MLO 5: Cultural Internalization and Language Immersion
Students demonstrate that they have actively immersed themselves in authentic Hispanic cultural and linguistic environments and have internalized the language and cultural experience, from which they have developed personal understanding and new perspectives of Hispanic communities.
Note: Students develop intercultural communication skills and strategies, and learn to adapt and respond in effective ways. This MLO may be fulfilled by a study abroad experience or equivalent. Courses taken in a study abroad program may count toward another MLO. Students who choose Pathway 2 will be working on a community project to fulfill this requirement.
Courses Taken:
MLO 5 Narrative:
Major Learning Outcome 5 was one of the main reasons I chose to study Spanish and get the opportunity to study abroad. With timing and everything, I realized the deep cultural value of Spanish with the outside community and how I could use the Mexican-American cultural aspect to learn more about community members in my area.
The first step to this process was finding a topic that related to the Mexican American experience, and this was no easy task. My first focus was to talk to community members about their transition into American society and how they see their offspring in this cultural new environment. This topic seemed cliche, so I switched to the other side of this dynamic and wanted to see how first and second Mexican-Americans felt about their parents’ perceptions of them. I am narrowed my scope even more on the mother and daughter dynamic of this cultural integration process.
The next part of the process involved finding sources that brought this perspective to the table. I found a book that hit this topic spot on named, I Am Not Your Perfect Mexican Daughter by Erika L. Sànchez. Although this book was dramatized in that the main character was trying to live up to the standards placed upon her by her recently dead sister, the book demonstrated the attitudes of the daughter and verbal exchanges with her mother. The book drew me closer to concepts like the overprotectiveness of mothers, mexican traditions, the lack of privacy, dishonest relationships and the feeling of distress. From here, I used many quotes and concepts to help me develop research questions. On top of this novel, I used the short story Mother and Daughter, by Gary Soto, to bring another more concise literary representation of the mother and daughter relationship and the expectations of Mexican mothers.
After putting together a list of the common expectations of each book, I formulated research questions that provoked conversations based on the themes without asking the interviewees flat out. The interviews were conducted in Spanish and the responses were also in Spanish. I interviewed two community members both pursuing higher education. The commonalities I found were the lack of privacy and how being forced to be close to family members did not leave space for self discovery. Of course I found commonalities with gestures, but this was something very surface level. After gathering all my data I used peer reviewed research studies done by Bámaca-Colbert to confirm this dissonance and understand some of the possible reasons behind it.
Note: Students develop intercultural communication skills and strategies, and learn to adapt and respond in effective ways. This MLO may be fulfilled by a study abroad experience or equivalent. Courses taken in a study abroad program may count toward another MLO. Students who choose Pathway 2 will be working on a community project to fulfill this requirement.
Courses Taken:
MLO 5 Narrative:
Major Learning Outcome 5 was one of the main reasons I chose to study Spanish and get the opportunity to study abroad. With timing and everything, I realized the deep cultural value of Spanish with the outside community and how I could use the Mexican-American cultural aspect to learn more about community members in my area.
The first step to this process was finding a topic that related to the Mexican American experience, and this was no easy task. My first focus was to talk to community members about their transition into American society and how they see their offspring in this cultural new environment. This topic seemed cliche, so I switched to the other side of this dynamic and wanted to see how first and second Mexican-Americans felt about their parents’ perceptions of them. I am narrowed my scope even more on the mother and daughter dynamic of this cultural integration process.
The next part of the process involved finding sources that brought this perspective to the table. I found a book that hit this topic spot on named, I Am Not Your Perfect Mexican Daughter by Erika L. Sànchez. Although this book was dramatized in that the main character was trying to live up to the standards placed upon her by her recently dead sister, the book demonstrated the attitudes of the daughter and verbal exchanges with her mother. The book drew me closer to concepts like the overprotectiveness of mothers, mexican traditions, the lack of privacy, dishonest relationships and the feeling of distress. From here, I used many quotes and concepts to help me develop research questions. On top of this novel, I used the short story Mother and Daughter, by Gary Soto, to bring another more concise literary representation of the mother and daughter relationship and the expectations of Mexican mothers.
After putting together a list of the common expectations of each book, I formulated research questions that provoked conversations based on the themes without asking the interviewees flat out. The interviews were conducted in Spanish and the responses were also in Spanish. I interviewed two community members both pursuing higher education. The commonalities I found were the lack of privacy and how being forced to be close to family members did not leave space for self discovery. Of course I found commonalities with gestures, but this was something very surface level. After gathering all my data I used peer reviewed research studies done by Bámaca-Colbert to confirm this dissonance and understand some of the possible reasons behind it.
mlo_5__projecto_comunitário_.pdf |