cultural competence

Using Adages in Any Language to Build Deeper Thinking

We found this article from teacher Ben Johnson, writing for Edutopia, on the use of figurative languages in adages to be an engaging and exciting approach in all classes for building deeper thinking and cultural awareness. This is a great warm up activity! From Spanish teacher Ben Johnson and Edutop …

Report: The State of Languages in the U.S.: A Statistical Portrait

A new report from American Academy of Arts and Sciences makes a data-based case for building U.S. capacity for foreign languages. Language education is dwindling at every level, from K-12 to postsecondary, and a diminishing share of U.S. residents speak languages other than English, according to a n …

To Learn Arabic, You Have to Walk the Walk

I have been asked several times at my university in Oman to do a brief “cultural introduction” to native speakers of English from North America and Europe who have come to improve their Arabic. I start by mentioning that there is a large difference between learning how to speak a language and learni …