Alumni Connection - April 2005: Resources for Student Learning: Finding, Evaluating, and Using Culturally Authentic Materials

Resources for Student Learning: Finding, Evaluating, and Using Culturally Authentic Materials - Part I

". . . the selection of a material or activity is also the selection of an array of forces that will influence how students will be challenged to think. . . . The curriculum is a mind-altering device."

Welcome to the April 2005 electronic newsletter of the National K-12 Foreign Language Resource Center!

When you walk into your classroom each day, what do you see? Do you see the incorrigible or incompetent students, inadequate textbooks, insufficient resources, and impossible challenges of a Neverland that you are certain will never be?! Do you see students, eyes bright with curiosity, lost in the wilderness of a grown-up world that they didn't create, searching for an identity they can't find? Do you see passports to adventures, wooden sticks that just need a little fairy dust to turn them into golden swords, and opportunities to explore all sorts of amazing things in a NeverNeverland of ideas, that you hope you never grow out of? When you walk into your classroom each day, just what do you see—what is or what is possible?!

The people, things, situations, and ideas with which we surround ourselves are, in essence, forces that shape who we are, how we think, and what we see. After all, just look at what happened to Wendy and her brothers! It is likely that you have also experienced these forces in deeply personal ways. For example, have you ever noticed that the funny little words or expressions of someone with whom you spend a lot of time have worked their way into the things that you say, or that the reactions of one of your friends to a specific set of circumstances have influenced your own reactions in similar situations? Have you ever walked into a room that changes how you feel inside as a result of the color on the walls, the style of the furniture, the texture of the drapes, the feel of the carpet under your feet, the artwork on the walls, and the collective effect that these items have on your senses? Have you ever visited a new place only to discover yourself filled with an intense longing for the beauties and the solace of the mountains, forests, ocean, desert, or plains that usually surround you? Have you ever left a theater or closed a book with the deep awareness that the manner in which you think about life (or that life itself) has changed as a result of the experience you have just had?

As we seek to explore (or ignore) the possibilities inherent in the materials with which we surround ourselves, we, in turn, make decisions about how we will shape the people, things, and environments that surround us (including ourselves). Every time you select (or set aside) a supplemental resource, you are really determining the potential forces that will be exerted on the minds of your students. Your thoughtful and purposeful (or thoughtless and purposeless) use of these forces expands (or limits) the range and variety of possibilities that are available to you and to your students—ultimately affecting what you (and they) are ableto see!

This issue contains some adventures with culturally authentic materials that we hope will kindle the fairy dust of your imagination, enabling you to see beyond what is and transporting you to a Neverland of possibilities that neither you, nor your students, will ever want to leave!

Cherice Montgomery, Newsletter Editor
Marcia Rosenbusch, Director, National K-12 Foreign Language Resource Center
Julio C. Rodriguez, Web Designer

“ Nothing touches the soul but leaves its impress; and thus, little by little, we are fashioned into the image of all we have seen and heard, known and meditated. And if we learn to live with all that is fairest and purest and best, the love of it all will, in the end, become our life.”

The ways in which we define our cultures (as well as those of the people around us), establish boundaries that shape both who we are and the people it is possible for us to become. For many of our students, the day they first set foot in our classrooms is the first time they have ever been asked to think about what a culture is, what it means, or how it changes who they are. It may also be their first substantive exposure to our target languages or cultures. As a result, the time students spend with us can have a tremendous influence on both their personal identities and on their impressions of the countries and cultures we choose to share with them. What we say (or don't say) and the resources and materials we use (or don't use) will shape their beliefs and, therefore, what they will be able to see in their future encounters with our target cultures. If we want them to have accurate perceptions and deep, multifaceted understandings that empower them to live their own lives in more meaningful ways, we must ensure that the encounters they have are as authentic as possible! So just what is culture? Take theWhat is Culture Practice Quiz to find out, or test your expertise regarding the characteristics of culturewith theCharacteristics of Culture Practice Quiz! If you aren't too satisfied with your results, you might find that this site on Human Culture will give you some fresh insights. If you are really up for an adventure, the metaphors for culture from Culture at Work may help you to imagine some new possibilities! You'll also want to explore the many other useful resources related to communication, mediation, negotiation, and the culture of the workplace, including the case studies regarding Japanese culture that will give you some insight into how you could use culturally authentic materials to develop intercultural competence in your own students.

Why is it important to use "culturally authentic materials" and what kinds of materials are available?

"The quality of an artist can be measured by the quality of his influences."

Our perspectives are always embedded in the products that we produce. Consequently, the culturally authentic resources (traditionally defined as materials produced by native speakers for native speakers) currently available online are like passports that give students access to target cultures in ways that once were only available to those classes fortunate enough to be able to travel abroad. Unlike materials that are produced by non-native speakers and simply translated, culturally authentic materials make it possible for us to bring the world into our classrooms through a wide variety of media.

Take your students on some visual adventures with The Realia Project— an online archive of realia that can be searched by language, country, or category and includes images useful to teachers of French, German, Japanese, Portuguese, Russian, and Spanish—or tour World Wide Arts Resources, a searchable index of art resources that can be accessed alphabetically by author's last name, by nationality, by century, or by style. If you are looking for something a little more interactive, you may enjoy this section of the BBC Radio site, which will take you toinformation on the latest world music. While you are there, you can watch RealMedia videos, listen to music, or read biographies for World Music Award nominees from Africa, Asia/Pacific, the Americas, Europe, the Middle East, and many other parts of the world. The Film Library contains a list of downloadable commercials from all over the world (use the drop-down menu at the bottom of the screen to select a country). If you prefer that your students watch an actual broadcast, you'll like the live radio and TV broadcasts from around the world that you can find at Broadcast Live. If you decide that you'd like to coordinate your culturally authentic adventures with holidays from other countries, you'll enjoy the Multicultural Calendar, which can be searched by month holiday, country, or author for information on a variety of multicultural topics.

The thematic portals on the left-hand side of the screen at the French Ministry of Culture will take French teachers to information about cultural events related to archaeology, architecture, art, cinema, multimedia, museums, regional languages and linguistics, music, and performances of various kinds in France. After selecting one of the categories from the thematic list, scroll toward the bottom of the screen to see a list of websites related to the category. Base Joconde: Catalogue des collections des museés de France will allow your students to use their French to explore collections held in various museums throughout France. Themes include armaments, ceramics, games, hats and hairstyles, the middle ages, Picasso, portraits from the 16 th Century, prehistoric beasts, publicity, sports. When your students tire of museums, take them on safari to experience the Art and Life in Africa through online articles, art work, audio clips, photographs, and streaming video. Your students will find the oceans of Cousteau Junior a welcome relief after the heat of Africa! While on expedition with Cousteau's team, they can explore various regions of the world and the flora, fauna, and humans that live in or near the sea through simple text in French, beautiful photos, interactive games, and online quizzes. If you and your students are not quite so adventurous, you may prefer to stay "at home" and enjoy the films in French offered by Films a la carte, or play with Jeux et jouets, an interactive site from the Museé Virtuel Canada that allows users to explore the history of games and toys in either French or English through themes such as losing and winning, playing outside, pretending, and remembering through a variety of different activities. It includes interactive games and the opportunity to share memories and photos of favorite childhood games and toys. The site map will be particularly helpful to you in preparing activities for the language classroom based on these materials.

German teachers will find a Neverland of possibilities awaiting them at RBB Online, where you'll find radio, news, sports, weather, and webcams of Berlin in German. Be sure to check out the link to Mensch Einstein, where you'll find biographical information about Einstein, a photo archive, primary source materials, and lots of other useful information in German. If your students need a little fairy dust to inspire them, you'll want to take them to Unser Sandmännchen,a site in German that

contains an illustrated, annotated schedule of children's programming, coloring pages, postcards that can be sent via e-mail, and many other activities for children. When your students are ready to use their imaginations,Fairy Tales by the Grimm Brothers will enable them to select and view online various common fairy tales from a variety of different editions, with or without illustrations, in either German, English, or side-by-side. If you find that the stories have captured their attention, you'll also want to take them back in time with these 19 th Century German Stories , ballads, poems, and stories, [34] or allow them to explore this literature-based site that contains a wide variety of short stories, novellas, and texts by German authors that can be viewed, listened to online, or downloaded. If your students aren't quite ready for so much imagination, then give them a dose of reality with the Culturally Authentic Pictorial Lexicon a site that contains a variety of culturally authentic, license-free photos from Germany. Be sure to take a few minutes to read the "About" section, as it provides nice guidelines for thinking about the use of culturally authentic images.

Japanese teachers will enjoy a trip through the photo essays and searchable database of culturally authentic photos, lesson plans, and teaching materials for teachers of Japaneseat The Japan Forum, or perhaps a visit to Mangarama: Digital Comic Learning System a database of Japanese comics that can be searched by keyword, title, or situation. For links to numerous culturally authentic photos, Suzanne Kauer recommends the The Japan Picture Gallery (click on each of the lessons to see the photos).

Latin teachers could easily get lost in The Perseus Project, a comprehensive, searchable site dedicated to classical languages.

If you speak Russian, then crossing the digital borders at the Meeting of Frontiers: Digital Collections will be no problem for you. This searchable, digital library can be viewed in either Russian or English and contains primary Russian source materials (such as books, exhibitions, manuscripts, maps, mixed media, motion pictures, photographs, and print materials). If you are more interested in taking a tour of the recent changes in Russia, you’ll love Exhibition: Russian Photographs 1992-2002, a beautiful collection of photographs that document a recent decade of change in Russia.

Spanish teachers have all the fun. At ¿A qué juegas tú? you can check out a variety of traditional games that have been submitted by children from around the Spanish-speaking world. For those of you who are more the working type, take a trip to Gaucho.com where you’ll find extensive information in both Spanish and English, supported by beautiful graphics and animation, about many elements of the life of gauchos in Argentina. If urban life is more your style, drop by Crimen, Delito, Violencia: Encuesta Escolar, where you’ll find the results of a 1998 survey of 6 th and 7 th graders in Buenos Aires, Argentina regarding violence and its relationship to schools. The page is well-organized, contains lots of headings, culturally authentic photos, and interesting statistics that would support and enhance student comprehension, and could serve as a springboard for some fascinating assignments. If you like statistics but prefer to travel in Mexico, then wander around the Instituto Nacional de Estadística Geografia e Informática, recommended by James Phillips. It provides economic, environmental, sociodemographic statistics on Mexico that can be accessed by theme or by the methods used to gather them. There is a great children’s section that includes scientific information in very basic language about the earth, minerals, fossils, water, and the environment, illustrated statistics on the geography, economy, and living conditions of people in Mexico, and games that kids can download and play. You shouldn’t leave Mexico without visiting México – Universidad de Guadalajara the definitive source for beautifully illustrated information on the art, geography, history, cooking, tourism, economy, science, religion, and politics of Mexico.

If Spain is your passion, The Southworth Spanish Civil War Collection will feed it with some very moving artwork that can be used with a unit on the Civil War, including over 600 drawings made by Spanish school children during the war as well as a collection of propaganda posters. If you’d like to know more about Picasso’s thoughts on these issues, you’ll be intrigued by the lengthy, photographically illustrated interview with him at Entrevista Picasso. Incurable romantics will love Poesía en español—Desde el romancero hasta el siglo XX a searchable site that contains well over one thousand poems by a variety of famous, Spanish-speaking poets. They are organized alphabetically and indexed by author’s last name as well as by title and by first line. For something a little more visual, try NPR: Dalí's Disney Film, [52] where you can watch two video clips from Dalí's Destino, the short film that he began in collaboration with Walt Disney. The links at Glencoe: Galería de arte y vida & Tesoro Literario will take you to a list of quality web resources for Spanish students. Although they are organized topically based on the chapters in the Glencoe books, you'll find that most of the topics in your textbook are probably represented.

"Imagination is the beginning of creation. You imagine what you desire, you will what you imagine and at last you create what you will."

Now that you've seen what's out there, you may be wishing you had a treasure map that would lead you to similar items related to your own curriculum! Boolean Searching on the Internet: A Primer in Boolean Logic contains a simple, well-structured, nicely illustrated explanation of Boolean search terms that will lead you straight to all sorts of treasures! If you decide that you'd like to expand your treasure hunting on an international scale, then you'll like the Yahoo Countries Directory, which will take you to a categorized list of individual websites for each country that you click on.

". . . the actual benefits of what they stand to gain will be affected by how well they can make discerning judgment about what they find."

So, how can you tell if the sites you are using and the materials you are digging up are really resources worth treasuring? The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly: Evaluation Criteria offers a helpful list of criteria that you can use to evaluate the accuracy, authority, coverage, currency, and objectivity of a web page. Each item on the list links to a website that serves as a super example! A Rubric for Evaluating Webquests will help you to determine the quality of the cultural webquests you unearth, while the Multimedia Mania 2003 Judges Rubric will help you to assess the strengths of the PowerPoint presentations that you find online. If you aren't quite so techie, you may find Beyond Good Intentions: Selecting Multicultural Literature more useful. It offers several considerations to help teachers thoughtfully select multicultural literature for use with their students.

"Media Culture is the result of the industrialization of information and culture. Images, sounds and spectacles help produce the fabric of life, dominating leisure time, shaping political views and social behavior, and providing the materials out of which people forge their identities."

Using culturally authentic materials is more of an ongoing process than it is an event. Once you have located resources and evaluated them for their quality and suitability, you still have to figure out how to help students engage with them in meaningful ways. Using the World-wide Web in the French Class: Everything for the Beginner and Even Something for the Experienced User a site available in either English or French, presents basic information about how to find, manipulate, and create sound and image files, as well as ideas for creating pedagogical activities based on culturally authentic resources. If you are looking for a more conceptual approach, try A Critical Pedagogy Approach: Incorporating Technology to De/Reconstruct Culture in the Language Classroom an article that advocates using critical pedagogy and technology as tools for transforming the teaching of language and culture. If you need something a little more practical, Multiculturalpedia will give you plenty of ideas. Browse its interesting introduction (available in English or Japanese), then click on the links to the left in order to access information on various cultural practices that have been submitted by readers from around the world. Those working with higher education will find this month's 2005 Year of Languages activities that focus on Higher Education: Developing Advanced Level Proficiency to be of special interest.

"The evolution of culture is ultimately determined by the amount of love, understanding and freedom experienced by its children... Every abandonment, every betrayal, every hateful act towards children returns tenfold a few decades later upon the historical stage, while every empathic act that helps a child become what he or she wants to become, every expression of love toward children heals society and moves it in unexpected, wondrous new directions."

"Picasso is right. A painter collects what he likes from other painters."

"Creativity is more than just being different. Anybody can play weird--that's easy. What's hard is to be as simple as Bach. Making the simple complicated is commonplace--making the complicated simple, awesomely simple--that's creativity."

You must never tell a thing. You must illustrate it. We learn through the eye and not through the noggin."

If you think that watching the corn grow is the only culture Iowa has to offer, you are in for a surprise! To see a great example of what Iowans consider to be inherently interesting, cognitively engaging, culturally authentic materials, have a look at the article, Crunch! Giant Cheeto Spurs Online Frenzy.

Botero, Fernando. (1980). In Ratcliff, Carter. Botero. NY: Abbeville Press, Inc.

Burbules, Nicholas C., & Callister, Jr., Thomas A. (2000). Watch IT: The risks and promises of information technologies for education. Boulder, CO: Westview Press. ISBN 0-8133-9083-4.

Eisner, Elliot W. (2002). The arts and the creation of mind. New Haven: Yale University Press, pp. 178-195. ISBN 0-300-09523-6.

Kellner, Douglas. (1990). Televison and the crises of democracy. San Francisco: Westview Press. In Johnson, Fred. (2003). Integrating critical approaches to media literacy into production training. Media Working Group: Education. Retrieved January 28, 2005, from http://digitalliteracy.mwg.org/curriculum/template.html