Teacher brings Spanish to life through real-world learning.

Hispanic Heritage Month is the perfect time to celebrate the work of passionate educators across Alabama who are helping students make real-world connections in their learning. One of those educators, Emma Bearden, AP Spanish teacher at the Alabama School of Fine Arts, is taking a hands-on approach to help her students prepare for success on the AP Spanish Language and Culture Exam, while celebrating the richness of Hispanic culture along the way.

As part of the A+ College Ready Individualized Teacher Incentive Program, Bearden incorporates authentic, experience-based learning into her classroom to strengthen student engagement and achievement. Her goal is to help students build the cultural understanding, critical thinking, and language confidence they need to thrive on the AP exam and beyond.

This fall, Bearden’s Spanish 3 (next year’s AP students) and current AP Spanish classes stepped out of the classroom and into the community by attending a performance by the Hispanic Flamenco Ballet, where they experienced the artistry and emotion of Hispanic dance and music. Afterward, the class shared pupusas, a traditional dish from El Salvador, together in the park, connecting classroom discussions about regional traditions to real-world experiences.

Bearden’s AP Spanish students took their learning a step further with a full-day cultural experience at Mi Pueblo Supermarket in Birmingham, offering a comprehensive cultural immersion experience that blended flavor, fun, and focused learning. There, students completed a scavenger hunt to find authentic Hispanic products, ordered food at the restaurant and panadería (bakery), and shopped for ingredients to prepare traditional dishes from their assigned countries for their year-long project. 

This wasn’t just about food; it was about connection. Each student has been researching a Spanish-speaking country through the six cultural themes outlined in the AP Spanish Language and Culture Exam. To culminate the experience, Bearden challenged them to prepare a traditional dish from their country, cook it at home, and share it with classmates as part of their first-quarter project, just in time to celebrate Hispanic Heritage Month.

These hands-on, culturally rich activities embody the type of learning experiences A+ College Ready is excited to see happening in classrooms. For Bearden’s class, this project directly prepares them for the AP exam’s Cultural Comparison task, where they must compare their own community to a Spanish-speaking one in just a few minutes. They have only 4 minutes to prepare and 2 minutes to speak, so they must have extensive cultural knowledge to draw from. The more cultural experiences they’ve had to draw from, the stronger their responses become.

From supermarket scavenger hunts to home-cooked meals, Bearden’s students are doing more than studying for a test; they’re gaining a deeper appreciation for the language, the people, and the cultures that make the Spanish-speaking world so vibrant. 

For Bearden, the impact of these lessons goes far beyond test preparation.

“It’s important to me to not only teach students about Spanish-speaking communities around the world, but also to bring attention to the Spanish-speaking communities that exist right here in Birmingham, in Alabama, and across the United States,” said Bearden. “Language should be used to communicate and connect, even when you’re nervous or make mistakes. My hope is that these experiences help students use Spanish to engage with others in meaningful ways.”

Through her creativity and dedication, Emma Bearden exemplifies what it means to be an educator, empowering students to learn by doing, think critically, and connect across cultures. By blending rigorous AP expectations with real-world experiences, she helps her students prepare for success not only on the AP Spanish exam but also in life.