While the pandemic has shaped the way in which instruction is delivered, for one Spanish professor at SUNY Oswego, it has served as a pathway to inspiration for several publications.
Visiting assistant professor Beatriz Salcedo-Strumpf has recently written two short testimonials related to the pandemic, having presented one of them before a literary jury in the Mexican city of Guadalajara.
Salcedo-Strumpf had said that while the sudden transition to online learning presented some difficulties as it relates to teaching a foreign language remotely, she was determined to share those experiences through her writing and publications.
“To be honest, it has been difficult to teach classes via Zoom,” Salcedo-Strumpf said. “First, because I have had to learn how to teach efficiently across these various platforms; secondly, students who take Spanish as a requirement must be motivated, but if they are interested in the class or if it is their specialty, students learn likewise via Zoom as they would in a face-to-face classroom environment.”
Salcedo-Strumpf’s experience mirrors that of other instructors who, during the pandemic, had to reinvent the way in which they deliver instruction remotely and quickly adjust to the ever-changing circumstances.
“At first, I thought we would be returning to campus in April,” Salcedo-Strumpf said. “But with the alarming news of so many new infections and knowing that this deadly virus was attacking the elderly and the most vulnerable living with chronic illnesses, I assumed we were not going to teach in-person.”
When it comes to teaching a foreign language remotely, she said it can be quite challenging for non-native students, especially when cameras are turned off and students’ microphones are muted.
“I think for some students it is more comfortable to take their classes online, but many do not like to be seen on-camera and prefer to turn their video off,” Salcedo-Strumpf said. “So by doing this, they will not learn efficiently, since studying a language requires a lot of concentration, discipline and perseverance.”
Although an online environment can be challenging for the non-native students, Salcedo-Strumpf said that she feels confident that her students will succeed given the flexibility that online learning provides.
Last semester, the challenge for Salcedo-Strumpf came as some of her students had to quarantine or self-isolate in order to meet the health guidelines set by SUNY Oswego.
A milestone came for Salcedo-Strumpf as she was able to receive her COVID-19 vaccination when professors, along with University Police officers and front-line health service workers, became eligible.
“I am already vaccinated, and I feel so free to travel and leave my home without any concern of contagion,” Salcedo-Strumpf said. “I follow the hygiene protocol as if I were not vaccinated. I think it is very important to be vaccinated both to protect oneself from the virus and to protect the students.”
Salcedo-Strumpf does recognizes the need for both students and faculty to get their doses of the vaccine in order to avoid further contagion, a topic that has inspired an upcoming project of hers.
“I will be writing one more short passage on all the false conspiracies in this regard, which were many,” Salcedo-Strumpf said. “I think many people have refused to get vaccinated. I always advise my students to read reliable sources.”
Photo provided by Beatriz Salcedo-Strumpf
