UC Volunteers Help Elementary Students Bridge Language Gaps

 Heritage Hill Elementary School is a 20-minute drive from the University of Cincinnati’s Clifton campus, but in many ways, it’s like a foreign country. 

Most of the students are, like their parents, native Spanish speakers, from families that moved to Springdale, Ohio, from Central America or Mexico. But most of their teachers don’t speak Spanish. 

Bridging the language gap, and helping students translate their knowledge between school and home has become a passion for Patricia Clark Roper, who teaches Spanish in UC's McMicken College of Arts and Sciences’ Romance Languages and Literature Department. Roper, who first began helping younger Spanish-speaking students at Lincoln Heights Elementary in 2010, created the Reading Buddies program at UC last fall.  

Roper enlists UC student volunteers from all disciplinary backgrounds to partner with teachers and help struggling students keep up in the classroom. Spanish-speaking students make up about half of Heritage Hill’s population of around 300 students, so administrators send school reminders and event information home in both English and Spanish. 

One challenge teachers face is gauging what their students’ are learning or have already learned, Roper said. “The thing is that many of these students already know the material, but can’t articulate it in English,” she says. “If they were taking the tests in Spanish, they’d be getting much better scores.” 

UC volunteers don’t act as translators, but rather assist students during class activities in groups and individually. “The UC students help bridge the gaps so that they can better understand the concepts and vocabulary in English,” Roper said. All students who are interested can be a Reading Buddy, but volunteers should have completed introductory courses in Spanish to be able to offer the most help. All volunteers attend an orientation where they can meet with teachers and learn about the program.    

Connor Boone, a second-year Spanish and biochemistry student, found out about the opportunity last fall and plans to volunteer again this semester. He helps students primarily in math, science and history and said that for some Spanish-speaking students to succeed at the state tests, they have to be retaught math principles in English.   

“The numbers are the same but they’re too old to transition into the language easily,” Boone said. “They’re too young to use mathematical concepts without guidance.”  

Boone said that young ESL students who are immersed in another language risk losing their knowledge of formal Spanish, so he makes sure to test and correct them on both their English and Spanish translations. “It’s good to help them all across the board,” he said. 

Through the program, the elementary students are not only building their English skills, but also connecting with college-aged role models, Roper said. “It’s good for them to work with people a little closer to their own age,” she said. “It opens up the possibility for UC to have an even more diverse community down the line.”  

The experience helps UC students who want to teach or who want improve their Spanish by engaging with the language in a more immersive environment. For Boone, it’s simply a way to help the community.

“I’m busy, but I try to give back when I can,” he said, adding that the program lets volunteers set their own hours. “It’s almost like a mentor program because you get to develop a connection with students.” 

Both Heritage Hill and the UC volunteers—there are 18 currently, many from majors unrelated to Spanish or education—find the collaboration between diverse backgrounds one of the school’s prime assets. “It can be really eye-opening learning about new perspectives in the world,” Boone said. 

At the end of each semester, Roper and the elementary students paint murals together. “For some, it’s their favorite part of the school year,” Roper said.  

Students are encouraged to contact the school if they are still interested in volunteering but can’t make these sessions.  

Already, the program has made significant progress in helping the ESL students become more engaged in the curriculum.  “The UC students really keep the conversation along and help students make connections to shape their oral vocabulary,” said Heritage Hill Principal Jeresther Thorpe-Page. “There’s been such an impact in a short period of time.”