The purpose of this project is to develop your Spanish language, culture, and identity awareness. In this project, you will develop a presentation in which you investigate cultural products, practices, and perspectives from topics related to Spanish-speaking cultures and your own culture. 

To get started with this project, we'll first learn about the interconnections between language, culture, and identity for learning Spanish. We'll also go over a framework for language learning with a specific focus on cultural products, practices, and perspectives. Then, you'll explore various topics and resources related to Spanish-speaking cultures and communities. After that, you choose a topic that you would like to research in more detail and design a presentation about it. 

You will use the Spanish language skills of giving descriptions, presenting information, using common vocabulary and verbs, making comparisons, and responding to others. These skills will help you describe yourself, the culture(s) you explore, and various cultural products, practices, and perspectives. You’ll also make connections and comparisons using the Spanish language. At the end of your presentation, you’ll reflect on your learning and how you developed cultural humility throughout the project. 

Project Tasks

1. Read about the ACTFL language-readiness standards, 

2. Complete the introductory lesson about language, culture, and identity. View examples of linguistic identities and reflect on your linguistic identities.

3. Complete the interactive lesson about greetings, describing yourself, and sharing information in Spanish 

4. Explore resources and choose a topic idea for the project. Continue researching your topic through materials from this site and/or resources you find on your own. 

5. ✅ Add new words to your personal vocabulary list or flashcards.

6. ✅ Design and practice your presentation. 

7. ✅ Deliver your presentation to a friend or record yourself presenting it.

8. ✅ Reflect on your learning in the reflection journal and interactive Padlet discussion board.

Learning Outcome Checklist for this Project

This is the learning checklist you can use to evaluate yourself on this project. If there are parts of the checklist that you would like to change, feel free to modify it and add to it to fit your learning style and language level. 

1. Design communication products for presenting information, concepts, and ideas in Spanish.

   • You develop a presentation that uses descriptions and comparisons. You practice using vocabulary and phrases for presenting and explaining. 

2. Investigate cultural products, practices, perspectives, and community connections.

   • You explain cultural products, practices, and perspectives in Latinx/a/o or Hispanic cultures. You examine how these aspects connect to communities. 

3. Compare Latinx/a/o and/or Hispanic cultures with students’ personal cultures in Spanish.

   • You examine similarities and differences between Spanish-speaking cultures. You make comparisons to your own culture(s) and identity. 

4. Cultivate cultural humility through language learning. 

   • You reflect on your learning about Spanish-speaking cultures and yourself through this project and the Spanish language. You identify relationships between cultures and language learning.  You participate in self-exploration or self-critique with a willingness to learn from others.

Source Attribution: Comunidades by Yuriko Ikeda and Julia C. Baumgardt is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License, except where otherwise noted.

Complete this journal after you finish the major project. Reflect on your language, culture, and identity learning. You can write in Spanish, English, and/or Spanglish. Answer the questions completely with about 1-2 paragraphs (5+ sentences) for each learning competency.

1. Learning Competency: Design communication products for presenting information, concepts, and ideas in Spanish.

   • Compare your skills at designing presentations from the beginning of this project until the end of it. What have been some of your major learning moments when it comes to designing presentations in Spanish?

   • What words, phrases, and sentences did you use to present about yourself?

   • What words, phrases, and sentences did you use for presenting about your topics?

   • What did you learn from viewing your classmates' presentations and leaving them feedback?

2. Learning Competency: Investigate cultural products, practices, perspectives, and community connections.

   • Compare your understanding of the three P’s, cultural products, practices, and perspectives, from the beginning of this project until the end of it. What have been some of your major learning moments?

   • What products, practices, and perspectives have you recognized in your own culture? How do they connect to the communities you are a part of?

   • What products, practices, and perspectives have you learned about from Latinx/o/a and/or Hispanic cultures? How do they connect to communities?

3. Learning Competency: Compare Latinx/a/o and/or Hispanic cultures with students’ personal cultures in Spanish.

   • Compare your understanding of culture and language from the beginning of this project until the end of it. What have been some of your major learning moments?

   • What are similarities between your culture and language and the Spanish-speaking cultures and languages you have explored for this project?

   • What are differences between your culture and language and the Spanish-speaking cultures and languages you have explored for this project?

   • What words, phrases, and sentences have you learned for making comparisons in Spanish?

4. Learning Competency: Cultivate cultural humility through language learning.

   • Compare your understanding of identity, culture, and language from the beginning of this project until the end of it. What have been some of your major learning moments? How has your thinking changed?

   • What have you learned about yourself through this project? What have you learned about others?

   • In what ways have you improved your knowledge and skills at interacting with people from various cultural backgrounds through this project?

   • In what ways have you developed your willingness to learn from others with an open mind? How have you participated in self-reflection and self-critique through this project?