In examination of this 5 leveled checklist (levels 0-4), I noticed that though my introductory level Spanish program does not include ~much~ culturally responsive pedagogy (pieces of levels 1&2), I do know that at higher proficiency levels in the Spanish program (at the High School especially), culturally responsive pedagogy is much more prevalent (pieces from all levels of the checklist). As I have stated on other occasions, my introductory Spanish class is meant to introduce the students to their new language and cannot use overly complex language if they are to comprehend the content. However, one of the awesome things about teaching a new language is that we not only get to teach about the language(s) but that we also have the opportunity to talk about the people and their cultures! So, I would argue that language classes have the inherent tendency to be culturally responsive classes due to the curricular content. The next step is to find a way to incorporate the varied culture(s) of the students into the scope of the class – even at, at minimum, a “compare and contrast” level?!
