Photo by Pamela Gill Debbie Janes, far left, Community Education administrative assistant, and Marilyn Forward (R), program developer with Community Education, run over a few last minute details with two students from Belize who will be teaching an introductory Spanish course beginning Feb. 4. The course is filled to capacity with an extensive waiting list.

By Pamela Gill
Whatever the reason – trips to the Caribbean or a general interest in foreign languages – Grenfell College’s Community Education is finding out that people are keen to learn Spanish.

Community Education's Conversational Spanish course has been full with a waiting list for quite some time; the course begins Feb. 4.

“This course is intended for people who have little or no knowledge of the Spanish language,” explained Marilyn Forward, program developer at Community Education and College Relations. "Participants will learn to pronounce Spanish words and will be able to carry on simple conversations.”

Grenfell is able to offer this course because of two international students who come from Belize.

Shanda Williams and Nataliah Cardona, both of Belmopan City, the capital of Belize, are working towards a bachelor of arts in psychology at Grenfell.

“I've been asked a lot of questions about our home and whether we speak English or Spanish there,” said Ms. Williams. “It will be nice to share the language. It's going to be a lot of fun. I'm looking forward to it.”

Ms. Cardona sees the opportunity as a chance for personal growth and career development.

“I'm looking at getting into the University of Toronto,” she said, referring to postgraduate studies. “Teaching Spanish at a young age at a university will be very beneficial to me for my career.”

“We’ve been overwhelmed at the public response to this course,” said Ms. Forward, adding that if all goes well, there's no reason to think Community Education wouldn't offer the course next fall. “We’re glad that we are able to offer Shanda and Nataliah employment while they're attending school. Their skills will really enhance the variety of programming we’re able to offer.”