Name: Jose Pablo Villalobos

Institution: Lewis & Clark College

Language: Spanish

Status: Full-time, tenure track

Type: Summer Fellowship

Title: Linguistic and Cultural Acquisition Through Song

Duration: May and June, 1999

Description: This projects will utilize multimedia materials, particularly Web based, to allow an integrated approach to help students acquire language and cultural proficiency through the use of songs. As part of the language-learning, these activities will allow for listening comprehension, grammar exercises, vocabulary building, content based questions as well as questions for further analysis and research. Cultural proficiency will be gained by the use of songs that address a specific cultural issue with regards to the different cultures addressed. As part of the exercise, each of these web pages will in contain appropriate links to pages which address these countries, cultural groups, or issues.

A brief example. To address the issue of transcultural influences through mass media advertising, I will use the song "Chicos de plástico" (plastic kids) by Guatemalan Ricardo Arjona. The song is basically a criticism leveled at the upper classes in Latin America who are intent upon "upholstering" themselves with Versace, Cartier, Mercedes, Valentino, Carrera, etc. that "the North [U.S.] has bequeath them." To foreground the song, a sample of ads from Latin American magazines and tabloids will be scanned and placed on an attached web page for the students' perusal; also, appropriate links to other fashion and marketing pages referring to Latin America will be set up (for example, the history of jeans in Argentina found at www.fashion21.com.ar/index2.htm).

This type of task, done mostly outside of class, will allow for well informed in-class discussions, oral presentations, and short writing assignments. For the example given above, for instance, students would be asked to design, write, and perform their own advertisement.

Outcome: The purpose of this project is to advance students' linguistic ability (reading and listening comprehension, writing and speaking), and to enhance their cultural awareness with regard to the Hispanic World. By using music that is mostly contemporary to them, I hope to lower any affective filter students may have with regards to other cultures. Also, by making the approach to certain topics more interactive and entertaining, I hope to make the learning experience a more pleasant journey for each student. The ultimate assessment of this method will be measured by the students progress towards better reading, listening, speaking, and writing skills.

Timeline: I will work on a total of six to eight songs, with all necessary attachments, links, glossaries, etc. to be used and fully integrated in a third year level Spanish course I'll be teaching in the Fall Semester. The true test will come in the context of this class, therefore the project itself will be ongoing once the Fall semester begins.

Amount: $3000