Friday, March 28, 2008

This week in class we discussed intercultural communication. I for one am a big fan of teaching culture in the classroom. Many is the time when I have given a presentation on Cuba and have had students pay attention for the the whole thing, and even staying over time. I was observed by some of my peers to give the same presentation in their classrooms, and their students enjoyed it as much as mine did. I think that intercultural communication is a wonderful idea. It would greatly improve the C2/L2 learning because it exposes C1/L1 students to another way of life and language, and encourages them to see things from a different perspective. One of the articles we read stated that an important approach to intercultural communication is to be open to differences in culture and try and distance yourself from your own cultural aspects so that you can fully appreciate another. I find that a lot of my students cannot relate at all to Cuban culture. In fact, some don't even know where Cuba is on the map, which is sad, in my opinion. Basic geography has nothing to do with speaking Spanish...but anyway, I digress. I think that in these recent times of change in Cuba, intercultural communication would definitely be beneficial to both Cuban students in Cuba and American students here. Unfortunately, I feel that this is still a long way from being possible, due to the current governmental relationship between the United States and Cuba. In the future however, seeing as how the Cuban government next week will begin offering cell phone service to the Cuban people, something that has never been done, technology is unavoidable in Cuba's future. As much as Cuba wants to keep their Communist mentality, the new leader must make some concessions now that Fidel Castro is not at the front anymore. While cell phone use may not seem like a big deal to some people unfamiliar with Cuba's political history, it is a giant step in giving Cuban citizens some basic freedom of communication, but only if it is done right, and in reality, Raul Castro's government is really Fidel's, and without true change in leadership, full freedom of communication is impossible. Recently, Cuban students on the island have communicated with some University of Miami students via the internet from an undisclosed location on the island. This is just the beginning of Intercultural communication in Cuba, and when I first read this on the internet, I was very pleased to see that there was finally communication between the younger generations on both sides of the ocean. The following is a link to the article:http://www.local10.com/news/15640587/detail.html
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2 comments:

Liz E said...

hola fonz, como estas?? I agree with you in that it is SO important to include culture in the teaching of a foreign language. As you said, so many students today cannot even point out simple geographical locations on a map! It is our job as foreign language educators to make sure that we are including culture as part of our FL curriculum. I think that it is really neat that you can bring such knowledge and insight of Cuba in to your classroom. I think that students really enjoy hearing first hand experiences! As a non-native speaker, I can only speak from the outside but I have found that students love hearing about the trips abroad that I have taken. Do you think that you would ever try intercultural communication in your classroom in the future??

March 29, 2008 at 5:45 PM
Francisco Salgado-Robles said...

Hi Alfonso,
I do sympathize with your stance about the relationship between both countries. Doubtless, from a pedagogic standpoint, it is sad that USA lovers of Spanish cannot take the most advantage of Cuba for the current situation. If you check at http://www.cccs.com/index.php?id=312 (one of the study abroad programs I work for in summers in Seville), you might see one (out of hundreds – I can imagine) of restrictions that affect the learner. It is a pity that, as the program itself desires, delving into life in Cuba from a cross-cultural perspective, daring to step outside of oneself, and experiencing reality from another point of view cannot be fulfilled. Besides this, I was wondering, how would technology benefit this ICC amongst people from both places?; in other words, would you implement ICC to better the situation and raise cultural awareness?

March 30, 2008 at 9:53 PM

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CUBA

This may seem a bit out of place, but it's something I thought I'd like to share on my blog. This is a video I always show to my classes on culture days. It always amazes me at first to hear how many students do not even know where Cuba is or why they can't go...most of the time when I ask what they know about Cuba, they say that they know Cuban cigars and rum, and Fidel Castro. Oh, Fidel...once again, he has succeeded in catching the world's eye by supposedly resigning from power this week...which means absolutely nothing as long as he's still breathing. Most of my students are intrigued when we talk about Cuba, because I usually bring in personal items, such as plane tickets and magazines and photographs, all faded with time, much like the country itself. I also take this opportunity to remind them of how lucky they all are, as am I, to have been born in this country, and that we should never take for granted the fact that we are Americans. I talk about this topic fully aware of the fact that politics is usually a subject that most people like to keep out of the classroom, and I think that a lot of our society's problems would be solved if people weren't so afraid to air their opinions once in a while. Almost all of my students have thanked me, not only for showing these videos on Cuba, but also for making them aware of the fact that being American is a privilege, and not a right. It was very satisfying for me both as a teacher and an American of Cuban descent to see that my words made my students appreciate their country. A lot of them are also surprised by the fact that teachers are arrested for teaching democratic ideas and for reading certain books to their students. Most of the things that happen in Cuba are not even fathomable to people who don't see past the beaches and palm trees. It just goes to show you that things are not what they seem, and that until things are exposed, the world will see Cuba the way Fidel sees fit, and unfortunately, so much time has gone by, that most of the people who were primarily affected by his ideals are now dead, in addition to the indifference many people have in regards to Cuba and its situation. I would like to be wrong, but the more time goes by and the more I see the way Castro skillfully plans his exit, and the more the world buys it, the more I believe what he said during the early days of the revolution, "History will absolve me."