A debate without borders is helping Spanish-speaking students get better at speaking their own language.

Through the debate, students at M.S. 50 in Williamsburg engage with their peers at the International School in the Dominican Republic.

Carolina Hidalgo is the native language arts teacher and debate coach. She says students in her class are mostly from the Dominican Republic and don't speak English. Many of them also don't speak Spanish well, so her job is to teach them both to improve their proficiency.

She says the Spanish-language debate is a way for the students to build upon the skills she teaches them every day.