How often do we interact with the non-professorial staff members on campus? Many find it easier and more comfortable t–o give a short “thanks” and then continue on their way as they hand us our chicken tenders and fries or while they’re cleaning our bathroom mirrors. Blaming the language barrier is an easy way to avoid the lack of communication between students and campus employees but Pepperdine has a program on campus that can be a step toward breaking down those walls.
Seeking to bridge the gap between students and employees Assistant Director of Academics of International Programs Nichole Skelton heads the LEAP program and teaches the English Language Development (ELD) class. For the past three years employees have been given the opportunity to take forty minutes each Tuesday to leave their jobs to study English.
“I wanted to offer something outside of the classroom to supplement their English language development said Skelton.
And so LEAP was born. This group aims to build relationships while practicing foreign language and learning about other cultures.
Skelton’s passion for bringing people together did not just begin with her position with International Programs.
When I was a student at Pepperdine six years ago I coordinated the Language Connection Program at the Malibu Labor Exchange Skelton said. I decided to use a similar concept to connect Pepperdine ELLs [English Language Learners] with staff and students at Pepperdine that wanted to learn Spanish.”
The Language Connection Program is still available to students to participate in through the Pepperdine Volunteer Center.
Men and women day laborers bus in from all over the Los Angeles area to a Labor Exchange where they wait and hope for a job for the day. The Language Connection Program takes students wanting to practice their Spanish and build relationships in their community to meet and talk with these workers while they wait for the opportunity of a temporary job.
After deciding she wanted an intern to help coordinate the program Skelton hired junior Matthew Deseno. Deseno has spent a good portion of his fall semester working to strengthen both lingual skills and more important student-staff relationships through the re-initiation of a language exchange program on campus. Previous to this year similar language programs had come through Pepperdine but failed to continue for various reasons.
“The idea of employees meeting with students has been around for a while but nothing has been officially coordinated or at least nothing has stuck Deseno said.
Deseno was eager to take up an internship that seemed like a good opportunity to get involved with the Spanish-speaking community and make friends with more Pepperdine employees.”
Aside from the organization of this program Deseno’s duties include conducting a convocation on the better understanding of Latin-American cultures and working with the employee ELD classes on campus.
With the help of Facebook Deseno kicked off LEAP this fall by inviting anyone who was interested in practicing Spanish to join. Students were asked to post their schedule of available lunch times during the week along with whether they spoke Spanish at a beginning intermediate or advanced level. He then worked to pair each student up with a worker. Students who are beginning Spanish speakers are paired with advanced English learners; those who are more fluent in Spanish are paired with beginning English speakers. Each student-worker pair meet at a designated area once a week to enjoy a lunch provided by Pepperdine.
After her first lunch with her new partner junior Laura Zoradi was excited to have gained a new friend on campus.
Having spent a summer abroad in Buenos Aires taking upper-division Spanish classes Zoradi readily accepted the challenge of having a partner who spoke little to no English.
“I met with Maria Zoradi said. She’s been in California since the ’70s but she doesn’t speak any English.”
This is a common occurrence in southern California because many work environments allow employees to be instructed in Spanish for the sake of ease.
After the general meet-and-greet was done (during which Zoradi learned a little bit about El Salvador where Maria lived before moving to Los Angeles) Zoradi and Maria discussed how they wanted to structure their future meetings.
“We’re going to make flashcards and bring books and vocabulary lists so she can practice Zoradi said.
Because all the staff participants in the ELD course are from Latin America, the LEAP program is currently only open to those looking to work on Spanish, but the progress being made is more than enough of a reward.
It is a joy to see the landscapers and custodians whose work often goes unnoticed sitting down with staff and students getting to know each other on a personal level Skelton said. Deseno agrees that the biggest advantage to this program is alleviating ignorance of different cultures and bringing together people in community.
The best thing about this program is the exposure to culture Deseno said. For the student the obvious door into the stories and culture of Latin America is definitely opened during the meetings. … Between the ELL classes and LEAP hopefully we’ll be able to bridge the culture gap between employees and students.”
Anyone interested in getting involved with LEAP can send an e-mail to pepperdineleap@gmail.com or join the Facebook group (L.E.A.P.) online.
