Experiencing Cultural Diversity Through Film: A Practitioner Inquiry on Developing Cultural Proficiency in a High School Spanish Classroom

Abstract

World Language classrooms are an ideal place to have discussions related to race, culture, and other topics related to diversity, but many of these chances are missed based on the teacher’s experience, outdated textbooks, and a history of placing grammar first. This practitioner inquiry held the goal of incorporating the Cultural Proficiency Continuum Framework into the Spanish curriculum in a 9th grade Spanish I classroom. The teaching of this framework alongside the use of films and documentaries provided a rich scenario for the students to discuss topics of race and cultural diversity. This paper will share pedagogical methods as well as student responses and feedback from this year-long study.