Cultural Considerations
University of Valencia
Developing a Model for Intercultural Practices in the Web
Paper Presentation in a Themed Session Jose Boigues Lopez
This paper exemplifies the possibilities of applying critical discourse analysis techniques to web-based materials as a way to develop intercultural competence in students of foreign languages. The study is divided into three different parts. The first one displays a specific theoretical frame on discourse analysis, mainly based on proposals by Paul Gee (2005, 2011) and Barbara Johnstone (2008), and its applications to foreign language pedagogy. The second part includes concrete samples of different types of activities in which authentic online materials are analyzed critically with the purpose of promoting students’ awareness of the foreign culture as well as their own. The materials are taken from diverse digital media, such as web pages, social networks and discussion forums, and the activities background is based mainly on pragmatics theory developed by Francisco Yus (2010). The session concludes with a brief review of different research projects on intercultural analysis developed by college students of Spanish. Activities samples and research projects are in Spanish, but the theoretical frame is applicable to all languages.
Relationship Building as an Element of Culturally Sustaining Pedagogies for Immigrant Origin Youth View Digital Media
Paper Presentation in a Themed Session Raquel Sáenz Ortiz
As part of a larger case study, this research delves into how culturally sustaining pedagogies were constructed in one alternative school, focusing on the role of relationship building between teachers and students in re-engaging students in learning. In many countries second-generation immigrant youth of certain backgrounds drop out of school at higher rates and/or have lower rates of college enrollment compared to students from the dominant group. These educational inequities are well-documented, but the impact of culturally sustaining pedagogies as a method for increasing equitable outcomes is less documented for second generation immigrant youth. There are also not many places that center these pedagogical models throughout schools in authentic ways. In centering learner diversity and identities as a means of re-engaging youth, I delve into research that I conducted while also teaching in an alternative school in the Northeastern United States. I interviewed alumni and staff in the school, conducted focus groups with current students, and conducted Participatory Action Research with seniors in the program. Interviews were transcribed and coded. Data was analyzed in collaboration with students from the program. Findings revealed the importance of having educators from the same racial/cultural backgrounds as students, the impact of educators who engage with students outside of school and of spaces/time during each week focused on relationship building (through games, field trips, check-ins, and restorative circles). These themes were found to be correlated with higher attendance among students and engagement in the curriculum, as well as the construction of strong academic identities.
