Launch of ESL Spanish Debate Class with CovEd & Latino Education Advancement Fund

Jul 10

Last semester, Eloquence Academy piloted its English Second Language (ESL) debate program through an 8-week class for 20 Spanish-speaking elementary school students at the Community of Volunteer Educators (CovEd) and Latino Education Advancement Fund (LEAF).

Last year, Chief Executive Officer Spencer Chaisanguanthum connected with staff at the Boston Debate League (BDL), a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization preparing youth throughout Boston for engagement with the world through debate-inspired learning inside the classroom. Executive Director Kim Willingham, Managing Director of Operations Kimberly Bartlett-Ra, and Director of After-School Debate Roger Nix highlighted shared opportunities and challenges inherent in both organization's missions. During the meeting, Kim eagerly discussed BDL’s Debate en Espanol, the first and longest-running Spanish debate and academic research program in the United States. Spencer was inspired and heartened to hear about the success of the program.

Inspired by BDL, Eloquence Academy recently announced a five-year partnership to serve first generation families at LEAF. Founded in 2016, LEAF is a nonprofit organization providing Latino Spanish-speaking parents with resources to navigate their local school systems and achieve academic success. LEAF’s signature program is La Escula, Sus Hijos Y Usted, a series of culture-sensitive workshops where parents learn how to navigate the American educational system, from extracurricular activities to standardized testing to FAFSA. Additionally, CovEd, a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization alleviating educational inequity, helped coordinate the logistics of the partnership.

Working with Aaron Choi, former New York Regional Director, and Ellie Kim, Service Learning Fellow, students engaged in a series of lessons themed “el debate y la discusion: encontrar razones y evidencia.” The first 30 minutes of each class were dedicated to studying English syntax, grammar, vocabulary, and sentence structure. Aaron and Ellie—fluent in both languages—skillfully used Comprehendi, an online platform offering interactive reading passages and comprehension questions. Following the English learning component, students participated in public speaking and persuasion activities where they built confidence, practiced their English orally, and were introduced to the idea of argumentation in a rudimentary way. Aaron and Ellie will host this class year-round. Our goal is to offer divisions at our tournaments exclusively reserved for ESL speakers and foster a vibrant community of Hispanic-speaking cultures.

We are grateful to the CovEd and LEAF teams and Partnerships Program Coordinators Ismihan Albekadir, Dinorah Olmos, and Danyi Wang and are proud of what their students accomplished.