place April 8-9, 2022.


CMLL Presenters

LatinxVoces- Meet & Greet with Paulin Sosa, CEO and founder  

Spanish faculty and grad students meet with Paulina Sosa, CEO and founder of LatinxVoces, a task force group from the USA Health and Human Services department. She is touring 14 cities collecting stories related to the Latino community dealing with COVID, and exploring the Latino cultural heritage.


Pictured from left to right: Dr. Britta Anderson; Dr. John Beusterien; Jacqueline Garcia (Spanish major); Sandra Sierra (Spanish major); Geazul Hernandez; Omar Gonzalez (Spanish graduate student); Paulina Sosa 

Caption: “El Nopal”, a portrait dedicated to her father by Sandra Sierra, Spanish major. The painting was on display as part of the LatinxVoces tour which visited Lubbock and Texas Tech and included a collaborative partnership with CMLL.

Latinx Social Capital: A Gateway for First Gen Latinx Academics to Navigate Educational Institutions

Dr. Glenn Martínez (professor of Hispanic Linguistics and the Dean of Liberal and Fine Arts, University of Texas, San Antonio) is dedicated to exploring the social dynamics of Spanish in the United States.  As this year's keynote speaker at the Latinx Social Capital meeting on August 19 via Zoom, he gave a talk entitled, Bridging and Bonding: Latinx Social Capital in the Classroom and Beyond”.  The Panel: Latinx Cultural Capital comprised of four professors Latinx, Dirctors of Spanish program shared their autobiographies through their own path of conocimiento (Gloria Anzaldúa's path of conocimiento as ”a form of spiritual inquiry/activism reached via creative acts”) and how they have naivated education institutions and achieved success on their own terms.  In the afternoon, an interactive workshop, Critical Sociocultural Linguistic Literacy (criSoll) as a Means of Dismantling Language Hierarchies in the Spanish Language Classroom was organized by Lara Boyero, Melissa Mallon and Cristina Sánchez. 

This one-day symposium for K-12 and higher ed educators was sponsoredorganized by The Spanish Heritage Language Direction Network and The LatCrit Sociocultural Linguistic Lab at UCR. Sponsored by the Just Futures Mellon Grant for the Latino Latin American Studies Research Center and the LatCrit Lab at UCR.

Special Screening at Alamo Drafthouse on April 20th with special guests, Dr. Britta Anderson, and Omar Gonzalez.




Spanish Heritage Language Program

The SHL program has had a busy semester! Thank you to all those who were involved and provided support. You are very much appreciated.

Cavazos Middle School: February 16 – April 27

 

This Spring we held a weekly Spanish club at Cavazos Middle School! In the picture above we were joined by Dra. Guerrero's class and middle school students learned Spanish through games and conversations! Cavazos students really enjoyed speaking with our Texas Tech faculty and students. Thank you to Kassandra Racu, Cavazos Middle School Site Coordinator, for helping us start the Spanish club at Cavazos.

Culture Day at Smith Elementary- February 25, 2022

In February we were invited to Smith Elementary for Culture Day! Two of our SHL program students, Julio Robles and Haley Chapa, provided a short presentation on the Spanish language followed by a mini-Spanish lesson

Invited Speakers: March 1 – March 8

In spring of 2021 we began bringing speakers from across the university and local community into our courses to highlight the importance of the Spanish language in their lives and careers.


Esther Deleon is an associate librarian on campus. She spoke to the students about being a first-generation college student and her academic journey that brought her to her current role.

Dr. Ana Torres is a lecturer and bilingual education teacher educator at the College of Education.  She provided various reasons for maintaining the Spanish language and shared her work in the community schools.

Dr. Delia Carrizales is the Undergraduate Bilingual Education Program Director at the College of Education. She spoke about the importance of maintaining the Spanish language and the history of the Spanish language in the US school system.

Dr. Felix Morales is an associate professor and dean of admissions at the Texas Tech Health Sciences Center. He spoke about the importance of the Spanish language in the medical field and the need for more Spanish speakers in medicine.

Spanish Majors Roundtable

Roundtable Discussion

On March 7, a roundtable discussion with Texas Tech alumni with a BA in Spanish who shared with potential majors how they are currently using their Spanish skills and major knowledge in their professional careers.  Interested students learned how Spanish benefits these alum in teaching, cultural studies/literature, dentistry, linguistics, medicine, interpretation, and translation, to name a few. This event was made possible by the Department of Classical & Modern Languages & Literatures (Texas Tech University)

Distinguished Spanish Alumni Panel

Yazzarei Bazaldua, pursuing a M.A. in Hispanic Literature & Cultural Studies (Texas Tech University)
Brittani Chaffin, Spanish teacher at Hyde Park Middle School
Lily Lemus, pursuing a dental degree (UT Health Science Center, San Antonio School of Dentistry)
Jazmyn Martinez, pursuing a M.A. in Hispanic Linguistics (Texas Tech University)
Natalie Parks, pursuing a medical degree (McGovern Medical School at UT Health Science Center)
Gabriel Reyna, Interpretation & Translation Freelancer

Lecture, “Transforming a City: The Lubbock March of Faith, Black and Brown Alliances, and the Fight Agains Police Brutality” 

Café con pan dulce – March 31, 2022

 

In March, the SHLP held an event called Café con pan dulce where we spoke to students about our program! Local Texas Tech mariachi students also performed along with a couple of ballet folklorico dancers. We would like to thank Stephanie Santos, Valerie Vasquez, Misty Rangel, Chris Vasquez-Wright, and Nathaniel Valdez for helping us set up the event.

2nd Annual Writing Contest

The Spanish Heritage Language Program held a poetry and short stories writing contest this spring. Submissions from the Texas Tech and Lubbock high school students were invited. Poems of up to 2000 words and short stories between 500 and 2,000 words reflecting the theme, “Growing up Bilingual” and written in Spanish or Spanglish were received.  Among the submissions, two finalists per category were selected and winners announced.  

Poetry Winners


1st Place- Severo Alvarado
Title: Raíces en dos paíse

2nd Place- Rufino Juarez, Plainview High School
Title: El tiempo es poco


3rd Place- Andrea Plascencia, Plainview High School
Title: Todos tememos una voz

Short Story/Essay Winners


1st Place: Lupita Mendoza, Plainview High School
Title: Todo en mi


2nd Place: Rufino Juarez, Plainview High School
Title: Porque estudio Español


3rd Place: Jaida Vasquez, Plainview High School
Title: La sirena



We would also like to thank one of our SHLP students, Nathaniel Valdez, for all of his time and work this semester. He assisted with our weekly Spanish club, the bilingual story time and set-up of our events on campus. 

Bilingual Story Time: March 26 and April 30, 2022

 

In March and April, SHLP held bilingual story time events at the National Flea Market in Lubbock. Nathaniel Valdez and I read “En mi familia” and “El juego de la lotería”. Izabelle Horner, an ASL Texas Tech student, joined us for our April reading! Thank you to Geazul Hernández, Nathaniel Valdez, Raymond Flores, Amanda and Carly DeLeon for their help setting up these events!

Digital Story Day: April 28th, 2022

In April the SHL program held our annual Digital Story Day where students share their end of course digital story projects. This year's theme was “Being a Hispanic Student at Texas Tech.” The selected stories were chosen by the students in each class. These will be available on our SHL program website and social media after May 12. Please be on the lookout! We would like to thank the students of SPAN 1508 for helping us set up this event and to CMLL for providing the snacks.

Digital story winners:
1st Place: Vinny Runfola
2nd Place: Miriam Vazquez

Spanish Courses Outstanding Students Awards 

  
 

SPAN 1508: Mikayla Rendon, Haley Chapa
SPAN 2303: Kaylyn Rickerson, Grace Santos
SPAN 2304: Angela Quiñones, Jayden Bates
SPAN 3315: Gabriela Esparza, Nathan Valdez

A special thank you to Dra. Paola Guerrero and Dra. Idoia Elola for purchasing t-shirts for the SHL program students!

Spanish Graduation Ceremony

 

On May 13th, graduating Spanish majors were honored at the CMLL Spanish Graduation Ceremony organized by the Spanish Undergraduate Studies Committee.

 

Frenship High School and The Spanish Heritage Language Program offered Bilingual Story Time on July 16 at the National Flea Market.   This event was free and offered to the children of Lubbock and the surrounding areas.  

 

 

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