Dave Johnson
Niños Entendiendo Nuevas Culturas/Children Understanding New Cultures
How can we teach children immigrating from Latin America more about the English language and culture they are moving into, while also helping children already here in the United States learn about immigrant children’s culture and the Spanish language? By implementing bicultural design techniques to help guide children educationally, Niños Entendiendo Nuevas Culturas/Children Understanding New Cultures seeks to help answer this question and bring about broader perceptions of the world in children’s developing minds. The goal is to reach 9 to 12 year olds who can read but aren’t teens yet. While some children may have access to smartphones, others may not, so this work has been designed as both a mobile app and zine, to reach children from many backgrounds. The acrylic map shows the populations of the Americas with fun facts about children in several countries while the surrounding children and flowers in vinyl serve as a reflection of the innocence and unity kids have, while also being so diverse.
Growing up in a small-town, middle-class family isolated from other cultures made me want to take a Spanish class in middle school which changed my life. From there my love of the Spanish language and Latino people and culture grew. My story appears to be common in the United States as well. During an interview with Dr. Maria Akrabova, Ph.D., a professor at MSU Denver in the Department of Modern Languages, she stated that only 20% of high school graduates in the United States entering college have been exposed to another language or culture. Niños Entendiendo Nuevas Culturas/Children Understanding New Cultures aims to reach older elementary age children before middle school, along with those immigrating here from Latin America. Research has found that acculturation-related stressors often hinder immigrant students from growing to their full potential.1 Helping these children understand cultural differences at a time of great stress may provide a means to better development, while educating English speaking children about Latin American culture can increase empathy and familiarity, reducing discrimination. Teachers oftentimes have struggles connecting with these students as well.
Children love to be engaged, and this material has many calls to action throughout it asking them to interact with others. Through the lens of eight different aspects of culture backed by research including family, language, education, food, music, careers, sports, and traditional customs, Niños Entendiendo Nuevas Culturas/Children Understanding New Cultures is designed to help students from different backgrounds grow in their knowledge and acceptance of others. We have more common ground as humans than we think, while also having our own diverse traditions and languages. Acknowledging the ways other’s function compared to our own ways of life brings about enlightenment, so it is with great hope this will give children a source to have better understanding of one another.
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