Shannon Millikin, Associate Professor of Instruction in the Department of Spanish and Portuguese, has created an eTandem language learning exchange between Northwestern students taking Intermediate Spanish 121, and students and English learners at universities abroad.
Millikin coordinates and teaches Spanish 121, the largest language course at Northwestern, that guides and supports students as they develop communicative skills and cultural competence.
In the Winter of 2022, with the support of a Hewlett Grant and a Council on Language Instruction (CLI) Grant, Millikin went to Cartagena de Indias, Colombia to develop relationships with universities there that have students learning English. After her trip, she developed the eTandem language learning component as part of the Spanish 121 course, where Northwestern students could converse virtually with students at these partner universities abroad.
For Millikin, the goal is to ensure her students can use Spanish effectively with other speakers in culturally appropriate and purposeful ways. With these abilities, Millikin said, students, will appreciate how enriching multilingualism can be both personally and professionally.
“The foundation of the course is comprehensible input in the form of readings, novels, and films,” said Millikin. “We also work on intercultural competence by focusing inward and reflecting on our observations, connections and feelings. Our assessments include both performance and proficiency tasks. In all of this we strive towards inclusion and equity both in the content and the classroom.”
Spring 2022 was the inaugural quarter of eTandem language learning exchange. The program was well-received by students and university partners.
“I am very pleased to report that in our inaugural quarter (Spring 2022) Northwestern Intermediate Spanish logged over 400 hours of interpersonal communication practice and intercultural contact with university students in Cartagena de Indias, Colombia and Mexico City, Mexico,” said Millikin.
“We have overwhelmingly positive qualitative and quantitative feedback from our students. Additionally, we have very positive feedback from our partner institutions and an interest in continuing eTandem language learning, as well as broadening collaborations between our universities.”
Apart from linguistic benefits, Millikin said it is also important to note that, in creating their own project, those involved were able to be intentional about working towards equitable representation in the curriculum and work with regions that have a high level of diversity — specifically the underrepresented Mestizo, Afro-Latino, and Indigenous populations. In addition, Millikin explained how the program also offered a platform for fostering international relationships for language learners.
“Study abroad and international internships are not within reach for many students. eTandem is a powerful tool as we look to internationalize the curriculum so that internationalization experiences are accessible to all students, including those that may not have the time, resources, or mobility to go abroad,” said Millikin.
Millikin extended a special thanks to her colleagues and fellow Spanish 121 instructors Tasha Seago-Ramaly, Raquel Amorese, and Irene Finestrat Martinez, and the universities that participated in the collaboration, Universidad Tecnológica de Bolívar, Cartagena de Indias, Colombia; Universidad San Buenaventura, Cartagena de Indias, Colombia; and Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México, Ciudad de México, México.