1. Visit 2. Introduce yourself. 3. If you’d like, take a selfie to include as well.

@PabloMuirhead #waflt14

Explore and grapple with the concept of culture and global competence. Learn how to make your rubrics reflective of the inextricable link between language and culture. Bridge theory and practice as you make culture an integral part of student learning.

Conceptualization of culture to the PROFESSIONAL Developing GLOBAL COMPETENCE among our students FROM the PERSONAL Connection between CULTURE & LANGUAGE

Introductions Conceptualization of culture Break Intercultural communicative/ global competence Examples Assessing cultural growth

Why do you teach? What motivates you?

LANGUAG CULTURECULTURE

The United States must educate students who are equipped linguistically and culturally to communicate successfully in a pluralistic American society and abroad. National Standards Project

COMMUNICATION To study another language and culture gives one the powerful key to successful communication: knowing how, when,and why to say what to whom.

Connections Comparisons Communities Cultures Communication

and now? What do you see?

Place the following aspects of culture either above or below the water Clothing Views on equality Religious beliefs Personal distance Works of art Rules of politeness Relationship with nature Degree of eye contact Time management Methods of worship Tipping customs Gestures Attitudes towards sexuality Concept of beauty Food Content prepared by Wendy W. Allen

… tantamount to perspective … products and practices … intertwined with issues of power

POWER Perspectives Practices Products

Pablo Muirhead “Culture is a fluctuating embodiment of a group’s products, practices and perspectives. Inseparable from language, culture is also impacted by issues of power as it can be used to marginalize or privilege.” Muirhead, P. (2009). Rethinking culture: Toward a pedagogy of possibility in world language education. Critical Inquiry in Language Studies, 6(4),

THENNOWIDEAL  Pure focus on language  “Culture” limited to upper-level coursework (through literature)  Recognition of importance of culture  Struggle to make it natural part at all levels  Moving toward deeper understanding of culture  Subconsciously infusing culture in lessons  Inextricable link between culture and language visible in classrooms  Students gain multiple perspectives that help them challenge societal injustices

 Recognizes this as a gradual process  Moves beyond viewing “other” cultures from the outside in, but rather the inside out

 Decenters dominant ways of viewing the world  Legitimizes traditionally dominated cultures and nonstandard language varieties  Presents cultural perspectives from traditionally marginalized groups

 Recognizes political nature of schooling  Creates an environment where discrimination is challenged

Having a single cultural perspective. Not being able to adopt different points of view. AVOID BEING CULTURE BOUND

the 3 Ps PERSPECTIVES PRODUCTSPR A CTICES

PRACTICE: Extended conversation at table during and after a meal PERSPECTIVES: What perspectives would you associate with this practice? PRODUCTS: What products would you associate with this practice? Share your thoughts about what PERSPECTIVES can be gained and PRODUCTS might exist from the PRACTICE below.

PRACTICE: Gemütlichkeit PERSPECTIVES: What perspectives do you associate with this? PRODUCTS: What products do you associate with this? Share your thoughts about what PERSPECTIVES can be gained and PRODUCTS might exist from the PRACTICE below.

PRACTICE: Use of two last names PERSPECTIVES: What cultural perspectives can we gain from this? PRODUCTS: Last names Share your thoughts about what PERSPECTIVES can be gained from the PRODUCT and PRACTICE below.

PRACTICE PERSPECTIVESPRODUCTS Working in small teams, identify a product or practice that you teach. Then consider the perspectives that can be gained from these products and practices.

Workshop on Culture featuring Professor Alvino Fantini

High-Challenge Content Low-Challenge Content Low-Challenge Process High-Challenge Process Learner Develops SkillsLearner Rests Learner LeavesLearner Acquires Knowledge The Bennett Model (as cited by Lange, 1999, p. 76)

PROCESSCONTENT Low challengeHigh challenge – Lecture – Films – Working together, groups or pairs – Songs, games, or TPR – Cloze activities, multiple choice – Research projects – Routine activities – Matching or sorting exercises – Reading [silently] – Politics – Religion – Sexuality – Diversity – Social class – Justice / fairness / inequalities – Xenophobia Content prepared by Wendy W. Allen

PROCESSCONTENT High challengeLow challenge – Performance on the stage – Simulations – Role plays – Oral presentations – Open-ended – Debates – Voicing an opinion – Weather – Leisure activities – Food – Calendar – Numbers – Big C "products" – Courses of study – Travel – Colors – Family Content prepared by Wendy W. Allen

Antes de leer. Select four words from the list below that you might use in describing the concept of “family” in your native culture. As a class, tally the most cited descriptions by native culture. ___ unidos ___ ayuda financiera ___ reuniones frecuentes ___ ayuda moral ___ celebraciones religiosas ___ familias grandes ___ fiestas familiares ___ familias extendidas ___ familias nucleares ___ ayuda médica ___ respetar la autoridad ___ inculcar buenos modales

EXAMPLE Communication (interpretive) / Culture (perspectives) La típica familia hispana no sólo incluye a los padres y sus hijos sino que también incluye a la familia extendida, los tíos, primos, abuelos y compadres. Los individuos de una familia tienen una responsabilidad de ayudar a otros miembros de la familia con problemas financieros,… (fragmento de una lectura)

Reading Comprehension. With a classmate, indicate whether the following statements are true or false, based on the reading above. Then, underline the sentence in the reading that supports your answers. Confirm your answers with two other classmates.  La familia es la unidad social más importante en la cultura hispana.  La familia hispana se limita a la familia nuclear.  Una persona tiene la responsabilidad moral de ayudar a los miembros de su familia.  Las familias hispanas no se reúnen frecuentemente.  El honor es un valor importante en las familias hispanas.  Los niños hispanos no aprenden a respetar la autoridad.

STRATEGIES TO DEVELOP INTERCULTURAL COMMUNICATIVE COMPETENCE at a NOVICE LEVEL Situations Formal vs Familiar Proximity activities Closer vs further Greetings Compare & contrast

Unspoken Rules Read the unspoken rules of behavior associated with your culture. Take on the role of someone from this culture when speaking to others but DO NOT share this information with others. THEN, get to know several people by… 1.Introducing yourselves. 2.Talking about your roles as language educators. 3.Sharing the impact of your intercultural immersion experiences.

Our subconscious acts on its own and we often make assumptions as a result. These can often be completely innocuous but sometimes they can be very detrimental. You are about to view a series of images. Share your first impression with a neighbor.

 Our subconscious acts on its own and we often make assumptions as a result. These can often be completely innocuous but sometimes they can be very detrimental.  You are about to view a series of images. Share your first impression with a neighbor.

Young or old woman?

Man Playing Horn... or Woman's Silhouette? Hint: woman's right eye is the black speck in front of horn handle

Woman in vanity... or Skull? Hint: move farther a bit from screen and blink to see the skull or the woman (looking at the mirror)

Two Faces... or One? Hint: two faces side profile or one face front view

A Rabbit... or a Duck? Hint: the duck is looking left, the rabbit is looking right

Chances are… …you and your partner didn’t see the same thing at first. …you may have struggled to see both representations all the time. Fact is… …impressions and decisions are made very quickly. …we will gain a bigger picture of issues if we can first suspend judgment.

Bennett Model Experience of Difference Development of Intercultural Sensitivity DenialDefenseMinimizationIntegrationAdaptationAcceptance ETHNOCENTRIC STAGES ETHNORELATIVE STAGES Lange, D. L. (1999). Planning for and using the new national culture standards. In J. K. Phillips & R. K. Terry (Eds.), Foreign language standards: Linking research, theories, and practices (pp ). Lincolnwood, Illinois: National Textbook Company.

DENIAL Individual does not perceive cultural differences, or avoids them. ETHNOCENTRIC STAGES I haven’t left my little bubble yet…

DEFENSE Individual demonstrates intolerance toward differences. ETHNOCENTRIC STAGES There “they” go speaking Mexican again.

MINIMIZATION Individual downplays differences and takes on belief that everyone is the same. ETHNOCENTRIC STAGES I like to think of myself as color blind. I don’t see a person’s race.

ACCEPTANCE Individual begins to value the richness that cultures offer. ETHNORELATIVE STAGES I don’t understand but I’m okay with that and am open to learning.

ADAPTATION Individual begins to develop other perspectives and skills to get along better with “others”. ETHNORELATIVE STAGES I see things differently now and can better understand why others feel the way they do.

\\ INTEGRATION Individual is able to view the world from multiple perspectives. ETHNORELATIVE STAGES I have acquired various lenses through which to understand the world.

Reflecting on these stages, prepare to answer some questions. DenialDefenseMinimizationIntegrationAdaptationAcceptance ETHNOCENTRIC STAGES ETHNORELATIVE STAGES Pull out your phones and text your responses to...

Excellent resource for self- reflection. Multiple tests are available to measure your subconscious. Find at

Take advantage of technology  Music in background (e.g. Pandora, Spotify)  Slideshow – Have it go on after a few minutes of the computer not being used (pictures from target cultures) Seating arrangement  Student- or teacher-centered? Pedagogical Themes  Documental – EDUCACION PROHIBIDA

Objective: Create an opportunity for Spanish- dominant English-language learners and Spanish learners to interact on an even playing field. Suggestions: Create the least structure possible so that the exchange flows organically from students. Suggest they bring pictures, scrapbooks, etc. to share with one another. Divide time evenly between English and Spanish. Results: Students are motivated to practice because of the realness factor and perspectives can be gained from one another.

 Write from a different perspective.  Weather from different parts.  Interview community members.  Activities in the community.  Listen to and work with music.  Reenact an event.  Noticias del mundo hispanohablante.  Thematic Units: Immigration, Chicano Civil Rights, U.S. in Latin America, Identity

We often inherently know the difference between an A and a B-. Do our students? Clear rubrics help students target their progress, and provide a roadmap to success.

CLEAR EXPECTATIONS  BETTER RESULTS

Write a letter to the host family with whom you are about to go stay. Include the following:  introduce yourself,  tell them about your interests,  where you’re from (describe city, weather, etc.),  your family/friends,  what you’d like to do while you’re abroad, and  make sure to ask them a question, or two, as well. (24 puntos)

Take on the role of María and write an home to your mother and sister in Colombia. Help them understand what you are experiencing by comparing and contrasting both your U.S. and your Colombian experiences. Include the following information:  What the weather in December is like,  What the people are like,  What the food is like,  Whether they should come live with you in the U.S., and  What your hopes are for your immediate future (Espero que…).

Think of examples of products, practices and perspectives in your text(s). What is more prevalent?

 Textbooks treated as sacred book and not as a resource. Teachers that successfully integrated culture and language did so by following this advice: “Use the text, don’t be used by it.”

“Conceptualization of culture” TO THE PROFESSIONAL “Global Competence” FROM THE PERSONAL “Connection between culture & language”

Now that we’ve had the day to reflect on the integration of culture, chat with your neighbor about something that you would like to implement in your class or an idea that you would like to further develop..

The work you do as language teachers is vitally important. I wish you tremendous success making a more seamless connection between language and culture. Stay in touch. Pablo /