Modern Languages Commons^™

Language And The Mind: How Language Shapes Our Thinking, Xiaodi Zhou

Bilingual and Literacy Studies Faculty Publications and Presentations

This paper analyzes languages and their connections to thinking and culture using an autoethnographic lens. This autoethnography utilized personal examples and those from the author’s students’ compositions as evidence of the link between languages and cultures. Both named languages and dialects of those languages are contemplated for the basis of how their traits influence perceptions. A neuroscientific rationale is also made between human languages and human cultures. The link between culture and language, including dialects, is made, positioning the act of translanguaging as real time dialogue between cultures. Finally, classroom implications are presented with actual student writing and multimodal performances …

Experience Abroad And Its Implications On Cultural Empathy, Food, Ambiguity, And Language, Emily Magri

Honors Projects in Modern Languages

This study examines the implication that experience abroad has on cultural empathy, food neophobia, tolerance of ambiguity, and language. The study's purpose is to use quantitative methodology to measure the effects of experience abroad and numerically show how these experiences allow us to nurture openness to new concepts of culture and food. An online survey was used to gather data to draw meaningful conclusions concerning the relationship between experience abroad, cultural empathy, food neophobia, tolerance of ambiguity, and language. The results of this study show that those who speak more than one language show lower levels of food neophobia, indicating …

Diversity, Dignity, Equity, And Inclusion In The Age Of Division, Discord, And Disunion: Stereotyping, Sexist, Hegemony In Education, Abha Gupta

Teaching & Learning Faculty Publications

The article addresses diversity issues related to language, gender, and culture. Topics include fundamental areas of research essential to the discussion on language diversity in the context of education with respect to equity, poverty, stereotype threat, Pygmalion Effect, non-sexist language, and Matthews Effect. The discussion on diversity and equity creates a space to think about issues of access, opportunity, voice, and equal participation within society and educational settings. Diversity among humans requires thoughtful considerations, accommodations, and differentiations in educational treatment, yet providing equal opportunities for growth and learning for all.

Just Look At These Scared Fucking Dweebs, Randall W. Monty

Writing and Language Studies Faculty Publications and Presentations

“Where we are” in writing center research and as a disciplinary community is directly related to where we are as advocates for a just society and inclusive institutions more broadly: facing shit odds. This is because the work of writing centers can’t be separated from their political, economic, and cultural contexts, which Rachel Azima, Writing Center Director at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln, crystalizes as a disciplinary obligation: “for those of us who work in U.S. writing centers, given our current political climate, it is imperative to put any commitments we have to social justice into action.” (74).

French Club, Brett Foster, Madisen Bell

Honors Expanded Learning Clubs

Afterschool club that introduces French Language and Culture to young elementary students. Through hands-on activities and discussions, students will learn the basics of French Language and complete a French Journal full of everything they learned that semester to take home.

Don Quixote In Russia In The 1920s-1930s: The Problem Of Perception And Interpretation, Slav N. Gratchev

Modern Languages Faculty Research

This study logically continues my previous examination of the perception of Don Quixote in Russia throughout the early twentieth century and how this perception changed over time. In this new article, which will be the third in a sequence of five, I will again use a number of materials inaccessible to English-speaking scholars to demonstrate how the perception of Don Quixote by Russian intelligentsia shifted from being skeptical to complete admiration and even glorification of the hero. Don Quixote was increasingly compared with Prometheus, the most powerful and most romanticized personage of Greek methodology. Indeed, “. . . начав юмористический …

Critical Race Theory And Caring As Channels For Transcending Borders Between An African American Professor And Her Latina/O Students, Jacqueline B. Koonce

Bilingual and Literacy Studies Faculty Publications and Presentations

This reflective essay uncovers ways in which critical race theory and caring are key to crossing racial, cultural, and linguistic borders between professors and their students. Many scholars have noted how critical reflection relates to effective teaching, especially when taking into account student learning. Reflecting upon archival data and participant observation, the author describes, through various stories, how she uses critical race theory and caring to connect with her students in spite of their differences. The author also provides examples of how her students reciprocate her care in extravagant ways.

Arab 102: First-Year Arabic Language—A Peer Review Of Teaching Project Benchmark Portfolio, Abla Hasan

UNL Faculty Course Portfolios

Goals of the class are derived from goals nationally recognized and agreed upon for low intermediate Arabic learners .This systematic consistency with the nationally recognized standards -albeit can be more challenging- insures students' ability to pursue national major programs in Arabic or their ability to compete for national grants, scholarships and study abroad programs. The standers adopted by ACTFL and STARTALK equally consider the linguistic as well as the cultural content of teaching Arabic. These standers known as the five C's are: Communication, Cultures, Connections, Comparisons, and Community. The cultural content of learning Arabic is part of the international and …

A Culture, A People, A Nation - Understanding Of A Culture Through Icons And Symbols., Adrienne J. Royo

Faculty Works

Addresses the global issues of icons and symbols as a tool for the definition that society ascribes to a particular culture, people, or nation, followed by a specific focus on Spain and Spanish culture.

The icons and symbols include such figures as Don Quijote, Reina Sofía, and Andrés Segovia, as well as, the Roman Acqueduct of Segovia, the Moorish fortress of Granada. The heritage of Toledo.

Cultural Untranslatability, Kanji Kitamura

Modern Languages and Literatures: Faculty Publications and Other Works

This paper proposes a possible concept of 'cultural untranslatability' in translation, focusing on what it is, how important it is, and when it occurs. The paper first explores cultural concepts for understanding of culture. The second part examines Hofstede's cultural dimensions and establishes an experimental definition of cultural difference. Drawing on actual translations between English and Japanese, the third part discusses the importance of the concept. Finally, it considers under what circumstances such untranslatable items are de facto culturally untranslatable, borrowing the concept of translation norms. The paper concludes that cultural untranslatability is an important, useful concept for translation between …

Idea: Family Flash Cards For Second-Language Or Ell Classes, Joan M. Hoffman

Modern & Classical Languages

Second-language and ELL students can practice vocabulary building, sentence construction, grammar, culture, and geography using this new and improved take on the flash card.