Spanish graduate assistant Sean Sutton channels Señora
Teaching SPN 101: Elementary Spanish I takes Sean Sutton back to when he first learned the language in high school.
Sutton teaches two sections of SPN 101 four days a week, and most of the 50 students he teaches are freshmen or sophomores. The Clio graduate assistant said he sometimes finds himself “channeling Señora from high school.”
“I’ve given activities my high school teacher gave me,” he said, using a song about weather as an example.
Sutton studied abroad in Buenos Aires, Argentina, for a semester in 2009, and he said the experience taught him a lot about the different accents and regional dialects of Spanish. He said the Spanish spoken in Argentina is “gorgeous” and is rhythmically closer to Italian.
“(Studying abroad has) opened my eyes to the regional differences,” he said. “It’s definitely enhanced my listening skills.”
Sutton said he often incorporates what he learned in Argentina into his classes when making points about culture and dialects. He said he hopes it encourages students to achieve their own foreign language goals.
“I sat just where they are, and if you work hard enough, you can get there,” he said.
Now in his second semester as a GA, Sutton said his challenge is to find his own teaching style. He said he is still figuring out what he wants to accomplish and what he wants to see in his students.
“That’s going to take time. You need to figure out what fits with your style and how your student's learn,” he said. “You need to be consistent to maximize (your student's) learning and make them feel comfortable.”
Spanish GAs teach SPN 101 in their first year, and SPN 102: Elementary Spanish II in their second year, he said.
Sutton said all his colleagues in the department of foreign languages, literatures and cultures are supportive, and they all help each other out to be more effective educators. He said he feels great when his students understand their assignments.
“After a really great lesson, it’s like a high almost,” he said. “Then I want to re-create that feeling.”
Sutton said his time-management skills have improved since becoming a GA. On Sundays, he organizes his plan for the week, and the whiteboard in the office he shares with other Spanish colleagues frequently fills up with to-do lists.
In addition to teaching, Sutton takes classes on Wednesdays and Saturdays. When he’s not studying, preparing activities or grading, he said he takes time to unwind with Netflix, a book or a cup of coffee.
“I also found you have to give yourself down time to help yourself out,” he said.
After graduation, Sutton said he would like to work with undocumented workers in the Detroit area. He said he would be able to use his language skills to provide a service, and he believes the work would be rewarding.
“I would love to use my Spanish to alleviate poverty where I can in any small way, whether it would be language barriers, translating or teaching English,” he said.
