Conversation and Chilean Culture

Course description

The course Conversation and Chilean Culture, beginner level, integrates language and culture through short fragments of Chilean films, documentaries, Chilean and foreign TV shows, short local press articles, in order to strengthen the total immersion program in which the student is inserted.

Main objective

Improve the student’s intercultural communicative competence based on the four linguistic skills: oral and written comprehension and oral and written expression.

Specific objectives

• Develop the skill of expressing thoughts and feelings through oral word.
• Develop the skill of oral comprehension through authentic audiovisual material.
• Develop the skill of understanding written texts of low difficulty level.
• Develop the skill of expressing thoughts and feelings through written word in descriptive texts.

Contents

Chile. Sociocultural aspects. Sociocultural manifestations rooted in Chilean culture. Valparaíso-Viña del Mar

Two cities. Viña del Mar- Valparaíso: influence of popular culture of United States. Fieldwork from an ethnographic perspective.

Chilean movies: Machuca. La Nana. Preselected scenes with subtitles in Spanish (and/or English)

American sitcom dubbed into Spanish: The Simpsons. Selected episodes.

Activities

• Theoretical and expository lessons.
• Conversation and debate.
• Role play. Simulation.
• Through simple readings, encourage participation in association activities, interpretation and analysis of themes/subjects that have an influence in society.
• Fieldwork.

Evaluation

• Attendance and participation (10%)
• 2 oral presentations (20% each, 40% in total)
• Homework, interaction and participation in fieldwork (20%)
• Fieldwork (cultural exploration) + final presentation. (30%)

Bibliography

PIIE’s language and culture activities manual.