Running head: TEACHING INTERCULTURAL COMPETENCE

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Teaching intercultural competence to motivate language learners Paige Shaw University of Southern Mississippi

TEACHING INTERCULTURAL COMPETENCE Abstract:

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This study is an action-based research project that examines the use of activities that promote cultural awareness and sensitivity. This study is intended to motivate learners while simultaneously teaching them cultural competence strategies for real-life application.

TEACHING INTERCULTURAL COMPETENCE Teaching intercultural competence to motivate language learners Action-Research Over the past two years, I have learned an insurmountable amount about teaching

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methods in the classroom, second language acquisition theories, contextualization of materials and using culture as the basis of language teaching. I have tried to implement all of these crucial aspects into my classroom but I have found that it is very difficult to find a balance at times, especially when the textbooks are formatted in a different way than what and how we, as teachers, are being taught to approach the language. This thought led me to do some research on how I can better approach teaching culture in the classroom, and, how I can teach grammar through the culture and not the other way around. More specifically, I wanted to find out how I can simultaneously make my students more motivated while still learning both cultural and linguistic aspects of the language. This, along with course requirements, led me to develop my research project idea and carry out interventions to test my theories in my classroom. Problem Throughout the semester in my classroom, I have noticed that, though there are culture sections in each chapter of the textbook, the students still have little cross-cultural understanding and awareness. They can describe some differences in cultural products and practices but they miss the perspective that give reason to their ways of life and minute differences that may be the most noticeable when students come into contact with the other cultures. I have also noticed that the students who are already interested in visiting other countries or who have friends from different cultural backgrounds are more interested and motivated to learn a foreign language, therefore I want to focus on using them as resources in the class and try to help the less culturally aware students gain some different perspectives on language, specifically, in lower-level classes.

TEACHING INTERCULTURAL COMPETENCE Question formulation

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I hypothesize that students who already have more intercultural experience are more interculturally aware and interested in learning a second or foreign language. What I want to know is, how can I make these students that are only taking the course to fill a language requirement more interested or at least more interculturally and cross-culturally aware? And, how can I effectively implement these activities in lower-level classes when the language ability is not as developed? Literature Review There are many reasons for people to learn about other languages and cultures in a wide variety of fields. In todays world, people are constantly coming into contact with other cultures, especially in the U.S., and interacting with them on a daily basis. People have intercultural encounters in the grocery store, at restaurants, at the bank, at work, the possibilities are endless. But sometimes, there can be major miscommunications within these cultural exchanges that are caused because of underlying beliefs and perspectives on life, and are not meant to be rude or harmful. This is why it is important in language teaching, to teach something called intercultural awareness, or the awareness that other cultures may have different day to day systems and their societal norms may be different than ours. This is especially important in the beginning levels of language teaching because of the universitys standards of a language requirement. Many majors require the equivalent of an intermediate level of language, but the amount of language these students are able to produce at the completion of this level is not as useful as one might think. This is why, it is just as, if not more, important to teach about other cultures in these classes and by doing so, broaden these students perspectives on the ways they interact with others, which can me much more useful to these students who are only interested in fulfilling the

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requirement. Teaching intercultural awareness, and through that, intercultural sensitivity, we can ensure that the average student will, at least, be able to understand that not everyone has the same views on what is normal and polite in day to day actions and that there are many ways to look at and understand a situation. I consulted various types of sources, ranging from activity books to cultural awareness books and even language theory books. I searched and searched for resources that could help me determine the best methods to create more cultural intelligence and awareness as well as to create more motivation in being culturally aware. Personality Factors I first wanted to find out as much as possible about individually varying factors that affect each student based on their specific cognitive styles and personalities. H. Douglas Brown explains in chapter 5 of Principles of Language Learning and Teaching that each individual has a different learning process, style and strategy that affects the ways in which he or she takes in information (Brown, 2007). According to Morrison, Conaway, and Borden (1994), people usually fall into one of the two categories of open-minded or closed-minded, and most countries of the world produce closed-minded citizens (Morrison, Conaway, and Borden, 1994, p.xi). Furthermore, they say that the closed-minded person has tunnel vision- he or she sees only a narrow range of data and ignores the rest. And that open-minded people are more apt to see the relativity of issues. They admit that they dont have all the answers, and that they need to learn before they can come to a proper conclusion ( Morrison, et.al., 1994, p.xi). This means to me that I need to focus on making people think open-mindedly in class by making them look at issues from multiple points of view before they choose to believe what they believe.

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Another aspect to consider when looking at the individual differences in the classroom is how people process information. There are people that are generally considered associative thinkers who learn by associating new information with what they already know, and there are people who are considered abstractive thinkers who can understand new concepts much more readily with less association to previous experiences (Morrison, et.al., 1994). This plays another large roll in how people will react to new concepts, both cultural and linguistic, in the classroom. It also relates to the preferences people have for learning styles, such as using visual, auditory or kinesthetic approaches to aid the students understanding of ideas. These are important concepts to understand so that teachers can help their students become autonomous learners, and then to become aware of their styles, preferences, strengths, and weaknesses, and finally to take appropriate action on their second language learning challenges (Brown, 2007, p.129). By doing this, students can better understand themselves and, therefore, understand the differences there are between people in general. Increasing Cultural Intelligence Increasing cultural intelligence through lower level language classrooms is so important because of the social nature of language in general. So many people in the U.S at least, do not really put much value on learning another language because English is the Lengua Franca in the business world, but they do not realize that, though people may speak English all over the world, they keep their social values and their own language styles which can give people the wrong impression if they are not aware of the reasons for this foreign English. Additionally, the pendulum swings both ways. This is why empathy should be taught in the foreign language classroom alongside the language so that students dont try to speak in the target language and offend everyone they meet, but at the same time, for the ones who are not interested in

TEACHING INTERCULTURAL COMPETENCE continuing with the language, they at least gain some cultural insights and learn to put

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themselves in other peoples shoes before misinterpreting a situation. It is said best in the chapter on Sociocultural Factors in Principles of Language Learning and Teaching, What appears to you to be an accurate and objective perception of an individual, a custom, an idea, might be jaded or stilted in the view of someone from another culture. Misunderstandings are therefore likely to occur between members of different cultures (Brown, 2007, p.189). To increase cultural awareness and intelligence one must actively learn about other attitudes and values and put them into practice when thinking about your own views on an issue. This also means that people have to accept that there is not one way to do things or think about things, but many ways, and that it is a gradual process to shift this view (Peterson, 2004). Lesson Planning in General Cultural intelligence can be taught in a variety of ways. There are numerous aspects that are already a part of daily lessons like language patterns, themes, literature, culture, study skills and other subjects, and cultural awareness and intelligence can be incorporated into any and all of these aspects of the lesson. The emphasis of lessons in general should be based around the content and meaning of the messages that they are trying to convey. They should deal with expressing opinions in order to be motivating to the students (Woodward, 2001). In fact, through expressing opinions, students are learning about cultural differences among themselves, which is the first step to spreading that theory to other cultures. Application of Awareness-Raising Activities Hadley mentions some dangers of incorporating cultural studies into the language classroom, saying that if teachers are not careful, they could encourage ethnocentrism and stereotyping, and it is therefore very important to identify and point out that cultural awareness

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does not mean that everyone in that group thinks the exact same way, rather it is simply to pint out distinguishing traits of the group as a whole (Hadley, 2001). In her view culture can be taught in levels, and a way to get through these levels an be through strategies such as including cultural lessons or topics alongside vocabulary or grammatical forms, use probing questions to make students analyze the significance of certain realia, teaching connotative meanings of words, use small-group activities and group discussions, and use the target language to present cultural content (Hadley, 2001). The teacher can use the students as the cultural subjects by asking them about their own identity, thereby showing variation within the same culture as well as outsider views on the home culture and the reverse. One useful technique in teaching culture specifically focuses on misunderstandings across cultures and is referred to as a critical incident (Knutson, 2006). Critical incidents present some kind of miscommunication or incident between two different cultures and then give several explanations of which the students have to choose which is correct. With each answer, they are given feedback as to why that answer is incorrect or why it could be correct (Hadley, 2001). These applications to the classroom can all, in my opinion, help beginner students with cross cultural awareness as well as incorporate meaningful contexts and realia into the classroom. The Study The study was conducted in an eight-week Spanish 202 classroom that met every day at 8am. The classes on Monday, Wednesday and Friday were 50 minutes and the classes on Tuesday and Thursday were 75 minutes. The classroom consisted of 22 attending students, 12 male, 10 female, who are all at a variety of stages in their undergraduate career. I began the study approximately three weeks into the course with a pre-intervention survey that would allow me to determine the mindsets of the learners before any interventions were employed. The

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students had a midterm exam at the end of that week, so there was one intervention before the exam, and then four more after, all of which went along with the current theme of the textbook and were within the two-week data collection period. Method My plan for intervention, based on the literature I reviewed, was to give several cultural awareness activities in the form of critical incidents, video clips and articles with questions that asked for their opinions and viewpoints on the issues discussed. When possible, I will use instances that relate to the theme of the chapter or reader to incorporate it into the lesson, and I will try to get students to look at these issues from various perspectives. I will try to do as much of this as possible in the target language, but if it is not successful in the target language, I will allow the native language to be used so that the message can be conveyed. Data Collection In order to collect data for this action-research, I gave a pre-intervention survey that informs me about each students language experience, background, motivations and their intercultural competence this far. I consulted various sources when formatting my surveys, but the questions all originate from the concerns I had as I was formulating the problem and looking up literature on my topic; things like what are their motivations for learning a foreign language, what is their exposure to other cultures, and what are some general facts about each student in relation to their language and culture learning background and interests. To begin the intervention phase, I gave 5 activities in the form of critical incidents video clips, and articles and asked for hypothetical situations where they were in the situation being described. At the end of the intervention, I gave another survey that asked what they have learned and if any of their ideas on language learning or cultural differences have changed from the beginning of class to the end.

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I also kept a daily journal mentioning important information about each class and how I thought students reacted to the interventions in order to aid in the recollection of events during the writing phase of this project. Pre-intervention survey. The first phase of my research project consisted of a language and culture assessment survey where students had to give me their language learning background and describe their reasons for taking Spanish and their exposure and thoughts about other cultures in general. This would help me determine the percentage of students who were already more culturally aware and who I could possibly use as my resources in class when doing future interventions. Critical incidents. I gave the class two critical incident handouts where they had to read the situation (in the target language) and choose the correct answer as to why the situation occurred. The first critical incident was about using a computer in Spain and the second was about what the correct protocol is for being pulled over by law enforcement in another country. The point of these critical incidents is to make the students aware that there can be differences in areas that people often do not realize or expect. Keyboard. The first critical incident handout was about the use of keyboards in other countries. The exact handout can be found in Appendix B at the end of this project. I included vocabulary as well as grammar structures that were being learned to promote noticing during this activity. vehicle stop. This was a critical incident activity about proper protocol when pulled over in a foreign country. I also used grammatical structures and vocabulary that were being discussed in the chapter during this activity and attempted class discussion on the topic afterwards.

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Video clip. I used several video clips with respective handouts in order to increase students awareness of the variety of accents that can be encountered in the Hispanic world as well as to show the contextualization of the vocabulary from the chapter. I used journal entries that I made as my data collection of the students reactions. The topic that was discussed in each clip was the news and media. After they listened, I asked if they could hear the differences in the speakers accents and asked if they could relate this to differences in English speakers accents. Most of them seemed interested in listening to the different accents and making the comparison with their native language. Media reaction. I also gave students two assignments that involved Hispanic news to broaden their knowledge and views of Hispanic cultures and viewpoints on some international issues. The last chapter that is introduced in the textbook for this class is about the news, and so I wanted the students to have a chance to look at some authentic news from the Hispanic world and discuss it. I used both journal entries and one handout (appendix D) as my data collection for these interventions. Newspaper. I brought several Hispanic newspapers called La Noticia to class and had students get into groups and choose one of the articles to read. I gave them several minutes to choose and figure out the meaning of the article with each other and then I had them switch groups. In their new groups, each student was to explain their article to the rest of the group. Afterwards, I asked for volunteers to share their articles with the whole class. I believe the students enjoyed this activity and enjoyed getting to look at authentic material in Spanish. They also enjoyed reading articles with information that they knew about from their own news and being able to compare the information. With this activity, I wanted students to gain some insight into what types of issues are pertinent in the Hispanic world as well as (hopefully) being able to

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look at their own culture from an outside perspective (U.S from perspective of the Hispanic world). Given article. I gave the class an article on a controversial issue, immigration, along with questions that provoked opinions on the issue in order to test their cultural sensitivity on issues that are prevalent in the U.S. dealing with other cultures. I wanted students to see an authentic material as well as get an idea of the immigration issue from the perspective of the immigrants. The whole class seemed to feel very strongly about this issue, and while most students said that they could see the complexity of the issue and they could argue both sides, a few were completely against or completely for amnesty for immigrants. This showed me that most of the students did understand that they should look at situations from multiple perspectives before deciding what they thought about an issue, and many voiced sympathy for families who come to the U.S. to escape bad conditions in other areas. Find your own. To encourage autonomous learning, I assigned for them to search for an article, video clip, music video, or some other type of media in Spanish on the internet and write a paragraph about what it was. They were also to include a comparison with a similar media source in the U.S. doing this I hoped to encourage more students to look up things on their own and help them find an authentic resource that they could use recreationally to gain better insight into the Hispanic world. Post Intervention Survey. Once I had given all of the interventions for the project, I gave another survey to see if the overall perspective of the students had changed and if they felt that the interventions were helpful in learning about cultural differences. This can be found in Appendix E. I wanted to find out what the students thought about the class as a whole but

TEACHING INTERCULTURAL COMPETENCE mainly I wanted to see if they thought they learned anything in particular about cultural differences and if they looked at issues differently than before they started the class. Results

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After implementing all of the interventions and giving the surveys to the students, I analyzed the data to see if the interventions were consistent with my reflections and successful from the students perspectives in creating a more culturally aware classroom.

Pre-intervention survey There were 12 participants in the pre-intervention survey. I specifically analyzed questions 4, 5, 6,7,9 and 10 in order to determine the mindsets of the learners before the interventions. The first three questions were intended to find out the students reasons for being in the class. Question 4 asked what the students personal motivations were for taking the class and question 5 asked if they planned to continue studying the language after the class. Question 6 asked if they believed that they would be able to use the language in their professional or personal future. With questions 7,9 and 10 I was trying to get an idea of their intercultural exposure and interest. Question 7 asked if the students had ever traveled outside of the U.S and question 9 asked if there was any specific culture that interested them. Question 10 asked if the students had any friends from different cultural backgrounds. The results were as follows in Table 1. Table 1 Pre-intervention 4. Personal motivations 5. Plan to continue 6. Think it will be useful 7.Have traveled outside the U.S. Required/ No 4 2 0 7 Both/Maybe 4 1 2 Interested/Yes 4 9 10 5

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9. have other cultural interests 1 11 10. have friends from different cultures 2 10 The pre-intervention survey showed me that the majority of the class considered themselves as open-minded thinkers who are generally interested in learning about the language and culture, though some may be motivated through different facets. It also denoted that the majority of students have not ever traveled to a foreign country, which does not necessarily mean they have not had experience around other cultures, but they have probably not experienced a situation where they were totally surrounded by people that were different from them.

Post Intervention Survey After the interventions, I handed out a post-intervention survey in which students would give feedback on their opinions of the class, their language improvement and their cultural understanding and improvement. I also asked again about their plans to continue studying the language to see if anyones views changed from the beginning to the end of the study. There were 9 participants in this survey, and the questions were as shown in Table 2. There was a number scale from one (not at all) to 4 (a significant amount). The numbers in the table denote how many people marked each number in the scale. Table 2 Using the above scale, rate how much you 4 1. Enjoyed the information in this class 6 2. Enjoyed learning more of the language 6 3. Have improved in the language 3 4. Have improved your understanding of other cultures 4 5. Are interested in continuing to learn about the language 6 6. Are interested in continuing to learn about the various 7 cultures in the Hispanic world 7. Want to learn about other cultures in other parts of the 5 world 8. Consciously look at issues from multiple perspectives 5 Answer the following questions. 9. Do you feel that your knowledge about other cultures has grown

3 1 1 5 3 1 1 0 1

2 2 2 1 1 1 0 2 0 Yes 9

1 0 0 0 1 1 1 2 3 No 0

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throughout the semester? 10. Do you feel that your opinions about other cultures have changed from the 3 6* beginning of this course until now? 13. Do you plan to continue studying language and/or cultures after this 6 3 course? * 3 of the 6 who answered no also specified that they felt they already had open-minds about other cultures. This information shows me that the vast majority of students are interested in learning about the culture and the language. It also makes me believe that learning about culture and language through real task-based activities and materials raises students interest and motivation in the class. Focused Comparison The data from the pre and post surveys seem to indicate that students gained cultural awareness and knowledge as well as interest in the subject. However, there are 21 students enrolled in the class so that means that close to half of the students did not participate on either occasion. Therefore I cannot be sure of the results unless I compare the students who filled out both the pre-intervention survey and the post-intervention survey. There were 6 students who filled out both surveys and the results from just their data are as follows. Again table 1 refers to the pre-intervention survey and table 2 refers to the post-intervention survey. Table 1 Pre-intervention 4. Personal motivations 5. Plan to continue 6. Think it will be useful 7.Have traveled outside the U.S. 9. have other cultural interests 10. have friends from different cultures Table 2 Using the above scale, rate how much you 1. Enjoyed the information in this class 2. Enjoyed learning more of the language Required/ No 2 1 0 4 1 2 Both/Maybe 2 1 Interested/Yes 2 5 5 2 5 4

4 3 3

3 1 1

2 2 2

1 0 0

TEACHING INTERCULTURAL COMPETENCE 3. 4. 5. 6.

Shaw 16 0 1 1 1 2 3 No 0 4* 2

Have improved in the language 1 4 1 Have improved your understanding of other cultures 1 3 1 Are interested in continuing to learn about the language 3 1 1 Are interested in continuing to learn about the various 4 1 0 cultures in the Hispanic world 7. Want to learn about other cultures in other parts of the 2 0 2 world 8. Consciously look at issues from multiple perspectives 2 1 0 Answer the following questions. Yes 9. Do you feel that your knowledge about other cultures has grown 6 throughout the semester? 10. Do you feel that your opinions about other cultures have changed from the 2 beginning of this course until now? 13. Do you plan to continue studying language and/or cultures after this 4 course? *2 of the 4 who answered no also specified that they felt they already had open-minds about other cultures. I think these tables show a more accurate ratio of students feelings and thoughts on

language and culture learning in general because the numbers either increase proportionally or only the positive figure grows in the tables above. I attribute this to the idea that the people who want to learn and are already interested are the ones that were in class and the students who were not interested are the ones who either did not attend or did not turn in the surveys. Reflection Based on the data I collected from my classroom, I think that my hypothesis was confirmed, that the students who are more interested coming into the class are more open to the cultural aspects of the language. I also think that my interventions were semi-successful in that the majority of students voiced in the post-survey that they had improved their understanding of cultures. Looking back on this action-research project, I gained a lot of important knowledge about how to approach teaching culture in my classroom; however I still see many faults in the ways in which I presented the material and the specific attention I placed on it. I think it would have been more successful if I had been able to implement this for a longer period of time. I also

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see that it is very important to explicitly mention the purpose of each activity and focus more on the hypothetical situations of putting them in the place of the situation. I think a role play would have also been helpful because it would have engaged the students and made them more emotionally invested in the activity. I will also not allow the surveys to be taken home in the future as this also has an effect on the number of responses that are returned to me. I will number participants papers so that I can more easily tell the consistency throughout the whole project without causing the students any discomfort in relaying their complete, honest opinions. Study Limitations It should be noted that there were differences in class attendance for each of the interventions and so this could have some effect on the results, however, after examining the set of students who answered both surveys, I feel more confident that the results are at least proportionally accurate, and can be taken as a general average of the classes thoughts. Conclusion In conclusion, I believe that using activities and methods that raise intercultural and cross-cultural sensitivity in the lower level foreign language classroom can be a very effective way to teach students multiple cognitive learning strategies at once while still maintaining engagement and motivation in the classroom. I feel that a variety of tasks that can relate to reallife situations are the most beneficial to the students and the most interesting for them as well.

TEACHING INTERCULTURAL COMPETENCE Appendix A 202 Language and Culture Survey 1. What is your Language learning background? 2. How long have you been studying Spanish?

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3. Do you speak any other languages besides Spanish and English? If so, which ones? 4. What are your personal motivations for taking this class? 5. Do you plan to continue your studies in Spanish after this course? 6. Do you think you will be able to use Spanish in your professional or personal future? 7. Have you ever traveled outside of the United States? If so, where and what are your thoughts about that place? 8. How do you feel when you go to new places and meet new people? 9. Is there any specific culture that interests you? If so, what aspects of that culture do you find interesting/ intriguing? 10. Do you have any friends from different cultural backgrounds? If so, is there anything that is noticeably different in their lifestyle? Have they discussed with you any differences in customs or ways of thinking? 11. What do you value most as a person? 12. What do you value most in other people?

TEACHING INTERCULTURAL COMPETENCE Appendix B Situacion Cultural 1

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Estas de vacaciones en Espaa, y no llevaste tu computadora porque no queras que se rompiera. Te gustara chequear tu cuenta a ver si hay un mensaje importante pero no sabes donde se puede encontrar una computadora pblica. Mientras andas por la calle, ves una tienda con muchas computadoras y entras. Averiguas que es un laboratorio para computadores donde se puede pagar para usar el internet, y estas muy emocionada que por fin has encontrado un lugar para meterte en la red. Te sientas y haces clic en el icono de internet y empiezas a teclear, pero las palabras salen mal escritas. Porque? A. Todava tienes el jet lag y no lo teclas bien B. Los teclados en Espaa tienen un orden de letras y smbolos diferentes. C. Estas computadores son computadores especializadas y solo se usan en ciertas carreras. D. Estos son modelos nuevos con un teclado diferente y nuevo y una pantalla interactiva tambin.

Conversaciones Que pensaras y te sentiras en esta situacin? A donde iras en los Estados Unidos para usar una computadora publica? Como piensas que se sentira una persona de un pas extranjero en esta situacin? Piensas que esto ha pasado alguna vez a los turistas/ inmigrantes que vienen aqu?

TEACHING INTERCULTURAL COMPETENCE Appendix C Situacion Cultural 2

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Estas de vacaciones en otro pas de tu preferencia y has alquilado un coche para manejar de una ciudad a otro para el fin de semana. En el camino, un polica te hace parar por sobrepasar el lmite de velocidad. Que haces?

A. le pisas!, l nunca te atrapar B. Te sales del coche y lo encuentras a medio camino C. Te quedas en el coche, mientras l viene

Hay algn tiempo cuando t o un amigo tuyo ha tenido un incidente con un polica? Que pasara en este pais si subieras del coche? Que piensas que se sentira una persona de un pas donde el costumbre es salir del coche en esta situacin? Que pensaras de nuestros costumbres si fueras esa persona?

TEACHING INTERCULTURAL COMPETENCE Appendix D

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13 abril 2013 02:14 PM ET No habr ciudadana para los llegados despus del 31 de diciembre de 2011 (CNN) Un asesor del Senado ha confirmado a la CNN que cualquier inmigrante indocumentado que entr al pas despus del 31 de diciembre de 2011 no podr optar a la ciudadana estadounidense, segn el acuerdo de inmigracin establecido y que el grupo de senadores bipartito "Banda de los ocho" har pblico el prximo martes. Algunas particularidades del plan legislativo estn entre los detalles que ocho senadores cuatro republicanos y cuatro demcratas estn tratando de afinar. Fuentes con conocimiento del asunto dijeron a CNN esta semana que la reforma crucial estaba en camino de ser presentada este martes. Los miembros del Comit Judicial del Senado llevarn a cabo su primera audiencia pblica sobre la legislacin este mircoles, seguido probablemente por algunas modificaciones en mayo y la consideracin por el pleno del Senado en junio, segn las fuentes. La medida incluye una ruta de 13 aos para la ciudadana que podra alcanzar hasta aproximadamente 11 millones de residentes indocumentados, as como la creacin de un sistema de evaluacin de la seguridad fronteriza. El camino a la ciudadana tomara 10 aos para los trabajadores indocumentados que quieran obtener una tarjeta verde de trabajo legal, y luego otros tres aos para obtener la ciudadana.

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En el camino, los trabajadores indocumentados tendran que pagar una multa e impuestos atrasados, y pasar por una verificacin de antecedentes. La proporcin de la multa an es poco clara. Ningn trabajador indocumentado sera elegible para la ciudadana hasta que las fronteras se consideren seguras, un punto clave para los conservadores. Para medir la seguridad fronteriza, se creara una comisin con la misin de establecer y evaluar un conjunto de criterios cuantificables. Estara integrada por funcionarios nombrados por los lderes estatales y federales. Varias senadores clave en la propuesta, entre ellos el senador Jeff Sessions, siguen convencidos de que el plan del grupo sera equivalente a una amnista para las personas que inicialmente han entrado o permanecido ilegalmente en Estados Unidos. "Probablemente millones de inmigrantes indocumentados, actuales y futuros... se beneficiarn de esta amnista", dijo en un comunicado. El llamado Grupo de los Ocho est integrado por los republicanos Rubio, Lindsey Graham, John McCain y Jeff Flake; y los demcratas Robert Menendez, Dick Durbin, Michael Bennet y Chuck Schumer. Candy Crowley y Jim Acosta contribuyeron a este reporte http://cnnespanol.cnn.com/2013/04/13/no-habra-ciudadania-para-los-llegados-despues-del-31de-diciembre-de-2011/

Que piensas de las ideas propuestas de la amnista y los inmigrantes? Cuando piensas en la palabra inmigrante, piensas en algo ilegal o negativo? Esto cambia tu percepcin de todos los hispanohablantes? Porque piensas que los inmigrantes vienen a los EEUU? Qu haras tu si fueras en una situacin mala en tu pas y tu familia tuvieran que mudarse para sobrevivir? Que pensaras tu si fueras uno de los nios que viniera con tus padres a otro pas? Pensaras que debes regresar a tu pas nativo? Como piensas que se sienten los inmigrantes que han migrado aqu que son documentados? Y los que no son documentados?

TEACHING INTERCULTURAL COMPETENCE Appendix E Post-Class Questionnaire

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1-not at all 2-some 3-a lot 4- a significant amount Using the above scale rate how much you 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. 7. 8. Enjoyed the information in this class Enjoyed learning more of the Language Have improved in the Language Have improved your understanding of other cultures in general Are interested in continuing to learn about the language Are interested in continuing to learn about the various cultures in the Hispanic world Want to learn about other cultures in other parts of the world Consciously look at issues from multiple perspectives

Answer the following questions based on the thoughts that you have about Spanish 202 throughout the semester. Do you feel that your knowledge about other cultures has grown throughout this course? Do you feel that your opinions about other cultures have changed from the beginning of this course until now? If so, how? What did you like the most about this course, if anything? What do you think you will remember the most about this course? Do you plan to continue studying language and/or cultures after this course? What are some suggestions that you have for me, as a teacher, to improve this course?

TEACHING INTERCULTURAL COMPETENCE References

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Brown, H.D. (2007). Principles of language learning and teaching. White Plains, NY: Pearson Education, Inc. Hadley, A.O. (2001). Teaching for cultural understanding. Teaching language in context. Boston, MA: Heinle & Heinle. Knutson, E.M. (2006). Cross-Cultural Awareness for Second/Foreign Language Learners. The Canadian Modern Language Review, 62(4), 591-610. Morrison, T., Conaway, W.A., & Borden, G.A. (1994). Kiss, bow, or shake hands: How to do business in sixty countries. Avon, MA: Adams Media Corporation. Peterson, B. (2004). Cultural intelligence: A guide to working with people from other cultures. Boston, MA: Intercultural Press, Inc. Woodward, T. (2001). What can go into a lesson? Planning lessons and courses: Designing sequences of work for the language classroom. NY: Cambridge University Press.