The Impact of Explicitly Incorporating Culture in an Introductory College Level Spanish Class on Student Intercultural Competency
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Georgia State University ScholarWorks @ Georgia State University Middle and Secondary Education Dissertations Department of Middle and Secondary Education 5-11-2018 THE IMPACT OF EXPLICITLY INCORPORATING CULTURE IN AN INTRODUCTORY COLLEGE LEVEL SPANISH CLASS ON STUDENT INTERCULTURAL COMPETENCY Ryan Boylan Follow this and additional works at: https://scholarworks.gsu.edu/mse_diss Recommended Citation Boylan, Ryan, "THE IMPACT OF EXPLICITLY INCORPORATING CULTURE IN AN INTRODUCTORY COLLEGE LEVEL SPANISH CLASS ON STUDENT INTERCULTURAL COMPETENCY." Dissertation, Georgia State University, 2018. https://scholarworks.gsu.edu/mse_diss/57 This Dissertation is brought to you for free and open access by the Department of Middle and Secondary Education at ScholarWorks @ Georgia State University. It has been accepted for inclusion in Middle and Secondary Education Dissertations by an authorized administrator of ScholarWorks @ Georgia State University. For more information, please contact [email protected]. ACCEPTANCE This dissertation, THE IMPACT OF EXPLICITLY INCORPORATING CULTURE IN AN INTRODUCTORY COLLEGE LEVEL SPANISH CLASS ON STUDENT INTERCULTURAL COMPETENCY, by RYAN NELSON BOYLAN, was prepared under the direction of the candidate’s Dissertation Advisory Committee. It is accepted by the committee members in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree, Doctor of Philosophy, in the College of Education and Human Development, Georgia State University. The Dissertation Advisory Committee and the student’s Department Chairperson, as representatives of the faculty, certify that this dissertation has met all standards of excellence and scholarship as determined by the faculty. _________________________________ __________________________ Gertrude Tinker Sachs, Ph.D. Peggy Albers, Ph.D Committee Chair Committee Member _________________________________ _________________________ Paula Garrett-Rucks, Ph.D. Janice Fournillier, Ph.D. Committee Member Committee Member _________________________________ Date _________________________________ Gertrude Tinker Sachs, Ph.D. Chairperson, Department of Middle and Secondary Education _________________________________ Paul A. Alberto, Ph.D. Dean College of Education and Human Development AUTHOR’S STATEMENT By presenting this dissertation as a partial fulfillment of the requirements for the advanced degree from Georgia State University, I agree that the library of Georgia State University shall make it available for inspection and circulation in accordance with its regulations governing materials of this type. I agree that permission to quote, to copy from, or to publish this dissertation may be granted by the professor under whose direction it was written, by the College of Education’s Director of Graduate Studies, or by me. Such quoting, copying, or publishing must be solely for scholarly purposes and will not involve potential financial gain. It is understood that any copying from or publication of this dissertation which involves potential financial gain will not be allowed without my written permission. RYAN NELSON BOYLAN NOTICE TO BORROWERS All dissertations deposited in the Georgia State University library must be used in accordance with the stipulations prescribed by the author in the preceding statement. The author of this dissertation is: RYAN NELSON BOYLAN 1835 Stardust Trail Cumming, GA 30040 The director of this dissertation is: Gertrude Tinker Sachs, Ph.D. Department of Middle and Secondary Education College of Education Georgia State University Atlanta, GA 30303 CURRICULUM VITAE Ryan Nelson Boylan ADDRESS: 1835 Stardust Trail Cumming, GA 30040 EDUCATION: Ph.D. 2018 Georgia State University Middle and Secondary Education M.A. 2006 Georgia State University Spanish Literature B.A. 2002 The University of the South Spanish PROFESSIONAL EXPERIENCE: 2017-Present Part-time Instructor of Spanish Georgia Gwinnett College 2015-Present Part-time Instructor of Spanish Southeast United States College 2014-2015 Middle and High School Spanish Teacher Lakeview Academy 2009- 2014 Adjunct Instructor/Full-Time Temporary Instructor of Spanish Gainesville State College/University of North Georgia, 2009-2010 Adjunct Instructor of Spanish University System of Georgia eCore 2009-2010 Adjunct Instructor of Spanish Georgia Perimeter College 2008-2010, 2012-2013 Adjunct Instructor of Spanish Reinhardt College/Reinhardt University 2007-2008 Middle/High School Spanish/Latin Teacher Arlington Christian School 2005-2007 Elementary/Middle/High School Spanish Teacher Oak Mountain Academy PUBLICATIONS: Boylan, R.N. (2012). [Review of the book Protagonistas]. The NECTFL Journal, 70 Boylan, R.N. (2011). Making the world your classroom. In P. Swanson and S. Crooks (Eds.). FLAG Journal 3(1). Boylan, R. N. (2010). Integrating culture in the foreign language classroom using constructivist projects. In P. Swanson and S. Crooks (Eds.) FLAG Journal 2(1). PROFESSIONAL SOCIETIES AND ORGANIZATIONS: 2011-Present American Council on the Teaching of Foreign Languages (ACTFL) 2011 Foreign Language Association of Georgia (FLAG) 2011 The American Association of Teachers of Spanish and Portuguese (AATSP) THE IMPACT OF EXPLICITLY INCORPORATING CULTURE IN AN INTRODUCTORY COLLEGE LEVEL SPANISH CLASS ON STUDENT INTERCULTURAL COMPETENCY by RYAN N. BOYLAN Under the direction of Gertrude M. Tinker Sachs, Ph.D. ABSTRACT This qualitative, case study investigation examined practices for the incorporation of cultural texts and experiences in the post-secondary foreign language classroom and how these practices could impact the attitudes and perceptions of participants towards the inclusion of culture in the classroom and towards the target culture in general as well as their intercultural competence. While culture is often viewed as akin to language, if not as language (Byrd, Hlas, Watzke & Montes Valencia, 2001; Tang, 1999) and the link between culture and language is seen as inextricable and undeniable (Agar, 1994; Kramsch, 1993), in many lower-level post- secondary language programs, culture is at best a superficial aspect of language learning (Lange, 1998). The importance of ensuring the inclusion of culture in the foreign language curriculum has come to the forefront of the debate with the recent release of the World-Readiness Standards by The American Council on the teaching of Foreign Languages (ACTFL) (World-Readiness- Standards, 2015). This study not only underscores the importance of the inclusion of culture in the foreign language classroom, but more importantly examines participants’ perceptions and attitudes towards the target culture(s) both at the beginning of the semester and at the end of the semester. The theoretical frameworks for this investigation are based on Intercultural Communicative Competence (ICC) and Critical Race Theory (CRT). Using these frameworks the study investigated the following question: What are foreign language learners’ perspectives on cultural acquisition through cultural texts and personal experiences in Latino communities? The participants in this study were students in one introductory university-level Spanish class at a major college in the Southeast. The data sources included participant interviews and participant responses to questions on the cultural text being used in class. Findings contribute knowledge about the necessity of not only integrating explicit cultural instruction in the foreign language classroom through cultural texts, but also the effects of the integration of this material on student attitudes and perceptions about the target culture(s). INDEX WORDS: attitudes, culture, intercultural competence, language, perceptions THE IMPACT OF FULLY INCORPORATING CULTURE IN AN INTRODUCTORY COLLEGE LEVEL SPANISH CLASS ON STUDENT INTERCULTURAL COMPETENCY by Ryan Nelson Boylan A Dissertation Presented in Partial Fulfillment of Requirements for the Degree of Doctor of Philosophy in Language and Literacy in the Department of Middle and Secondary Education in the College of Education and Human Development Georgia State University Atlanta, Georgia 2018 Copyright by Ryan N. Boylan 2018 ii ACKNOWLEDGMENTS There is not enough gratitude that can be given to my esteemed committee members, Drs. Peggy Albers, Paula Garrett-Rucks and Janice Fournillier for their continued support and guidance along this journey. Specifically, this dissertation could not have been completed without the leadership of my chair, Dr. Gertrude Tinker Sachs. She pushed me to be the best that I could be even when it seemed like the going was getting too tough. As a result of her influence, I have become a better researcher and scholar. A special thanks is also due to my esteemed colleague Hafeez Merchant for his help with my data coding. Our conversations helped me to see everything in a much clearer light and as an acknowledgment that I was seeing the data in the right light. Also, many thanks to my participants who graciously agreed to be a part of this study and without whom this project would not have come to fruition. Finally, my family, specifically my wife and son, played an integral role in my being able to complete this dissertation and this part of my academic journey. They have stood by my side through the good and the bad and have continuously pushed me to give more and see it through, when I thought there may not have been much more to give. Without their support, patience and belief in me and my abilities, none of this would have been possible. My parents also deserve acknowledgement as huge supporters from the