April, 2022 - Language Teaching Lab

What do intercultural conversations look like in your language class?

Depending on the age of the students, intercultural conversations can take many different shapes and forms. For the purpose of this blog, I’ll talk about the experience of bringing a native Spanish speaker to my middle school class. This person was from Spain. Why from Spain? We were getting ready to read “Agentes secretos y el mural de Picasso” by Mira Canion and I wanted to introduce them to Spain in a different way. My first impression was that (in general), my students knew little about Spain and had misconceptions about this country. Off to an interesting start!

How might you prepare students to have intercultural conversations?

I am sure that there are many ways to have students get ready for intercultural conversations but I decided to go with questions, facts, and maps.

Asking Questions:

I asked my students what they wanted to know about Spain and wrote each one of their questions. I could see how their minds fed from each other’s ideas, and I was impressed with the array of questions they had. We created a long list of questions.

Categorizing questions:

Next class, I asked them to work in groups of three. They had to read the questions generated in our previous class, find connections among them and group them in categories. They also had to come up with the names for the categories. When they finished, I asked one group to tell me a category and read the questions that were in it. If others disagreed, they would have to explain why and what they would do differently. When all the questions were classified and everybody was in agreement, we paused for a second and re-read all the questions in each category.

Delving Meaning:

Now, it was time to think deeper and discuss how the visitor would feel or react to the questions. We wanted to avoid questions that sounded too direct or even unintentionally offensive, i.e. ‘Why did you come to America?’ We rearranged the questions and tweaked some of them so that they would provoke a positive response in our speaker. When we finished, we re-read the questions once more and … finally, we all liked how they sounded!

This step of the process proved to be a fundamental part of the experience, it sparked empathy and kindness. Students could see that the way we ask questions is as important as what we ask.

Finding Facts:

Now that the questions were ready, students had to investigate and find three to five facts about Spain.The next day, they came excited about their findings. “Quite interesting facts, Sra!” they said. “Did you know that the Spanish anthem does not have lyrics? Did you know that Spain has many World Heritage Sites?”

Reading Maps:

We found Spain and its islands on a world map and also read a couple of simple articles that explained Spain’s location and regions. Students were surprised to find out that Spain is similar to Texas in size. Now, I felt students were ready to meet our guest speaker.

Time to meet our guest speaker

Finally, the day to meet our guest speaker had come! I had sent her the questions in advance so she could prepare for our meeting. She had made a short presentation with images based on the questions my students had asked. As I had anticipated, students were intrigued by all she had to show them about Spain but she did not stop there. She also asked students personal questions such as, favorites, sports, and traveling, to compare their experiences with hers and so that they could relate to what she was talking about. They gave her a round of applause when she finished.

Time to reflect on the learning of intercultural conversations

As my guest speaker spoke practically all in Spanish (really! the 90% suggested by ACTFL) I was curious to know how much my students had understood. I decided to have them do a short reflection using the PZ Thinking Routine: I used to think … But now I think / I know. I added “I learned” and “I liked” for those that needed to express more concrete thinking. I was amazed at how much students had understood and learned through this experience.

In sum, I was happy to see the growth in my students’ thinking and learning. Moreover, I felt very accomplished to have facilitated a successful intercultural conversation.

Presenting global views connects language students to the experiences of others. It engages their minds, hearts, and hands. There are wonderful resources that help language students broaden their perspective of the world, not necessarily limited to the people in the countries that speak the language they are learning. Why wait until they are at an intermediate level? You may start with novice learners. It all depends on what you show them and what you do with it, i.e. how you use the resource, as well as why you are using that specific resource.

Why global views?

I part with the idea that we live in one world and the more that we learn from each other, the better. As a Spanish teacher myself, I moved from showing only things related to the Spanish-speaking world to showing my students the whole world. Of course, a big part of what we do in class is related to the Spanish world, but I intersect resources that go beyond that. Learning about others helps break down stereotypes, expands our worldviews, and helps us become aware of our interconnectedness and common humanity. In sum, it is about helping my students become globally competent.

How do we use photographs as global views ?

To successfully reach the minds, hearts, and hands of language learners, it is necessary to think through how we introduce, develop, and conclude each lesson. It is also important to think about what background knowledge students need in order to understand the topic and what prior knowledge they bring to class. Using resources thoughtfully is key.

Many times I choose to use photographs to do this type of work because they are potent visuals. They tell stories and we can all relate to stories. Photographers have a unique eye as their lens captures a precious moment in time. It is up to us to show these global views and choose how to do it.

The following are some ways in which I have presented global views to my students.

When I taught elementary school, my students particularly enjoyed when I showed them photographs of classrooms around the world and they had to compare and contrast those with their own classroom. As an added benefit, I learned about students’ prior experiences and their families’ history.

My students love when they can choose. When presenting them with several photographs, I let them choose one that talks to them and ask them to do different activities, from simply describing the photograph to creating a story to only asking and answering questions. Other times, I present them with two photographs and we compare them to find similarities and differences. These types of activities propel great conversations.

The National Portrait Gallery has many classroom resources to use when describing portraiture, and some of them can be applied to analyzing photographs successfully. I especially enjoy:

–Unveiling Stories

–Seeds for Storytelling

–Jump in!

–Compare and Contrast: Top Hat

There is no doubt that using the Project Zero Thinking Routines makes perfect sense when analyzing photographs. For this type of work, I would go with the Global Thinking Routines ones.

The Library of Congress has a special tool when it comes to analyze photographs that differs from the tools used to analyze other media. It is a wonderful way to start a conversation about photographs. Check it out!

The LOC also has an online analysis tool for students to download and work directly there.

You may also want to read our blog “Authentic Resources with the Smithsonian Learning Lab,” where we give examples of integrating art into the curriculum.

There are so many ways to go when it comes to introducing global views to students. Of course, the images per se are key in making it a powerful experience.

What resources can we use to engage learners with global views ?

The following are some resources based on photographs. Some of these photographs include the topics of school, food, identity, and landscapes and I have used some of them with my novice students. What is important is to choose what to show and how to present it to students.

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Food

-In her kitchen

–Menzel’s photographs

–Article on Menzel’s work in Spanish

–What I Eat (Menzel)

–Hospital Food

–School Lunches

Each time I present global views to students, their engagement is palpable as global views engage language learners’ minds, hearts, and hands. If you haven’t already, give it a try and let me know how it goes in your classes.

Month: April 2022

Intercultural Conversations in Middle School Spanish Class