[quote]
Originally posted by Xiac
[b]There are many ways to learn Spanish, some more effective than others. If you want to learn it from a college then you should check out various universities that are known for teaching foriegn languages well. Currently BYU-U And BYU-H are ranked as the top universities in the US for teaching foriegn languages, followed by UCLA. Those are the schools that i know have good programs. If you have the courage to do so, studying abroad is absolutly the best way to learn a foriegn language, and from experience I can say that Puerto Rico is one of the best places to learn. Try getting into UPR Ponce or Mayaguez. In those areas should be able to pick up Spanish with a good accent but will still have a decent base of English speaking people to support you. Im not sure i recomend San Juan because there are to many English speaking people and you will find that you can survive without speaking spanish, which means you wont learn. Best to go where they speak some english but generally you absolutly need to learn Spanish.
Dear Student of Spanish: Sorry, I do not agree that you should be able to pick up Spanish while still having a base of English speaking people to support you. Go cold turkey, no support of English, Spanish Only immersion. I recommend any University in San Juan or Rio Piedras, the only rule is all the subjects must be in Spanish, except English (literature, of course); all subjects such as science, math, the music, humanities, (101, 102), sociology, psychology, business, law, medicine, etc., etc. are all in Spanish, there is no way you cannot learn to read, write and speak academic Spanish under such a system. All content areas in all subjects are required in Spanish at all the campuses of the UPR, all over the island of PR (San Juan, Ponce, Mayaguez, Rio Piedras, Bayamon, etc.). The University faculty will not allow you to survive without the correct use of the Spanish language, trust me, I know!
The real challenge is developing a cross-cultural perspective. First you must be aware of the gringo culture (assuming you are a gringo/a) you bring with you. You will have perceptions or knowledge gained through your senses and interpreted internally through a gringo paradigm. It is not always obvious to you (your deep culture); since it is shared socially with those you have been with on an every day basis before you met a Puerto Rican or visited our islands (grande, nena, culebra, etc.). It helps if you understand and avoid areas of conflict with our Puerto Rican culture, and allow us to teach you about our particular world view, you must learn to trust us! This implies that thought processes which occur within each of us also occur within others, but may take on a different share, form, sound, sight, touch, smell or meaning.
Becoming Aware of Culture in Others:
This involves a certain degree of Ethnocentrism which is the belief that our own cultural ways are correcta nd superior to others, as you will find out, our ways are superior to yours, those are the rules of the game! But, not to worry, this is natural and occurs in each and every one of us (humans). While it helps to developpride and a positive self image, please dont try to come to Puerto Rico to do your gringo trip, we need all the Puerto Rican self image we can muster on the island because we do not want to loose our language and our culture! We think it can be harmful becuase of the anglo extreme (tv, radio, music [rock and rapp], magazines, movies, politics, economic models, psychological models, cultural paradigms, etc); all of this can be harmful since it is carried to the extreme and tends to develpe an intolerance for our culture. Many promote the concept of Cultural Relativity, to tell you the truth, I am not sure, but it sound very interesting for a point of discussion on this forum. The Relativists belief is based on the fact that there are many cultural ways that are correct, each in tis own locaiton and context. But somehow, we seem to be loosing grown using these assumptions. I do know tha it is essential to buidling respect for cultural differences and appreciation for cultural similarities. Language is the vehicle of culture and that is why it is so important to know that you learn language in order to learn culture. Unfortunately, in English when you learn the language of the gringos, you learn that if you are not a gringo you are inferior, stupid, and genetically a mess. I do not recommend that children who are raised in the USA who are minorities be taugh English first or English Only, until the child has a strong self image, the child should only be exposed to his or her native language. It will assure the child will not be a social misfit, drop out of school and loose all of his positive self image and cognitive growth in academic content area. This is well documented in the academic literature re. minority language children (national origin, Puerto Ricans, Mexicans, American Indians) in the USA.
The Different Aspects of Culture:
The Ideal Puerto Rican Culture
Learn to do that which people believe they do or ought to do, i.e. believe in democracy, be involved in the politics of the island. Live as if you are a free human being. Learn that which is most meaningful to Puerto Ricans its values, oral traditions; proverbs, stories, myths, jokes, rituals and conversations.
Learn our Real Culture
The way people actually behave, learn about Cerro Maravilla, about the death squads and Romero Barcelo, our struggles agains the Navy in Vieques, our Jibaros and our urban poor, our uderclass at la perla, etc.
Situational Culture:
Learn how this situational culture in Puerto Rico has been influenced by the groups that have immigrated there. We have good and bad contributions from gringos, cubans, others (Europeans, other Latin Americans), in situational culture we have to learn to negotiate the social, political and economic realities of the Puerto Ricans.
Explicit Culture
This is the observable elements of a people's culture, also known as formal culture (I call it museum culture, after the culture is dead, you can put it into an exhibit, you can recognize the articles such as the style of dress, speech, use of tools, type of house, and concrete behavior, as in the Taino Culture of Puerto Rico and the ceremonial Bateys up in the mountains of Puerto Rico. It is that culture which people are conscious of, which is know and visible. Teachers feel confortable teaching museum culture.
Implicit Culture:
This is the hidden or deep culture. It is unconscious elements of our Puerto Rican culture, it recognizes Puerto Rican cultural areas such as values, attitudes, fears, joys, sorrows, humor of the Puerto Ricans. It is beneath the surface, it is difficult to teach, you must become immersed, it is taken for granted. You learn deep culture by living with Puerto Ricans on a dialy basis.
The Insiders' view
Emic)
This is the perspective of those of us that consider ourselves Puerto Ricans. We are members of the Puerto Rican culture. There is an in-depth and qualitative understanding of what is means to be Puerto Rican.
Outsiders' view: (Etic)
If you are a gringo/a you bring a view from one who is not a member of the Puerto Rican culture that you wish to learn or study. You can contribute by giving us a fresh and comparative understanding of the world; by recognizing our conflicts and our contrasts.
Help us with the Dynamic View (diachronic)
Understanding a culture such as ours, the Puerto Ricans, through its historical develoment over time. Understanding the history of Puerto Rico allows for comparing different influences that may change our culture but for the better, for saving our language and our culture; not for just being an extention of gringolandia. Culture is a process, a product, a content, of both language and culture.
Why is it important to know about culture when learning language?
1.Our culture and our language are our means of survival.
2.All people are cultural beings and need to be aware of how Culture affects our P.R. peoples' behavior.
3.Culture is at work in every town and barrio of P.R.
4.Culture affects how learning is organized, how school rules and curriculm are developed and how teaching methods and evaluation procedures are implemented.
5.Schools in Puerto Rico prepare students for effective Puerto Rican citizenship (not really for US Citizensip, since we do not vote in US elections and have no representation, except for Resident Commissioner).
The important issue is to prepare students for world citizenship, in dealing with the cultures of the world, i.e. Latin American, Caribbean and other cultures.
6. Culture can help solve problems and conflicts in the school, the community, the world.
7. Culture is an innovative part of basic education and needs to be understood if such programs are to teach about language, culture and understand our world.
Problems and Issues:
Cultural Conflict:
We are at conflict with much of gringo culture because it causes culture shock, marginality, bicultural confusion, colonialism (vea los Condenados de la Tierra por Franz Fannon) and exploitation that causes alcohol, domestic violence, suicide, confusion and disrespect for the human race and the human condition. Gringos have no respect for civil or human rights and talk about democracy and freedom but do not practice much of either. They are quite programmed and do not believe that they have little access to choice of political or economic models, but in fact they are locked into skinnerian psychology and extreme capitalist society. They want to privatize the world! The bottom line is the buck!
I hope you get an idea of our attitudes, values, and world view.
Sincerely, y con mucho respeto,
La Srta. Yautia