The World in Words: GFU’s Language Enrichment Program
Reported By: Sophia Lumsdaine
Photographed By: Yolanda Diaz
Susana Barnreuther grew up speaking three languages. Her household language was German, but her family lived in Spain next to a United States Army base. As a result, along with speaking German with her family, she also learned Spanish from her surroundings, and English because of her proximity to the American base.
“It was a gift,” said Barnreuther, who now works in the George Fox University (GFU) Department of Language and Literature. “Language is an essential part of who I am and the way I relate to people. It’s one of my greatest assets.”
Barnreuther reflected on what this experience was like. “We don’t think of language in categories as kids; we just communicate,” she said. “We pick up the word for something and start making connections. If [the language] is in your surroundings, you will absorb it.”
It is this experiential and early learning model that the Department of Language and Literature is seeking to emulate in its Language Enrichment Opportunities Program. The program, which began last spring, is a collaboration between the English and Spanish Departments and brings Newberg elementary and middle school students onto the GFU campus to learn and practice their language skills. This semester there is one Creative Writing English enrichment opportunity and four Spanish enrichment opportunities for Spanish language learners. The Spanish opportunities are led by GFU Spanish minors and the English Creative Writing opportunity is led by a GFU English major.
Whereas students who attend the Spanish enrichment opportunities come to learn and absorb the language, the Creative Writing opportunity is meant for students who are already fluent in English to refine their writing skills. Maddy Farnham, who teaches middle school students through the Creative Writing opportunity, said that it is meant to provide a space “where [students] can nurture their own talents and their own ideas, and give them the tools that they’ll need later on in life.”
Emmalee Johnson is one of the teachers for the Spanish portion of the Language Enrichment Program and a rare Spanish major at GFU. The Spanish major was cut at GFU in the 2020-2021 school year; however, in 2022, she petitioned the university to allow her to become a Spanish major, which she plans to pair with a communication degree to become an immigration attorney. She will be attending law school next fall.
Johnson is leading two enrichment opportunities for middle school students: one for individuals who do not have a background in Spanish and one for those who have gone through a school immersion program or have grown up speaking it in their home. As part of her senior capstone project, she is comparing the two groups’ perceptions of culture and diversity through the lens of language.
As well as being a unique opportunity for local grade school students to develop their English language skills or learn a second language, Barnreuther listed the benefits it provides for GFU student instructors, including allowing them to “use their knowledge and teach it, which is an even better way of cementing knowledge for themselves.”
“[Learning Spanish] has opened so many doors for me in many ways–who I am able to communicate with, who and how I can serve, where I can travel, and ultimately, how I can use my future career to help as many people as possible,” Johnson said of her own experience acquiring a second language.
As expressed by Barnreuther, “Learning another language for anybody is of extraordinary value.” By acquiring a second language, “you can learn so much about yourself,” she said. Through language, those involved in the program believe we come to better understand ourselves, those around us, and the world we live in.