Engaging and motivating students through culture: An invitation to explore new ideas and perspectives

In this presentation we will… look at our own motivation to teach culture to students Reflect on the challenges Reflect on our goals and ways to achieve them Exchange ideas Analyze specific ways to engage students

Our own attitudes How do you feel about teaching culture and why? What is your favorite cultural activity and why? What do we want students to take with them out of the classrooms?

What are the challenges of teaching culture? The study of culture is too broad to approach it in a systematic way. There is not enough time. Many instructors are afraid to teach culture.

The four approaches, as presented by Galloway: a) The "Frankenstein Approach" (a taco from here, a flamenco dancer from there, a gaucho form here, a bullfight from there). b) The 4-F approach (Folk dances, festivals, fairs and food). c) The tour guide approach (the identification of capitals, cities, monuments, rivers...) d) The "By the way approach" (Sporadic lectures or bits of behavior selected indiscriminantly to emphasize sharp differences).

The concept of Social distance Social distance is a measurable way to understand “the degree of understanding and intimacy which characterize personal and social relations between individuals and groups”. (Foust, 1995). Zapata, M. G. (1995). Social distance as a factor in second language acquisition. The University of Texas at Austin. Foust, D. R. (1995). The effects of ethnocentrism, expectations of acculturative behavior and the resultant social distance on the attitudes of white students at a large, predominantly white institution. A thesis in higher education. The Pennsylvania State University.

To visualize how perceived social distance works: I would have dinner with a member of this group… I would have a member of this group be part of my church… I would live in the same neighborhood as a member of this group… Japanese German Cuban Mexican Afro-American Russian Spanish…

Additional approaches to teaching culture: Country by country, following textbook design Follow the National standards: Communication, Community, Culture, Connections and Comparisons.

Some concrete ideas to teach about culture in your classes Define your own goals: what you want students to learn. Establish the departure point of your students before you begin. Active learning: Make sure that students engage and not only read/memorize information. Assessment: Treat culture like other topics: a part of their grading should come from assessing cultural understanding.

Some samples of activities Usually textbooks come with “Notas Culturales” that we can adapt to get to the objectives we have in mind.

En vivo How many classes does a fulltime student in the United States usually take? Look at the plan of study from la Universidad Iberoamericana in Mexico City and answer the questions: ¿Qué carrera (major) es? ¿Cuántas clases hay en el primer semestre? ¿y en el segundo? ¿Te gusta (Do you like) el plan de estudios? ¿Piensas (Do you think) que es fácil o difícil?

Conexiones... a la educación In Spanish-speaking countries, it is common for elementary and secondary students to wear uniforms to school. What are the advantages and disadvantages of using them? Did you ever wear a uniform to school? Are uniforms popular in the United States? Why?

Práctica Escucha y responde Look at the picture and listen to the different adjectives. Write the letter D on one piece of paper and the letter S on another. If the adjective you hear describes Don Quijote, hold up the D. If it describes Sancho Panza, hold up the S.

¿Cómo son? Complete the sentences with a logical adjective from the list on the right. Be sure to make the adjective agree with the noun it describes. Modelo Eva Longoria es una actriz... talentoso Eva Longoria es una actriz talentosa . 1. Julio César Chávez Jr. es un hombre... a. grande 2. Santana es un grupo... b. atlético 3. Jessica Alba es una mujer... c. guapo 4. “Bésame mucho” es una canción (song)... d. musical 5. Don Quijote de la Mancha es un libro... e. argentino 6. Buenos Aires es una ciudad... f. mexicano 7. Puerto Rico es una isla... g. cubano 8. Gloria y Emilio Estefan son artistas... h. pequeño

¿Quiénes son más felices? Antes de leer Contesta las preguntas. 1. En general ¿qué necesitas para ser feliz? 2. ¿En qué países piensas que las personas son más felices? ¿Por qué? A leer Reading Strategy: Guessing verb tenses A useful strategy for understanding a text is to not worry about the exact meaning of a word and to make an educated guess instead. In the case of verbs, if you know the meaning of the verb, you will be able to guess from the context if it refers to the past or to the future. Look at the second paragraph. The verb publicar is translated for you. From the context of the paragraph, is the verb used to refer to the past or the future? ¿Quiénes son más felices? Hay numerosos estudios sobre la felicidad. Los resultados de estos estudios son diferentes, pero en todos parece evidente que los latinos están entre las personas más felices del planeta. También es evidente que la felicidad no depende del dinero, sino de la calidad de las relaciones entre las personas. En el 2004, el Worldwatch Institute publicó un estudio donde concluye que la gente es más rica y más gorda ahora, pero no más feliz. En los Estados Unidos sólo el 39% de las personas piensa que es feliz. El estrés de las personas está relacionado con la necesidad de trabajar muchas horas para poder comprar todo lo que desean. Los estadounidenses trabajan en promedio 350 horas más al año que el promedio de los europeos. Es obvio que los estadounidenses están muy ocupados y estresados. A pesar de que el estrés puede disminuir la felicidad de la gente, hay que considerar el caso de los mexicanos. En México la gente trabaja más horas en promedio que en los Estados Unidos, pero estudios recientes muestran que los mexicanos están entre las personas más felices del mundo. Comprensión 1. En una oración ¿cuál es el tema del artículo? 2. Según el WorldWatch, ¿cuántas personas en los Estados Unidos son felices? 3. Dentro de los Estados Unidos, ¿qué grupo de personas es más feliz en general? 4. ¿Qué países latinoamericanos están en la lista de los más felices? 5. En tu opinión, ¿cómo se puede explicar la generalizada felicidad de los latinos? Después de leer Con un compañero, escriban una lista de cuatro o cinco cosas que pueden hacer para ser más felices.

Comparaciones Los hoteles no siempre son una opción cuando se quiere visitar lugares diferentes. Por ejemplo, para pasar la noche en las islas artificiales de los Uros, en el lago Titikaka en Perú, se debe pasar la noche con una familia en una casa hecha en su totalidad de una planta llamada totora (con la que también están hechas las islas). Para otra visita excepcional, es posible visitar las cuevas (caves) Pedro Antonio de Alarcón, en Granada, España, donde los moros se refugiaron durante su expulsión de Granada hace cientos de años. Hoy en día, cada cueva es un apartamento con una cocina, un dormitorio y un baño. Algunas cuevas tienen incluso un lujoso jacuzzi o chimenea. En las islas de los Uros se debe pasar la noche en una casa hecha de totora Otro hotel poco usual es el Hotel de Sal en el Salar de Uyuni en Bolivia. Este hotel está hecho completamente de sal. ¿Sabes de hoteles poco convencionales en Estados Unidos? ¿Por qué son diferentes y en dónde están?

Presentations organized by countries Highly stereotyped versus hardly known MÉXICO ¿Cierto o falso?   1. La única (only) lengua oficial de México es el español. 2. Casi todo (almost all) el territorio de México es desierto. 3. Las tres ciudades más importantes de México son la Ciudad de México, Tijuana y Guadalajara. 4. Los Incas, los aztecas y los mayas vivieron (lived) en el territorio que ahora es México. 5. México es aproximadamente dos veces el tamaño (size) de California. 6. En México hay más personas que en Estados Unidos. 7. La economía de México es una de las más fuertes (one of the strongest) del mundo. 8. Muchas personas no van a la escuela porque la educación cuesta mucho dinero. 9. En México viven más de un millón de personas de los Estados Unidos 10. El país está dividido (divided) en estados, igual que Estados Unidos. 11. Estados Unidos es más viejo que México. 12. En las casas generalmente viven los abuelos, los padres y los hijos, y a veces más parientes.

Uruguay Less known countries INFORMACIÓN GENERAL Nombre oficial: República Oriental del Uruguay Nacionalidad: uruguayo(a) Área: 176 215 km2 (casi exactamente igual al estado de Washington) Población: 3 510 386 (2010) Capital: Montevideo (f. 1726) (1 500 000 hab.) Otras ciudades importantes: Salto (130 000 hab.), Paysandú (90 500 hab.) Moneda: peso Idiomas: español DEMOGRAFÍA Alfabetismo: 98% Religiones: católicos (47%), protestantes (11%), otros (42%) URUGUAYOS CÉLEBRES Horacio Quiroga Julio Sosa escritor (1878–1937) cantor de tango (1926–1964) Mario Benedetti Diego Forlán escritor (1920–2009) futbolista (1979– ) Alfredo Zitarrosa Delmira Agustini compositor (1936–1989) poetisa (1886–1914) http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pexpCT4lEAk

ASSESSMENT Culture needs to be a part of the grade of students, and students need feedback about their work. Student presentations Homework assignments Portfolios Exams and quizzes Classroom activities with specific tasks Creative assignments (videos or poetry, for example) Research Learning journals Language exchange with ESL students or online

Learning Journal (Diario de aprendizaje) 4. What are three things you have learned about the Latin cultures which you think that you will remember a year from now? Why do you think you will remember them?     I learned a lot about native cultures such as the Incas, Mayas, and main cities in Latin countries such as Madrid, Barcelona, Ciudad de México and Guadalajara. I really enjoyed learning about the architecture of Antonio Gaudi and the art of Salvador Dali. Both of those artists produced some of the coolest structures, buildings and surrealism paintings ever seen. I also enjoyed learning about the Mexican holiday Dia del Muerto and the meaning behind it (festive and happy).

[…] I also learned that the Latin culture is far more diverse than I knew. I did now it was a greatly diverse culture, but did not realize the magnitude of that diversity. Things such as Mexico having 200+ languages spoken in it’s culture. Also I did not know the extent of Muslim influence in Spain. […] I guess I always assumed Spain and South America were almost identical because they speak the same language. Turns out they don’t always speak the same language and are quite, quite different places. I will remember this because it was such an eye opener for me, seeing how different their food, language and culture actually are.

The one thing that I will remember most about Latin cultures is the difference between Latino and Hispano. I have wondered this for a long time and I now understand the difference. I think I will remember it because it is something that has always had a negative connotation to it. I am not sure where I got the idea from, but it seemed that Latino was the proper form where as Hispano was in some way derogatory. Another thing that I will remember is the deep connection the cultures have to their history. I think it is important to be connected to your history and culture. I feel disconnected with parts of my own culture. I will remember this because it is the reason I want to travel to these countries. I want to spend some time learning and absorbing different aspects of the various cultures. The third idea I will remember is various artists that have come from Latin cultures. I have discovered that two of my favorite artists are Hispanic. My favorite artist is Salvador Dali. His work is amazing. I have heard his house was turned into his own museum for himself. I would like to see this someday. I also really like the works of Picasso. I have recently discovered that I like the architecture of Antonio Gaudí. The pictures I have seen of his work have astonished me. I cannot imagine what they are like firsthand, but they seem to fulfill my vision of what an artist plus an architect would be.

Internet resources worth exploring: Busuu.com Rosetta Stone shared talk NCLRC (National Capital Language Resource Center) Blogs

SELECTED BIBLIOGRAPHY: Ahmad, S. Z. (1994). US college students’ perceptions and images of other nations and nationalities: effects of interpersonal and mass communications. University of Kentucky. Thesis Bogardus, E. (1933). A social distance scale. Sociology and Social Research, 22, 265-271. Brigham, J. C. (1993). College students’ racial attitudes. Journal of Applied Psychology, 23, 1933-1967. Byram, M., & Morgan, C. (1994). Teaching and Learning Language and Culture. Great Britain: Multilingual Matters LTD Cadd, M. (1994). An attempt to reduce ethnocentrism in the foreign language classroom. Foreign Language Annals, 27, (2), 143-154. Galloway, V. B. (1984). Communicating in a cultural context. ACTFL Master Lecture Series. Monterey, CA: Defense Language Institute.

 Galloway, V. B. (1985). Design for the improvement of the teaching of Culture in Foreign Language Classrooms. ACTFL project proposal. Kaikkonen, P. (1997). Learning a culture and a foreign language at school --aspects of intercultural learning. Language Learning Journal: Journal of the association for Language Learning, (15), 47-51. Mantle-Bromley, C. (1992). Preparing students for meaningful culture learning. Foreign Language Annals 25, (2), 117-127. McGroarty, M. (1996). Language attitudes, motivation, and standards. McKay, S. L., & Hornberger, N. H. (Eds.). Sociolinguistics and Language Teaching. Cambridge Applied Linguistics, Cambridge University Press. Schumann J. H. (1976). Social distance as a factor in second language acquisition, Language Learning, 26, 135-143 Sparrow, K. H. & Chretien, D. M. (1993). The social distance perceptions of racial and ethnic groups by college students: a research note. Sociological Spectrum, 13, 277-288.

Foreign language teaching is, both in my experience as learner and teacher and in my pedagogic philosophy, as education, an emancipation from the confines of one’s native habitat and culture. Michael Byram