No Technology? No problem!
In the United States, we live in a multicultural society where there are invaluable resources for giving our students a cross-cultural experience in our very own communities! Furthermore, our world is becoming increasingly globalized, bringing together people of different cultures like never before! One way to enhance language learning and cultural literacy without turning on a computer is to invite people of varying cultures into your classroom. For foreign language teachers, this could be as simple as inviting a native speaker of the language that you teach into your classroom, allowing students to hear and see in person a native speaker of the language that they are learning. This guest speaker could also speak to the students about their culture and the traditions of their native country, giving the students a window into the world that they are learning about.
I (Rachel) recently was invited into an Italian primary classroom to speak to students in my native tongue (English). Most of them had never heard a native English speaker in person! I also used the time to speak with them about American Thanksgiving, as this is part of their English curriculum. The kids enjoyed it so much that I was invited back the next week to speak with them about American Christmas traditions. Because the school has limited technology, on both occasions I simply printed out pictures of different aspects of the two holidays to show and explain to them in English. Afterwards, the students wrote down sentences in English pertaining to what they had learned and also completed word scrambles of English words that I had used in my presentation. For the Christmas lesson, I brought some of my own decorations to display, students wrote letters to Santa (whom they call "Boba Natale") in English and made a "Winter Word" book. For the 5th grade class who had been studying recipes, I brought the ingredients for chocolate chip cookies (these can not be found in Italy!) to show them how to make a typical American Christmas treat! They copied the recipe in English and got to smell and taste foreign ingredients (vanilla, packed brown sugar, baking soda, Nestle chocolate chips) before being able to try the cookies that I baked for them! I also brought American measuring cups and spoons that are a novelty here in Italy. Some of my resources for these lessons are pictured below.
In this way, the students were given a window into the American culture, but also were able to share parts of their culture with me, and were able to reflect on how our holidays and traditions are similar and different. During class we sang typical American Christmas songs, and as a gift to me, they made a CD of Italian Christmas songs. It is a beautiful thing to share our cultures with others, and it helps us to self-reflect on our own cultural traditions and why we hold them dear. While technology can make these experiences easier to create, don't forget to look in your own backyard!
For reflection activities after a guest speaker, see the "After the Exchange" section of this website.
I (Rachel) recently was invited into an Italian primary classroom to speak to students in my native tongue (English). Most of them had never heard a native English speaker in person! I also used the time to speak with them about American Thanksgiving, as this is part of their English curriculum. The kids enjoyed it so much that I was invited back the next week to speak with them about American Christmas traditions. Because the school has limited technology, on both occasions I simply printed out pictures of different aspects of the two holidays to show and explain to them in English. Afterwards, the students wrote down sentences in English pertaining to what they had learned and also completed word scrambles of English words that I had used in my presentation. For the Christmas lesson, I brought some of my own decorations to display, students wrote letters to Santa (whom they call "Boba Natale") in English and made a "Winter Word" book. For the 5th grade class who had been studying recipes, I brought the ingredients for chocolate chip cookies (these can not be found in Italy!) to show them how to make a typical American Christmas treat! They copied the recipe in English and got to smell and taste foreign ingredients (vanilla, packed brown sugar, baking soda, Nestle chocolate chips) before being able to try the cookies that I baked for them! I also brought American measuring cups and spoons that are a novelty here in Italy. Some of my resources for these lessons are pictured below.
In this way, the students were given a window into the American culture, but also were able to share parts of their culture with me, and were able to reflect on how our holidays and traditions are similar and different. During class we sang typical American Christmas songs, and as a gift to me, they made a CD of Italian Christmas songs. It is a beautiful thing to share our cultures with others, and it helps us to self-reflect on our own cultural traditions and why we hold them dear. While technology can make these experiences easier to create, don't forget to look in your own backyard!
For reflection activities after a guest speaker, see the "After the Exchange" section of this website.
History Teachers can also incorporate guest speakers and cross-cultural experiences into their curriculum!
Margie Hollywood of South Grand Prairie High School in Grand Prairie, TX developed this awesome lesson plan for her sophomore World History students. While teaching about several revolutions throughout history, Margie had the idea to invite a guest speaker, who had lived through a more recent revolution, to come and describe their experience to her classes. Students learned about the particular revolution beforehand, and then prepared questions to ask the speaker. A panel of students was selected ahead of time to ask the questions compiled by the class. The most recent guest speaker described their experience of living through the El Salvadorian Civil War. Past guest speakers include a man who lived through the Iranian Revolution of 1979. These are people that Margie found right in her own community - no need to fly people in or pay for an organization to equip you with a speaker. These are everyday people living in our communities that are more than willing to share their experiences to enhance student learning! Cross-cultural experiences like these not only teach students invaluable lessons about cultural literacy but also help them connect lessons from history to the present day.
Some of the resources used for this project:
Some of the resources used for this project:
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