Cinthya Ammerman: Creating a Bilingual Native Studies Course

Cal Poly Humboldt’s Hispanic-serving Institution (HSI) and Minority Serving Institution (MSI) designations underline a commitment to the success of historically marginalized students. 

This commitment entails the development of programs and practices that will not only foster the academic growth of our underserved students, but that will also nurture their social and emotional well-being through cultivating a sense of community-belonging and cultural representation.

Cultural Representation

Within the umbrella term “Hispanic,” there are many people with Indigenous and Afro-Indigenous ancestries whose identities are often overlooked. The vast majority (but not all) of people with roots in Central and South America have Indigenous ancestry. Many of us are reconnecting or detribalized, many others continue to have strong ties to their communities. I designed a Native American Studies course, “Indigenous Peoples of the Americas,” for “Hispanic/Latine” students and Indigenous migrant students to feel seen and represented.

Language Needs

Over the past two years that I have taught this course, students have requested information in Spanish to share with their families, or to prepare them for graduate studies and field work in their ancestral homelands. This is normally an asynchronous course, but this semester I offered it in person and in Spanish. As it turns out, the majority of students who enrolled in the class are heritage speakers and not fluent in Spanish. However, I was able to accommodate everyone by making the materials accessible via Canvas in both languages, leading to the development of a fully bilingual course.

Bilingual Course Development

I’m currently still in the process of making the Canvas bilingual. The next step is to record Spanish-version lectures for when this course is taught asynchronously. The English version of the modules have pre-recorded lectures. All assigned texts are in English or have subtitles, however, the recommended texts (of which they have to pick
a select few) include many that are exclusively in Spanish. Students also have the option to submit assignments in Spanish. The Center for Teaching and Learning and the tools I learned through the “Course Design Academy” have been instrumental to the creation of this course.

Flexibility and Humility

Developing this course has required a great deal of flexibility, as I continue to adapt to our students’ language needs and intellectual interests. It has also been a humbling experience, allowing myself to experiment, make mistakes, and to learn from my students about what does and doesn’t work. I have the great fortune to work with a
gracious group of students who are also flexible and willing to experiment with this new course format.