Spanish most popular among students in TCC classes
Students, faculty report reasons why on-line, traditional classes are filled

by Diana DeLeon, feature editor

    District-wide, Spanish is the most popular choice of classes to fulfill the foreign language requirement, enrollment figures indicate.

    Online classes as well as traditional classes are filled, and Saturday only classes are also full.

    Students planning to continue their education at four-year universities often must have some foreign language credits on their transcript.

    "A lot of degrees require a foreign language," Felipe Dobarganes, department chair of communications arts on South Campus, said.

    But this is not the only reason that Spanish classes are filled.

    Jennifer Zarate, an online student, has two reasons for taking Spanish this semester.

    "I needed this course to fulfill my degree in business. Living in Texas has it advantages, so I wanted to learn how to understand Spanish better," she said.

    Many students say they are in Spanish class to improve their chances of promotion at their place of business. Some businesses require an employee to be bilingual.

    Chrystal Flynn, an online student, took Spanish not only because it was required for her math degree but also because she thought learning Spanish was important.

    "I feel it is necessary to learn at least the basics considering the rising population of Spanish-speaking people," she said.

    "Opportunities with Mexico are expanding," Dobarganes said, and NAFTA has helped create some new prospects for many companies that previously only did business in the United States.

    "Many companies now do business with Mexico," he said.

    Spanish language schools, which offer job-specific classes, are growing rapidly because of demand.

    These programs teach specific words and phrases for different occupations and industries.

    Currently SE and South Campus have 14 Elementary Spanish I classes running while Spanish II and Intermediate Spanish classes are also filled on all campuses.

    "We are so glad that Spanish classes are filled," Rosa Chavez, NW Campus department chair of fine arts and languages, said.

    Chavez spoke of the need to learn Spanish simply because of the number of people who speak it in this area.

    Carol Perry, a NE Campus student, agrees.

    "So many people speak Spanish in this area," she said. Perry travels to Mexico to pursue her hobby, scuba diving, and sees the need to communicate while traveling.

    "It would be so nice to be able to understand directions given to me," she said.

    English speakers are not the only people interested in learning a second language.

    "Interest is at both ends," Chavez said. "English speakers want to learn Spanish, and Spanish speakers want to learn English."

    English for speakers of other languages (ESOL) classes are also filled this semester.

    While a majority of TCC Spanish class students are English speakers, there are some who are Hispanic.

    Some of these students simply wish to brush up. Others speak the language, but never learned to read or write it.

    Some students simply wish to be able to communicate with co-workers more easily.

    Adam Scott, a NE Campus student, frequently travels to Mexico to go rock climbing.

    As well, Scott has many co-workers who are native Spanish speakers.

    "They try so hard to learn English and to communicate with me. I feel I should be reaching out to them," he said.

    Help is available on all campuses in the form of instructional assistants and tutors. All campuses cover the same material.

    Every summer students also can travel to Mexico during the first summer session for a Spanish immersion study program.

    Students attend classes at the Mexican Immersion Center, five days a week, six hours a day, and live with a host family.

    Students who complete this program receive seven credit hours for 32 days in Cuernavaca, Mexico.

    Students from all campuses are eligible for the immersion program after completing two semesters of Spanish classes.

    Spanish is the third most spoken language in the world behind Chinese and English in terms of native speakers, according to the Dictionary of Languages.

    Jonathan Brandon is taking Spanish online as an early high school enrollment.

    "I find that Spanish in general is a widely accepted language that plays a big role in our society down here in Texas. Plus, I like learning foreign languages," he said.

    Census records show that Spanish is the second most spoken language in the state of Texas, and this phenomenon has been noticed by politicians.

    The past year has seen many politicians reaching out to Hispanic voters in Spanish, and two candidates in Texas held a bilingual debate on television.

    For more information on the immersion program, contact Jaime Palmer at 515-817-6932 or at james.palmer@tccd.net.