Packing Slip 
item |
Exploring the Culture of Buenos Aires |
contact |
Roberta Gray (Estrella Mountain Community College) roberta.gray@emcmail.maricopa.edu |
college(s) |
Estrella Mountain Community College |
discipline(s) |
Communications |
summary |
My project was to study Castilian Spanish and travel to Argentina and Uruguay. |
details |
My project consisted of the following components: 1) Study Castilian Spanish (7 days) 2) Conduct research to learn about the culture and history of Buenos Aires, Argentina and Montevideo, Uruguay 3) Travel to Buenos Aires, Argentina and Montevideo, Uruguay. (9 days) Visit several art galleries, museums, opera theaters and dance performance settings. 4) Reinforce Spanish Skills and organize trip information (2 days) The research component was designed to obtain cultural and historical information. Textual material and interactive language media were selected as the primary learning tools. My objectives were to: 1) Increase my vocabulary 2) Improve my Castilian Spanish conversation skills 3) Experience and participate in a new culture I feel particularly connected to this project because successful completion will enhance teacher-student relationship with Spanish speaking ESL students from South America. ------------------------------------------------------------ Outcomes: In a paragraph or two describe what worked well. Did you accomplish your objective(s)? Were you able to complete your summer project as written? If not, what did you modify and why? What did not go as well as expected, if anything? Were there any surprises? Note: Use the questions as guides for your outcomes. Do not include detailed list of workshops attended, speakers who presented, or a list of items you have seen, heard, or read. ------------------------------------------------------------ I accomplished my Castilian Spanish goal. I listened to audio cassettes and interactive CD’s which presented conversations and response exercises simulating experiences in community places such as; restaurants, stores, banks, hotels and cultural settings in South America. I exposed myself to an intuitive approach which provided me with voices of native speakers in authentic interactive dialogues about South American culture. While in South America, I was able to more confidently communicate with the people I encountered in numerous settings. . I was also able to hear and discover phonetic differences in the Spanish spoken by some Mexicans in Arizona and Castilian Spanish and use appropriate vocabulary. Studying the names and work of Argentine artists before the trip was a very helpful strategy. The galleries and museums were numerous and often packed with art work. Knowing names of artists and their artistic styles made me a more educated viewer. The practice using etiquette standards was also very helpful. Having researched popular dishes aside from beef provided for more varied and desirable dining experiences. The information I acquired before leaving was useful every day of my trip. Upon returning from Argentina and Uruguay, I continued to study Spanish, to reinforce vocabulary and other conversation-language patterns learned before and practiced during my travel period The study time improved my word retrieval abilities during conversations in Argentina and Uruguay. Despite many successes, I think a few more days of travel time would have ideal for this project. ------------------------------------------------------------ Professional Growth: Your own professional growth is a large part of your project. Your professional growth is important to you, your students, your college, and possibly other colleagues. How did project affect you professionally? What skills did you learn? What environments were you working in and how might your summer project influence your teaching or other responsibilities? Did you gain a different perspective? Was it professionally valuable for you? ------------------------------------------------------------ I have grown professionally, because this study and travel experience provided me with the opportunity to observe and in some instances embrace the cultural values and way of life of people in other countries. It put me in touch with the lives and experiences of students I teach. The knowledge acquired will be utilized to facilitate professional and informal discussions with people from Spanish speaking countries and will be very useful in all forms of communications with my ESL students from South America. In addition, what I have learned and experienced will contribute to lifelong teaching and learning experiences and make me a better-rounded educator. Finally, I view the experiences of studying Spanish and traveling to South America as positively impacting my teaching and other professional roles at EMCC in ways which include but are not limited to the following: 1) Improve ability to provide directions for students with limited English comprehension 2) Provide for greater ability to accomplish ESL course competencies which require cultural awareness and knowledge expansion 3) Enable and strengthen cultural appreciation and fellowship in settings where a number of Spanish influenced cultures are represented 4) Motivate more meaningful support for a wider variety of student initiated cultural expressions in ESL and International cultural programs 5) Improve the quality of conversations with a broader range of ESL students ------------------------------------------------------------ Dissemination: How will you share this information with your colleagues, department, students, or college? ------------------------------------------------------------ There will be several opportunities to share this experience with my colleagues: I participate in programs which give students the opportunity to share their culture. I will contribute ideas on how we can increase representation of South American cultures. I will share photos and events which increased cultural awareness. I will participate in discussions about the variety of cultures represented in our ESL program and continue to work with faculty and staff on ways to demonstrate an inclusive” paradigm. Note! As a professional courtesy to the owner of this package, if you use some aspect of this package or have some thoughts about it, please share your feedback via the comments form below. |
web links |
http://www.mcli.dist.maricopa.edu/fpg/ |
shareback |
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extra |
Last modified: Sep-06-2005 Date created: Sep-06-2005 Visitor count: 4122 Dublin Core Metadata record  This package is included in the Faculty Professional Growth Summer Project Reports special collection. |
Maricopa Learning eXchange
http://www.mcli.dist.maricopa.edu/mlx/slip.php?item=1688
