Thesis A Reimagined World Language Curriculum for Secondary Education-Does Culture Matter?

The focus of this study is culture within the New Mexico high school world language curriculum. Culture, as a topic, over time has evolved from near nonexistence to becoming a fundamental element helping students derive multilingual and multicultural understanding. This study is an effort to reveal practices high school teachers use to teach, discuss and evaluate cultural understanding. It uses qualitative interviews with high schools world language teachers. Practices are evaluated against research findings and analyzed for reliability and effectiveness. Findings will help with curriculum design for world language application. Overall, the study’s findings were positive. Interviewed teachers generally incorporate culture in an effective manner. There are, though, a couple of areas worthy of further investigation: how to establish and derive value from a ‘community of practice’ and how to better evaluate student learning. Culture is an important topic. Teaching it well helps students develop understanding of others and of themselves. In the state of New Mexico, delivering a multicultural and equitable curriculum is a priority. This study will help with the endeavor.