| Title: |
Bilingualism, Heritage, and Worldviews |
| Project Description: |
In this project, graduate students in Spanish linguistics at the University of Florida interacted with freshmen from underrepresented backgrounds in Veracruz, Mexico. They discussed their own autobiographies in terms of linguistic and cultural experiences, their views of the world and humanity's relationship to it, including their own, and the relationship between their linguistic and cultural identities, the local geographies in which they had lived, and their connection to their ancestors. They used images, narrative, and artistic creation to express their ideas. Students interacted both synchronously and asynchronously. |
| Learning Outcomes: |
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| Participating Countries: |
Mexico |
| Number of Participants: |
11 UF Students, 16 UV Students |
| Discipline: |
World Languages |
| UF Course Code & Name: |
SPN 6856 - Espanol en contacto |
| Project Duration: |
13 Weeks |
| Activity Type(s): |
- Student-to-Student Dialogue
- Student-to-Student Project
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| Time allotted to each activity: |
- Synchronous activities: 0.5 hours/week
- Asynchronous activities: 0.5 hours/week
- Local group activities: 0.5 hours/week
- Individual work: 0.5 hours/week
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| Technology Tools: |
- Padlet
- Word processing applications
- Pen and paper
- Video recording
- Collage and Paint
- Zoom
|
| Sequence of Activities: |
- Icebreaker: For this activity, each student posted a picture of something that was important to them using padlet and explained why it was important. It helped them introduce themselves in a low stakes context to get to know each other. They then responded to at least two of their peers.
- Engagement Activity: The first activity after the ice breaker was a synchronous activity using Zoom. Our classes arranged to meet at the same time, and the students all introduced themselves. After that, they used elements of what they had learned through the ice breaker to ask each other questions and get to know each other better.
- Collaboration Activity: The group project Involved two asynchronous elements on padlet that allowed the students to reflect on their own histories, linguistic backgrounds, and cultures, as well as their world views. They also responded to each other on padlet. The two activities are described below.
- The first activity was a linguistic and cultural autobiography. It asked the students to reflect on the history of their families and the languages that had been present in the past and in their lives to day. Finally, it asked them to reflect upon the importance of these languages in their personal lives. This 30-minute activity, which required 100 words of text for each student, was done asynchronously on padlit. Students were given a little over a week to complete this activity. The text that prompted their padlet response was as follows: “Todos tenemos una historia, tanto personal como familiar. Esa historia siempre incluye lenguas y culturas. Cuéntanos un poco sobre tu historia lingüística y cultural. Por ejemplo, ¿cuál lengua o lenguas hablas, y cómo llegaste a hablarlas? ¿Son las mismas que hablan tus familiares? ¿Y tus antepasados? Si tu familia ha cambiado de lengua, reflexiona sobre las razones. Si han mantenido una lengua, reflexiona sobre las circunstancias que permitieron esa continuación. Finalmente, ¿son importantes estas lenguas y culturas en tu vida personal? Explica. Luego, comenta en las reflexiones de al menos dos compañeros internacionales.”
- The second part of this activity Ask students to take about one hour to write a 200 word response in which they reflected upon their personal relationship with the world around them and their place in it and in the Cosmos. In particular, students were asked about how they related to the people around them, their ancestors, and the nature around them, which had emerged as an important theme in the first activity. They were also asked to respond to at least two of their peers’ contributions. The prompt for this part of the activity was as follows: “Todos vivimos en el mismo mundo, pero esto no quiere decir que nos veamos, lo entendamos o lo expliquemos, de la misma manera. Reflexiona un poco sobre tu manera de entenderte como parte del mundo (el entorno natural, la vida misma y su condición finita). ¿Cuál es tu relación con la gente a tu alrededor? ¿Y con tus antepasados? ¿Qué relación tienes con la naturaleza? Reflexiona sobre cómo las culturas en las que vives han afectado tu manera de ver el mundo. Luego, comenta en las reflexiones de al menos dos compañeros internacionales.”
- Reflection Activity: To reflect upon this experience, the students were asked to create a piece of artwork, text, or image that represented their experience with the International Virtual Exchange. They were then asked to post this creation on padlet to share it with their fellow students and to respond to others' creations. The prompt was as follows:
“Hemos llegado al final de nuestra colaboración internacional en línea (COIL). Durante estos meses hamos realizado actividades que han favorecido el intercambio de reflexiones entre nuestras comunidades estudiantiles sobre la importancia de las lenguas y los procesos de transformación que se pueden rastrear desde sus biografías familiares, lo cual nos ha mostrado la estrecha relación de los procesos históricos interculturales y las lenguas. Además, hemos podido reflexionar sobre la diversidad de cosmovisiones que componen nuestro mundo actual y sobre el valor e importancia de las mismas. Hemos interactuado, tanto de forma sincrónica como a distancia, con el objetivo de conocernos mejor entre quienes nos encontramos participando. En este Padlet podrás compartir tu actividad creativa y/o académica, en el formato que hayas elegido, lo que nos permitirá dejar evidencia de la forma en que hemos integrado y sintetizado lo aprendido en conjunto, durante el tiempo de nuestra colaboración. Muchas gracias por tu participación en este ejercicio académico internacional.”
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