Garcia offers English and Spanish classes at First Presbyterian
By JONATHAN SNYDER
A local Spanish and English class aims to help adults learn about language and culture.
The class is taught by Sandy Garcia, an assistant pastor at First Presbyterian Church. Garcia, who has been teaching language classes for over 20 years, has roots in Argentina and grew up in a Hispanic household. Garcia also taught in a dual-language school, focusing on teaching children both Spanish and English at a young age.
Garcia studying for her master’s of divinity from the Christian Theological Seminary and interning at First Presbyterian as part of her course. The idea for the class came from some of the congregation’s interest in learning about the culture.
“I just kind of threw it out there one day to the congregation,” Garcia said. “(I was) thinking, ‘I’m going to get maybe one or two people interested,’ but I got like 20 people, even coming from the Lutheran church and just people coming off the street who are wanting to learn Spanish.”
In addition to teaching Spanish, Garcia teaches English to Spanish speakers. While the groups are still in the initial stages of learning language, the English group has made trips to the Mexican market downtown Bluffton to give more practical examples of language while learning about spanish cuisine.
“The goal is to get the Spanish speaking people with the English speaking people,” Garcia said. “Getting them together so that they can exchange and practice each other’s new language and learn about each other’s culture.”
Garcia’s classes are focused on practical lessons and encouragement. Debbie Elkins, who is learning Spanish, said that Garcia’s class encourages her to try and speak without fear of using an incorrect word or accent. Elkins said that Latino people have been attending her church and these classes give her the opportunity to reach out and build friendships.
“Sandy is just a delightful teacher,” Elkins said. “She’s just a wonderful personality and she’s fun to have as a teacher. It is not frightening … all the people that come in seem to enjoy each other.”
Garcia’s dream is to bridge the two cultures, so that the love of Christ can be easier spread and understood by both sides. Garcia believes that learning about each other’s culture allows people to develop deeper friendships and teach other critical thinking skills.
“I want them (her students) to know that they have been gaining tools to help them make that connection so everybody gets a sense of belonging,” Garcia said. “Our country is global, we get all kinds of products and business from the world … so we might as well embrace learning a culture and learning a language.”
For Garcia, helping people learn English is a point of pride. Garcia said that English is often a necessity for Latino people in the U.S., and she wants to help people grasp the cultural differences so they can take part in churches or other gatherings. Garcia also hopes to teach Latinos about various American situations and interactions.
“Cognitively, if I’m learning something because I’m scared and I need to survive, it’s a little harder for me to learn than somebody who’s just … taking Spanish because it’s fun,” Garcia said. “Churches are shrinking and they (Latinos) are out there and they want to come, they want to come and be comfortable.”
Currently, Spanish classes are available on Wednesdays at 11 a.m., with English classes on Saturday at 10 a.m. Garcia hopes to add an evening class in the future, to give everybody more opportunity to work in the morning and learn in the evening.
jonathan@news-banner.com
