At the recent SCOLT conference, the 2017 ACTFL interculturality Can-Do Statements were mentioned in several sessions. These focus on two primary skills: investigate and interact. So the question becomes: What are some real-life ways for students to "do" culture and share what they learn? Here are four adaptable blueprints drawn from a choice board that I use with my Spanish students for intercultural tasks:
1. Music video trailer
Students investigate three to five target-language songs and choose their favorite. Then they choose images that represent vocabulary and ideas from the song to combine into their own short music video (at least one verse and the chorus.) This has been a popular option among my students because, well, what teenager doesn't enjoy music?!? This has also been a great way to build digital skills such as using Creative Commons images and different tools for creating videos from individual images. For the interaction component, students share their video trailer, along with a sentence or two in the TL about what they liked or why they chose the song. My students use the discussion feature in Canvas, our district LMS, but the same could be done using Google classroom, Schoology, Edmodo, or a blog platform that allows students to post and comment on others' contributions.
*Key to success: Provide some starting points for students in the form of a class playlist that students can add to as they find more songs that they like.
2. Work of Art
I am very fortunate to have art teachers as teaching neighbors. This option grew from a grant proposal written with one of my talented colleagues. Spanish students investigate art styles from target cultures while art students study techniques to create the artwork. Students then create their own versions of the artwork and share with small groups and/or via class social media. The interaction component occurs in two phases, by finding out about art techniques from the art teacher or students (probably in English) and then by describing and sharing their own work in Spanish. The projects that we chose were:
papel picado using tissue paper (Mexico), Mayan stelae and hieroglyphs created in clay (Guatemala), mola pictures using paper and/or yarn (Panama), masks using plaster or paper mache (for Carnaval or Day of the Dead), amate bark paintings simulated with brown paper bags (Mexico), and pottery from different regions and traditions. See my Pinterest inspiration board here for examples.
*Key to success: Create exploration modules where students can learn about the art and techniques using links to videos, sample projects, and tutorials on relevant techniques at their own pace.
3. Interview
Few of my students have chosen this option, which I attribute to possibly having few connections with native speakers and a lack of conversational confidence. This is one of the options that I plan to work on in the coming year. The interaction component is straightforward- ask the person eight to ten questions and document their answers. The task is to produce and share some sort of multi-media product featuring two to three responses from the interview. The interview itself is part of the investigation, but it is also helpful if students do some preliminary research to aid in creating their interview questions.
*Key to success: Provide support for students in deciding what to ask and how to form the questions. One of my adjustments will be to provide some suggestions for people to interview. I also plan to create (or have a student create) a sample product (NOT a Powerpoint) showing options for using media and tech tools.
4. Community Excursion
This is another under-utilized option in my choice board. I suspect this is because it takes a bit more planning and seems harder than making a music video or preparing a recipe to share. To make this a more attractive option, I intend to leverage the experiences of heritage speakers and invite students to take part in events around our local and surrounding communities.
Activities with friends who are heritage speakers might range from playing pick-up soccer at a local park to quinceañeras and other family celebrations to a religious service conducted in the TL. I realized the power of this type of experience recently when students were talking about details of a classmate's quince party. The students shared pictures and videos from the party. We ended up having a giggle-infused impromptu dance lesson in class for "Caballo Dorado" a.k.a "the Mexican Electric Slide." Did everybody dance and take part? No, but it was fine though, because even if they were only spectators, everybody had a new experience that they shared with their fellow language-learners, which built our class community. I need to articulate my expectations for this task more clearly so that students investigate and describe the what and why of an experience. I also need to give them some tools for observing cultural products and practices so that they can move quickly from "That's weird!" to "It's different, but kinda cool because..." Much of the interaction in the experience above happened in English, so I want to think through ways to support reflection and discussion in the TL.
I also hope to be more proactive in helping my students experience community events. Sharing information and possibly organizing optional outings for concerts, plays, movies, art exhibits, cultural festivals, dance demonstrations, markets, and any number of other events are all good possibilities. This is a great opportunity to network with local universities, museums, civic organizations, and target-language community members. For my high schoolers, a simple formula for this might be:
1) find an event,
2) attend with a friend or two, then
3) share a short summary of the experience in the TL, your opinion of it with a couple of reasons why, and then a reflection (in English if needed) about what you learned or what stood out for you. All of this could be presented as a review in the form of a podcast, blog post, or flyer shared on a bulletin board.
*Key to success: Leverage the available resources in your community, no matter how basic they might seem. It teaches students to look for cultural insights everywhere and builds intercultural competence and connections that yield deeper understanding than memorizing cultural factoids.
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