A large part of my language learning process has also been centered around applications of cultural engagement. Looking back to the 205 GEM Seminar, I was reminded of an assignment where our class was asked to describe our respective “intercultural heroes”. For my intercultural hero, I chose my Aunt Tricia. She has been an educator for her entire life, she worked for several years at the Gordon School in Rhode Island and served on the diversity committee. She worked at the Noel School in Pawtucket as well, which was started for teen moms, where she served as a mentor for students, helping them to finish high school. She is incredibly devoted to linguistics, specifically Spanish and has turned this passion into a career of helping bilingual students and teachers. She is currently a lecturer at Brown University and provides a grad class for teachers going into multilingual education. She is easily one of the most open-minded and interculturally competent people I have ever known and has a gift of putting people at ease.
As we shared our intercultural heroes in class I reflected on how each classmate’s hero was chosen because of their gift for making people feel comfortable, and using their cultural competence to take action. It was not their sole knowledge of multiple languages that made them impressive, but rather, what they chose to do with that knowledge. I think this is an important lesson that is equally necessary in a language learning setting. Each of these heroes teach the importance of using cultural knowledge to proactively care for others. Engaging with the stories of my classmates’ intercultural heroes was eye-opening for me to realize all of the great possibilities that come with language learning that move beyond academic ‘language collecting’ and truly affect change.
