Recursos en Español

Spanish-Language Teaching Resources

In response to countless requests from Spanish and ESL teachers, we have collected resources for teaching about Central America in Spanish. While language arts and social studies tend to be subject areas where ethnic studies and Central American studies content are embedded, we encourage teachers in World Language departments to make connections between language, culture, history, and the issues that affect our Central American students and neighbors. Spanish classes can be sites where teachers can facilitate critical discussions and lessons about Central American and Spanish-speaking immigrants — their language and culture as well as their social and political lives. Language classes can also be a space to dissect the prominence of the Spanish language, a colonial import, in Latin America at the expense of Indigenous languages in Central America, such as Maya K'iché, Maya Mam, Garífuna, Miskito, and more. Indigenous peoples in Central America are an integral part of the multicultural and multilingual fabric of the region.

ESL/ESOL programs across the country are the first to interface with recent Central American migrant students. Students are leaving post-war, structural inequalities in Central America while migrating to new anti-immigrant contexts like the United States, which has played a large role in destabilizing Central America. Central American studies education can create a learning space for migrant students to contextualize and hopefully begin to heal from their life-changing experiences across borders.

We invite you to engage your Spanish and ESL/ESOL students in our Spanish language and Indigenous Central America resources!