Selecting+Culturally+Authentic+Texts

Here are several ideas for selecting culturally authentic texts for use with beginners:

1) Is the text inherently interesting to students? Is the text one that students would be interested in reading, watching, or listening to even if it were written in English? Some characteristics to consider include:


 * Novelty – Does the text present a topic students haven’t considered, or do so in a way that is new, interesting, or engaging? Are there things in the text that will surprise or delight students when they encounter them?
 * Examples:
 * [|Baboon and Young] by Picasso
 * [[image:LosHuevosParlantes.jpg link="http://www.amazon.com/Huevos-Parlantes-Los-Spanish-Edition/dp/0803719914"]]
 * [[image:LaBrujaDeNavidad.jpg link="http://www.amazon.com/La-bruja-navidad-Steven-Kellogg/dp/0803719965"]] - Combines elements of Christmas and Halloween to create a completely new set of situations that address social issue (but this is NOT a culturally authentic text!)


 * Cognitive Challenge – Does the text engage learners intellectually? Does it make them think? Does it give them opportunities to consider familiar issues from a new perspective?
 * Example: media type="youtube" key="3XGJq8wrw5I?rel=0" height="315" width="420"


 * Emotion – Does it connect with students on an emotional level or is it likely to evoke an emotional reaction from students?
 * Examples:
 * [|Two Women]
 * Homelessness & Hunger
 * media type="youtube" key="3XGJq8wrw5I?rel=0" height="315" width="420"


 * Patterns – Does the text include repetition, rhythms, or rhymes that students will enjoy? (For example, phrases that students find amusing, rhymes that are fun to say or that “feel good” in students mouths, etc.) Does the text use a particular grammatical structure frequently?
 * Example: media type="youtube" key="eGGKqi2eJXA?rel=0" height="315" width="420"

2) Is the text one that will stimulate conversation? Is it likely to spark questions or comments from students? Will students WANT to express opinions about it or share related memories or personal experiences? (Personality quizzes, articles from teen magazines, and editorials from newspapers are all good examples of this)

3) Does the text expose students to cultural perspectives? Does it convey cultural products and practices accurately? Does it highlight cultural practices that students may find interesting or that can be compared with students’ own culture(s)?

4) Does the text lend itself to use with other texts? Farm vocabulary could be connected to social and cultural issues related to migrant workers to make the unit more meaningful. The greater the number and wider the variety of texts you pull in, the more easily students will be able to develop a well-rounded perspective on the issue and the more students will have to talk about.
 * Examples: [[image:ElCaminoDeAmelia.jpg link="http://www.amazon.com/El-Camino-Amelia-Spanish-Edition/dp/1880000105"]]
 * [[image:DonRadio.jpg link="http://www.amazon.com/Radio-Man-Trophy-Picture-Books/dp/0064434826"]]
 * [[image:ElCantoDeLasPalomas.jpg link="http://www.amazon.com/Calling-Doves-canto-las-palomas/dp/0892391669"]]
 * [[image:CuadrosDeLaFamilia.jpg link="http://www.amazon.com/Cuadros-familia-Family-Pictures-Carmen/dp/0892391081"]]
 * [[image:CoolSalsa.jpg link="http://www.amazon.com/Cool-Salsa-Lori-Carlson/dp/044970436X"]]
 * Additional Resources on Immigration

5) Does the text have a lot of pedagogical potential? Can it be mined for contextualized work with grammar and vocabulary? Can it be mined for contextualized work with grammar and vocabulary? Can it serve as a springboard for the exploration of a social issue—particularly in a cultural context? Does it spark ideas for interesting activities students could do that are related to the text?

6) Is the length of the text long enough to be interesting, but short enough not to overwhelm students? If not, are there adaptations the teacher can make? Ttexts that are a little longer can be useful for beginners because of the additional context and repeated content they provide (a.k.a. redundancy). However, texts with TONS of words on every page generally overwhelm beginning learners. Consequently, the teacher will need to give students pre-reading activities to prepare them for the text. The teacher might also want to have students read a few paragraphs at a time, then do some sort of activity that reinforces the meaning and gives students a chance to discuss or practice something before moving to the next segment of the text. Alternatively, the teacher can have different groups read different paragraphs, then regroup and explain their paragraph to the rest of the group (i.e., jigsaw). This allows students to engage with the full meaning of the text without reading the whole thing. Teachers can also provide scaffolding and additional support by having students act out portions of the text, showing visuals that make the text more comprehensible, or giving students specific tasks to do while the text is being read aloud.

7) Does the text lend itself to being read more than once for different purposes? It is critical that students make multiple passes through a text. Texts that can be re-read for different purposes, or while engaging students in different types of activities are especially useful.