CAR Projects Range From Food to Music

by Amy McConnell
4.17.07

A foreign language is often a recommended course for high school students. Yet, too often students focus solely on the language and neglect the cultural aspect. To remedy this gap in the curriculum, the foreign language department created the Cultural
Adventure Reflection projects for all students enrolled
in a foreign language.

“The goal behind the CAR projects was to address the state and national standards for culture, communications and connections and to give students an opportunity to learn about the language
and the culture outside the classroom in a way that best suits their interests,” Spanish teacher Sarah Baker said.

Students were given over 60 project options to choose from. Among these were projects such as listening to a podcast in the target language, reading an article written in the target language or learning a song in the target language. Sophomore Paige
Kurtzuba chose to interview a German chef for her CAR project.

“I’m interviewing Gerda from Gerda’s Restaurant,”
Kurtzuba said. “Since I like cooking and I want to become a chef, I can see what Gerda had to go through to come to the United States and start her
own restaurant.”

When students complete their projects they are required to answer a set of questions about what they gained from the experience.

“Students need to describe what they did, how they
did it, how it pertained to their language, what they
learned, what they wanted to share with others and what preconceived notions they went into the project with and how they changed,” Baker said.

Some students will have difficulty answering these questions, however, because the projects they chose did not allow for the type of learning required for this project.

“I don’t think these projects are really accomplishing what they’re supposed to because people aren’t really doing the projects to learn about the culture,” junior Ginny McClintock said. “Like with mine, I collected Spanish food labels, but I could just buy those at Hy-Vee.”

However, like any project, students who put more effort and time into it will gain more from it.

“Students who select thoughtfully and do the projects as intended are going to get a better understanding of the language they are learning,” Baker said. “For instance, if you’re looking into business and you choose to contact a business person who uses their language, it can help determine what they’ll do in the future.”

The main advantage in doing these projects is that
it gives students a chance to apply what they are learning in the classroom to their interests outside of school.

“This is a better way to learn about the culture than being in the classroom because in class we don’t really talk about the culture,” McClintock said.

Overall, the projects have added a little extra spice to
the daily grind of foreign language classes.

“I’ve gotten some really interesting projects so far,”
Baker said. “I think as teachers we stand to learn a
lot. We can see what kind of talents students have outside of school.”

photo by Ally Phillips