Professor Malu Benton from the English, Foreign Languages and English as a Second Language Department will host a Remote Cultural Exchange between HVCC Spanish students and Mexican students from Tecnológico de Monterrey, Campus Guadalajara on Tuesday, Feb. 28.
The connection with this prestigious Mexican university started when Prof. Benton reached out to one of the faculty members of the Campus Guadalajara, Prof. Alicia I. Rodríguez, who graciously agreed to work with Prof. Benton in this initiative. Together, the two professors designed this activity and decided to call it a Remote Cultural Exchange. The participating Mexican and American student will bring an object that represents their culture that will be discussed in small groups. The professors will use breakout rooms in Zoom to create small groups of three to four students. The students in both the U.S. and in Mexico will get the opportunity to practice the language they are studying with native speakers.
The main objectives of this activity are to promote cultural awareness among students and to provide students with the opportunity to practice language with native speakers.
In 2021, Prof. Benton offered a similar encounter with students of a small institute that teaches English in Costa Rica. This activity proved to be a very enriching and rewarding experience for the students of both countries, as well as for the instructors.
Prof. Rodríguez and Prof. Benton are very excited they can use the technology in the Language Lab to promote cultural awareness and foreign languages, and to “make the world smaller” by bringing their countries together.
Dean Tyler Kessel made it possible to have cameras in the Language Lab and Natasha Anthony, the director of the Language Lab, has made sure all the computers are ready with the software that will be used for the Remote Cultural Exchange. Also, Anthony Podlaski, chair of the English, Foreign Languages and ESL Department, is very supportive of this activity.
HVCC’s Spanish students are very excited about this exchange and Prof. Rodríguez let us know her students are too. Both Prof. Benton and Prof. Rodríguez think this is a fantastic opportunity to connect Tecnológico de Monterrey and HVCC and they look forward to designing new remote activities in the future.