Move from Monolingual to Multi-cultural

One of the reasons students are required to learn about another language and culture is that it helps students become aware of the larger world they may not have been introduced to yet, but in which they live. The idea is that the more you understand about other people, the more you can understand about yourself.

Many people around the world speak more than one language, and people in the United States are sometimes considered self-centered and lazy to think that everyone should just speak English because it's easier for us.

Hot Tamale Activity - What countries are these flags of? What continent are these countries in?

It's a stereotype that people in the United States only want to speak English, but there are actually many people who speak more than one language. Check out this article about different actors that are fluent in other languages. 

Check out this video of Will Smith speaking Spanish in a Talk Show. 

Hot Tamale Activity - What other celebrities/sports stars speak other languages?

Here is a video that describes the benefits of being bilingual. 

The video mentions many benefits of learning a language early, before high school. While that's true that was not my experience, I started learning Spanish in high school, just like many of you! You can still reap all the benefits of learning another language when you're older.

Hot Tamale Activity - list the benefits of learning another language described in the video

Super-Duper Extra-Caliente Hot Tamale option. (This is a bit Spanish-teacher-language-nerdy and is perfect for someone who really values understanding a vision of a diverse community and how to support it.) Click here to watch a 20 min. presentation of a Profesor in Chicago discussing the benefits of being in a society that supports a multi-cultural, multi-lingual country. Watch the video and write a reflection in an email.