Language barriers slow the process of receiving critical information, which is particularly problematic during a global pandemic. Students in several service-learning courses—such as Spanish 205: Advanced Intermediate Spanish, Spanish 306: Health, Culture, and the Latinx Community, and Spanish 308: Latinx Voices in Duke, Durham and Beyond, partnered with GANO to come up with a solution: providing a virtual space for language tutoring. Their work was recently featured by WRAL in this video.
Joan Clifford, Director of the Community-Based Language Initiative says,
“GANO has been active at Duke for over 15 years and the student leaders do a phenomenal job managing the logistics of a very active program. As the faculty adviser, I see the commitment of the leadership team and am very proud that they and the Duke student tutors choose to dedicate their time to furthering opportunities for the community—just as the name of the organization indicates “Gente Aprendiendo para Nuevas Oportunidades” or “People learning for new opportunities”.
"Just this week, GANO received over 150 new requests from community members to participate in the tutoring sessions. This is a much higher rate of interest than in previous years which underscores the importance of this program during the pandemic,” Clifford says.
If you are interested in getting involved with GANO email dukegano@duke.edu.
