***The article was written by Chase Palm, a participant in The Kewanee Voice Student Journalism Program, funded by the Harry Anderson Memorial Trust.
The Kewanee High School Spanish Department has found a way for students to travel the world without leaving the comfort of their homes, allowing them to save money on plane tickets or worrying about international travel.
This impressive feat was achieved by Amy Miler, Hannah Safiran and Evelin Martinez, the three KHS Spanish teachers who encouraged the district to use Boomalang to help their students become more confident in their Spanish skills.
“Boomalang is a program in which there are people from, in our case, different Spanish speaking countries, that our students make appointments with. On the program, they can see a list of people available for the time slot that they would like to do their speaking interview,” said Miler.
Once students pair up with a speaker from another country, Miler then sets a topic that she would like the conversation to be involved around, and the speaker understands that they are supposed to talk about this topic with the student for 15 minutes, she said. Miler also shared how Boomalang is excellent conversation practice for Spanish students.
Safiran was the one who initially found Boomalang.
“I was very lucky and got to go to the ACTFL Conference in Chicago this year. The ACTFL is the national organization for language teachers, and it’s usually hosted all over the country . . . this year it was in Chicago, so . . . the school allowed me to go to that and that’s where I met the person who did Boomalang,” Safiran said.
After the conference, Safiran introduced the idea to her Spanish team. Miler was thrilled when Safiran presented her find.
“It is an amazing idea because, in addition to the Spanish practice . . . they are pushed outside of their comfort zone, which is good for students because a lot of times in the real world you’re going to have to do something that’s difficult, that’s challenging, that’s scary, and this is just a taste of that,” Miler said.
Miler has been teaching Spanish for 17 years, joining the KCUD #229 team in 2017. Safiran has been teaching Spanish for 11 years. Each of the teachers feel that learning Spanish or another language is essential for a student’s growth.
“It gives them real life skills that they can use, and it helps them become global citizens. It opens their eyes to a world outside of Kewanee, and outside of Illinois, outside of the United States, and overall it just helps them be better people because they are able to understand the cultures of others and communicate and have a respect for a lot of different type of people,” Miler said.
Safiran shared a similar insight.
“When you’re learning another language you’re not just learning the vocabulary and the grammar, you’re learning a ton about, like, cultures and it lets you start thinking about other perspectives,” she said.
Students were hesitant to start using Boomalang, mainly because it was a new experience, something that is often daunting for many people. With that in mind, Miler wanted a student in each of her Spanish classes to do their Boomalang assignment in front of the class so the rest of the students could see how it worked.
“I knew once I would get a few students to buy in and to be successful the rest would follow. And it turns out, the first several students that completed their Boomalang had a great experience. They shared it with their classmates and it kind of eased the fears of going face-to-face with a stranger,” Miler said.
Seniors Jillian Bennison and Avery Yepsen are currently enrolled in Miler’s Spanish IV class. They both shared their experiences using Boomalang.
“When I first found out I’d be using Boomalang, I was a little bit nervous because I didn’t have a lot of confidence in my Spanish speaking skills. But after my first Boomalang, I was grateful for the opportunity,” Bennison said.
Yepsen admitted to having similar feelings.
“When Senora Miler told our class about Boomalang, I was very hesitant about the idea because I had never heard of it before. Talking to someone from a different country over a video call was outside of my comfort zone, but Señora Miler told us about all the ways we would benefit from just a few 15 minute conversations, and I was very willing to try it,” Yepsen said.
Both students said it got easier to have a conversation with someone and weren’t as nervous after the first time.
“I remember not knowing what to say during my first Boomalang when the person asked me a question. Instead of giving up, she asked me in a different way that I could understand. This gave me the confidence to keep doing the rest of the Boomalangs,” Bennison said.
Yepsen said that she has been lucky enough to have helpful and enthusiastic people to speak with on her calls, which gave her the confidence to continue to use Boomalang.
“I feel very accomplished and proud of my ability to take what I’ve been taught in class and apply it to outside situations,” Yepsen said.
This was one of the main goals that the Spanish department was trying to achieve when they started using Boomalang.
“When you’re talking with people in your class, you might be able to do just a very short back and forth dialogue, but it’s not the same as talking to another person from a different country who knows what language you might be able to use,” Safiran said, adding that it also helps students not to worry about making mistakes or speaking perfect Spanish.
“When you’re just having this spontaneous conversation you don’t have time for that, but you also realize that ‘oh okay I can still communicate without having to say a whole perfect sentence,’” Safiran said.
This unique opportunity is rare for most high schools throughout Illinois, and KHS’s Spanish Department has seen enough to know that Boomalang has made a difference for their students.
The teachers hope to receive the Petersen Excellence in Education Grant through the Kewanee Schools Foundation to extend this offer to even more students moving forward.
