Photo Credit: SKILLSSKILLS (School Kids Investigating Language, Life, and Society) is an academic outreach program designed by linguistics and education faculty at UCSB. The program targets low-income Latino high school students in the hopes of building their academic and research skills as well as their confidence to pursue college. The program is being implemented in an elective class at Carpinteria High School, an after-school program at Santa Barbara High school, and through the UCSB Upward Bound Saturday college program.
The semester-long curriculum allows students to conduct original empirical linguistic research focused on the language and culture of their peers, homes, and local communities. The hope is that this experience not only teaches them practical research skills but also helps them to appreciate their own linguistic heritage and develop their identities as multicultural college-going students.
Linguistics professor and SKILLS director Dr. Mary Bucholtz believes linguistics "provides an unusually strong foundation for college-bound students because it involves a wide range of academic issues across the disciplines, from the sciences (e.g., physiology and acoustic physics of speech production and perception), to the social sciences (e.g., the patterning of language across sociologically defined populations) to the humanities and fine arts (e.g., the use of language for self-expression and in various cultural forms of verbal art)."
In addition to their research, the students also receive in-depth mentoring with UCSB students providing them practical information on selecting and attending college, financial resources, and college life. The culminating event for these students is SKILLS Day, which brings them to the UCSB campus to present their work, meet with university faculty and students, and learn more about college life first-hand.
Photo Credit: SKILLS
We talked with 2nd year graduate student Chris VanderStouwe, who has served as a teaching fellow and coordinator for the SKILLS program, about his experience with the program. When asked what he enjoyed most about the program, Chris said, "I think my favorite part of this program has been seeing how the students react to learning something that they didn't know was out there to learn. Language is a fundamental part of who we all are, but studies about language are virtually non-existent in grade school (and even uncommon at the university level). Seeing students interact with their language in culturally and individually meaningful ways has been really powerful and exciting for those of us involved as well as the students themselves."
Chris noted that what the students really seem to enjoy most about the program is "learning about themselves through language, as well as sharing their own linguistic expertise with others. SKILLS Day is also always a very enjoyable moment for the students, who get the opportunity to present their own original research here at UCSB. It's something that I think really brings home how much potential the students have and how successful they can be."
Photo Credit: SKILLS
If you're interested in getting involved with the SKILLS program, you don't have to be a linguistics student! The program currently has students from Education, Chicano Studies, and other departments and is open to any students who have interest or experience in teaching and/or studying language in some capacity. Being English/Spanish bilingual is a plus, but is not required. Interviews for the program fellows typically take place in late August or early September, so contact Dr. Bucholtz (bucholtz@linguistics.ucsb.edu) if you are interested in applying or would like more information.