This unit concerns a variety of related topics and is very broad in its perspective. The whole or parts of the unit can be used separately from whatever textbook is used to develop a new vocabulary and teach the culture of Mexico. It can also be used in conjunction with different parts of whatever textbook is in use, for example any unit utilizing the vocabulary of sports might find a good match with the cultural unit on sports presented here.
The activities will require the students to use and improve the four skills of listening, speaking, reading and writing. The unit is also meant to reflect the national standards of communication, culture, connections, comparisons and communities in a way that is often missing from a standard textbook.
Target Audience
Because I teach both Spanish I and Spanish II, these students are my specific target audience, but potentially students of Spanish III may be able to utilize the authentic dialogues. Most of the pages and exercises of the unit can be read and used by both Spanish I and Spanish II students. The more difficult of the authentic dialogues will have a place to click to see an English translation of the script (see "Lo que dijeron") with accompanying questions in Spanish for the students of Level I. Also any authentic reading samples can be accompanied by a glossary handout for the Level I student if need be.
Strategies
Most of the different pages of the unit use an initial affective activity to pique the interest of the student as well as begin the process of cultural comparison. Both the affective activity and the pictures and sound samples that introduce the page will be a bit of the familiar to introduce the unfamiliar. For example, the familiar sound sample that introduces the section on music is the song "Oye Como Va" written by nuyorican salsero Tito Puente in the fifties for a latin big band, which later became a Top Ten hit for the Mexican immigrant Carlos Santana in the United States during the era of acid rock. This sample is later revisited as the basis for a short essay assignment about how popular music reflects the multiculturism present in Mexican and Latin American societies.
Evaluation
As a final project of the Spring Semester students will be asked write a summary and analysis of the cultural unit. The analysis will include a cultural comparison between the popular culture of the United States and Mexico as regards each specific topic of the cultural unit. This may sound involved or difficult, but the student will have already written several small cultural analyses for some of the pages in this site. The student will be required to cite specific examples from text, dialogue, image and/or musical example from this web site to support his or her analysis. Students will also be seeking information from or reporting on some of the links created by the other Arkansas teachers involved in the Fulbright/Hayes Project, especially the site regarding El Zócalo and La Música Popular de México. As a basis for this final written project, the students will have to consider and include the following questions as part of their analyses:
1. What do young people in Mexico enjoy doing that you find surprising and what are the things they enjoy doing that seem typical of their age group? Site as many examples as possible from all the different sections of the web site to support your opinion.
2. How do the interests of young people in Mexico differ from the interests of young people in the United States? How do the necessities of day to day living in Mexico affect their needs for enjoying their leisure time as compared to the youth of America?
3. What are some of the cultural trends that you’ve noticed in readings and photos and musical samples in this site? How do you feel these cultural trends are affecting Mexican society? What are the advantages and disadvantages of these cultural trends? Please cite as least two specific examples from this web site or a teacher web site linked to this one.
4. What is the amount of influence North American society has on Mexican popular culture in comparison with the amount of influence that Mexico has on our popular culture? Please cite at least two examples to back your claim. In responding to this question try to maintain a sense of perspective that considers other viewpoints, in other words try not to be ethnocentric.
The affective exercises and classroom discussions will be necessary to aid the students in brainstorming for examples and ideas.
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