Going with culture

A few ideas have been swirling around in my head this semester. The first of these was culture. I have a huge passion for learning about the culture of a people, about their histories, their customs, and what they do from day to day. I appreciate the cultures of the Spanish-speaking world because of the diversity it presents to the world. I'm big on diversity. So that's the first thing. The second theme that ran around in my head for while was the way that FL teachers can get their students engaged in the material, how they get them hooked, how they get their students to realize the importance of learning about foreign language and culture. Dr. Redmond and Dr. McCoy have been instrumental in steering me back to a research topic that is doable within the semester we have. I want to look at how the teaching of culture can influence student attitudes about foreign language. At the same time, I want to see how the integration of technology into teaching culture in the Spanish-speaking world can help students in their understanding and how technology may also act as an attractant and a way for students to be brought into the learning environment.

In the procedure, I would conduct interviews with high school teachers. I would ask them broader questions about teaching culture, if they see it as an important aspect, how they go about it. This would get at their attitudes about it. I would include questions about student attitudes in the Spanish classroom. Other questions would focus on their use of technology, what kinds they use, how often, what they think this does for their students. The second key part to the procedure would be observing a sample of those interviewed to see their thoughts about teaching culture, their methods of teaching culture and integrating technology in action.

I feel like this topic still may be a bit too broad. I would definitely like to have a more confined area of research. Hopefully that will come before August!