Group 4:
Communication and Pedagogy
Spanish
and Legalese Spoken Here
Evelyn Haydee Cruz, Arizona State University
Sandra Day O'Connor College of Law
This article employs legal scholarship, social science research, and
empirical data from in-depth interviews the author conducted with bilingual
Latino immigration lawyers across the US to examine legal education's capacity
to increase the bilingual competency of law graduates working with non-English
speaking US communities. The article first provides background on the social
and educational linguistic experiences of Latinos growing up in the United
States, chronicling changes in US second language acquisition perspectives, and
research supporting the development of language courses targeted to the needs
of Spanish-speaking Latinos. Notably, legal scholarship on Spanish for Lawyers
courses frequently intersects with language acquisition research on heritage
Spanish speakers and language education scholarship on professional Spanish
curricular design. Thus, field cross-pollination may be particularly helpful in
overcoming course implementation challenges found across the research fields.
The author cautions, however, that a language-acquisition approach alone is
ineffective in preparing future attorneys to work with monolingual Spanish
clients. Using examples from the author's empirical qualitative research, the
article illustrates how the communication theoretical framework closely aligns
with how bilingual Latino lawyers operationalize their language knowledge.
Consequently, the communication theoretical approach is arguably more
responsive than a language learning approach in meeting law students’
expectations when enrolling in career-targeted Spanish courses. The article
concludes by encouraging legal Spanish course designers to consider using an
interpersonal communication theoretical lens to address the gaps a
language-learning approach cannot fill.
Integrating
Storytelling into the Reflective Essay
Dawn Barker-Anderson, University of Iowa College of Law
June T. Tai, University of Iowa College of Law
We know that reflection is a key to learning. Research studies within
legal education and in other disciplines outline the value that reflection has
on improving learning, performance, and developing a professional identity. Yet
students are often resistant to the practice. It isn’t instinctive or easy; in
fact, it can be difficult to explain and concretize the reflective
process. Some students feel that
reflection highlights gaps in their process or skills, rather than providing
opportunities for development. And, taking time to prioritize reflection can be
challenging for students navigating between the culture of law school, the time
demands of their legal education, and the distractions of a fast-moving,
information-heavy world.
To tackle some of these barriers, we propose that the process of
reflection – and drafting reflection essays – is more accessible to students
when framed as a process of developing the core legal skill of storytelling. By
emphasizing storytelling skills, students delve into greater depth and provide
a more complete explanation of their own stories. Identifying a theme for their
stories encourages a full evaluation and analysis of an event. And, the
resolution of the story encourages students to articulate what they would do
differently in the future. Framing the reflective essay as a storytelling
opportunity lays the foundation for perspective taking and gives the writer
agency to choose what facts to share and emphasize. In this article, we share
potential exercises suitable for all teachers to use to encourage reflection,
and identify and discuss the potential challenges with this strategy.