As a Spanish tutor at BYU–Hawaii, Carolina Beristain shared the advantages of learning Spanish and gives helpful advice to those learning a new language. Beristain said she has been able to see her students progress in their Spanish skills and her students say she is a reliable source of help, even outside of their tutoring sessions.
Beristain, a senior from Mexico majoring in supply chain and marketing, said one day she was a guest at a Spanish class on campus where she was asked to share something in Spanish to the whole class.
After sharing, Hermana Elaine McArthur, the teacher, said she wanted Beristain to be one of the tutors for the class. At the time, Beristain was working as a residential advisor for one of the hales but agreed to become a Spanish tutor. Now, she said she has been a Spanish tutor for almost two years.
Beristain said she had been a tutor for Spanish 101 and 102. As a tutor at BYUH, Beristain said she has worked with students from all over the world, including the U.S. mainland, the Philippines and Canada. Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, she said she is tutoring her students mostly online via Zoom and Facebook Messenger.
For Beristain, one of the most fulfilling parts of tutoring students is becoming friends with them. However, because of the COVID-19 pandemic, she said it is more challenging to connect with them.
Before the coronavirus pandemic, Beristain said she used to walk with her students because she liked learning to be more interactive, rather than just sitting down and added she likes creating friendships with people from other countries.
Braxton Chavez, a freshman from Utah majoring in biochemistry and a tutee of Beristain, commented, “Carolina has been a really good tutor. Honestly, with this whole pandemic and this whole online learning, all of my Zoom [classes] have not been mandatory and you can just watch the recorded videos.”
He continued, “The only true interaction I had consecutively, on a weekly basis, has been with Carolina, and that has been super cool.”
Chavez said it was extremely difficult to not be able to communicate in person, especially when trying to learn another language. “You always want to have a conversation to be able to work on your learning skills and Carolina was perfect for that because of the way our meetings were set up.
“We would talk predominantly in Spanish and I just did my best to speak. She would text me English translations for certain words she knew I was unfamiliar with while she was on an interview with me [via video call].
“[It] was super helpful because, while she was saying it, I could kind of get the translation ingrained in my brain.”
Another student of Beristain’s, Tauma Tekurio, a sophomore from Tahiti studying hospitality and tourism management, said, “Carolina is super nice, friendly and helpful. She is always available if we have any questions, even [if] we are not tutoring.”
He said Beristain is helpful because she focuses on the specific concepts her students struggle with. For him, learning the past tenses and conjugations of the words was particularly difficult. Tekurio commented, “She gave me super easy examples and she is super clear in her explanations.”
Beristain shared she not only teaches her students the language, but she said she is also a friend who helps them when needed. “For example, one time I helped one of my students with her business homework. Although it is not teaching Spanish, I knew how to do [her homework]. I [helped her] and explained it to her. [During this time], everything was online. It was hard to get resources from their TAs.
Beristain shared, “I have seen the learning and progress of the students. I have students who basically started with no knowledge of the language and at the end of Spanish 101 and 102, we could have a conversation [in Spanish] with each other.
“I have many students who I can have conversations with [in Spanish]. It makes me feel happy because they are using [what they have learned].” She continued, “When I see [students] taking a Spanish class and then they get their mission call to serve in Mexico, or any Spanish speaking countries, sometimes I follow them on social media. I have some students who are [missionaries] who share the gospel through social media in Spanish.
“It just makes me happy and surprised that their Spanish has gotten better, and, once they come back from their missions, it is going to be perfect.”
Beristain said learning Spanish could be a valuable asset in the workforce, especially on the U.S. mainland where she said there are many Latinos. “It will be [helpful] for your work environment and for your Spanish co-workers,” she explained.
She also said Spanish is helpful for tour guides at PCC, where they occasionally have Spanish speaking guests. Even learning a few simple words, like “Hola,” she said, would allow the guides to better communicate with visitors.
Beristain said people study Spanish today because there are Spanish-speaking, Latina artists, like Ariana Grande. She also said traveling is another reason people learn Spanish. She explained, “If you know [Spanish], you can travel to many places.”
Her advice to people who want to learn a new language is to, first, have a desire. Beristain said once a person has a desire to learn, they can do so many things. She added, “Pray in Spanish. Learn the same way a missionary does. They pray and read the scriptures in English and in Spanish.”
She continued, “Listen to Spanish music and whatever Spanish media [you] have. Whatever [you] are learning, try to practice it in [your] head. Every time [you] walk from one class to another, practice it in [your] mind.”
Even though BYUH has a diverse student body, Beristain said there are not many Latinos. However, as a Spanish tutor, Beristain said she is contributing to the diversity of the campus by sharing her culture with those she teaches.