TeCHS Outreach

Explore UT, March 2, 2019. University of Texas at Austin
Presenters: Jocelly Meiners, María Luisa Echavarría and student volunteers. 

The heritage Spanish instructors in the Department of Spanish and Portuguese at the University of Texas at Austin participated in the university’s biggest open house, Explore UT. With the help of several of our heritage Spanish students, we hosted two sessions where we welcomed people of all ages from the surrounding communities and schools to learn a little bit about the Spanish language, including linguistic and cultural aspects. We had hands-on activities and games to engage the audience, and we promoted our heritage Spanish track.

AISD teacher and administrator outreach on October 8, 2018 at the University of Texas at Austin
Presenters: Department of Spanish and Portuguese, heritage instructors, UT Austin

The Heritage Spanish track instructors in the Spanish and Portuguese Department at the University of Texas at Austin hosted 8 middle and high school teachers and administrators from the Austin Independent School District on the UT campus. The purpose of the 3 hour meeting was to share information about the courses offered for heritage Spanish students at UT, and to learn from the teachers and administrators about the needs and challenges of students in their schools. We hope to establish a partnership with AISD and have many more events that can benefit bilingual students in both the K-12 and college level.

Explore UT in March, 2018 at the University of Texas at Austin
Presenters: Department of Spanish and Portuguese, UT Austin

The heritage Spanish instructors in the Department of Spanish and Portuguese at the University of Texas at Austin participated in the university’s biggest open house, Explore UT. With the help of several of our heritage Spanish students, we hosted two sessions where we welcomed people of all ages from the surrounding communities and schools to learn a little bit about the Spanish language, including linguistic and cultural aspects. We had hands-on activities and games to engage the audience, and we promoted our heritage Spanish track.

Professional Development Day on February 23, 2018 at Texas A&M Commerce
Presenter: Flavia Belpoliti, Ph.D.

50 Spanish teachers from the DFW area participated in this workshop aimed to extend teachers’ understanding of language learning strategies as a fundamental component of any language class. The activities explored strategy-based models currently implemented in classrooms worldwide in order to provide access to a flexible model of language learning. Participants designed strategy-based activities to be integrated into their regular lesson plans. The workshop also allowed participants to discuss implementations for courses with mixed HL-L2 population (which is the most common learning context in the area).

Sharing Materials Developed at Texas A&M University, Fall 2018 Semester
Facilitator: Gabriela C. Zapata, Ph.D.

This Fall 2018 semester, a group of graduate students developed OER activities for the teaching of Spanish as a Heritage Language for both university and high school students.  (See the Activities tab for links.) Dr. Gabriela Zapata also continued development of the OER L2 Spanish textbook Trayectos, with the collaboration of six heritage language learners. She also developed a website (with individual pages and pedagogical activities) that recognizes the contributions of Hispanic women in Texas. (See the Classroom Activities tab for links.) All of these materials have been or will be shared widely with heritage instructors in K-12 and higher ed.