AP German / Spanish Resource: Digital Culture Notebook

This summer, I participated in an AP Summer Institute (virtually!) in preparation for my very first group of AP German students this coming fall. Gulp. I’m actually very excited for this first group. I will only have two students (last year’s level 3 was smaller with many seniors), but they are dedicated and so much fun. Plus, the AP Exam – intimidating and intense as it is! – is a great opportunity for them to show off what they CAN do with their Intercultural Communicative Competence.

One big question that came up in our group discussions during the APSI was how to incorporate the seeming mountains of cultural information and reflection that students need to navigate the Exam with ease. Culture shows up everywhere in the exam – no task on the exam is “purely language skill-based.” (Not to mention that language and culture are inextricably linked!)

I was wondering to myself throughout the training if it would be wise for students to compile a reflective cultural notebook of sorts that would document their growing cultural awareness, while also helping them gather useful vocabulary. This could potentially help me as the instructor to identify where I wasn’t providing cultural input to students, pushing me to flesh out my instruction to be even stronger. I also wondered about introducing the cultural notebook even as early as level 2 as a Pre-AP strategy to make visible students’ growing cultural awareness.

According to the ACTFL Intercultural Can-Do Statements, students grow from simply being able to recognize Products and Practices that help them understand Perspectives, to being able to compare them and interact at a functional level in the target culture(s). As students move closer to Advanced language proficiency and Advanced Intercultural Communicative Competence, they are more able to explain how and why there is diversity within a single “culture.” That (ambitious) goal requires a depth of cultural knowledge and skills that won’t be reached by only having Culture Fridays. How can we give students lenses through which to assess and grow in their Intercultural Communicative Competence, and visibly document that growth? How can we make sure that they are most at ease when confronting the AP Cultural Comparison?

Enter Bethanie Drew. Bethanie’s blog is a treasure trove of structures and strategies to simplify, clarify, and enrich the learning experience for both students and teachers. And just the other day, Bethanie shared an excellent digital notebook that does exactly what I was dreaming about!

The digital notebook looks like it will be immensely useful for AP students, and could even be used in Pre-AP courses. It is divided into 8 notebook “tabs.”

• The first tabbed section reminds students of the three Ps of culture, as well as how students can draw on the different levels of culture that exist within their social environment (from just their own family, all the way up to their national identity).
• Tabs 2-7 are divided up by the six themes of the AP course. Each section begins with a page for students to make general notes of vocabulary and cultural ideas that are related to the overall theme. Then, each of the unit Essential Questions are listed on a separate page, so students can consider their cultural knowledge through the lens of the Essential Questions. (E.g. “What constitutes a family in German-speaking societies?” “What are some important aspects of family values and family life in German-speaking societies?” etc.). Finally, sample questions from previous AP exams aligned with the theme are listed, and extra space is given for any additional notes.
• The final tab is called “Resources” and includes a flow/structure for the comparison (with accompanying useful phrases) and a place to brain dump about individual cultural topics in a more general way (“Education system,” “Sports,” etc.).

I intend to use this digital notebook this year with my AP students as an early formative assessment of their cultural knowledge, as well as their control of vocabulary related to the different course themes. Over the course of the units, we can start with a brain dump into the organizers in the “Resources” tab, then move some of those vocabulary words and ideas into the tabs for each of the units, then refine our ideas through the use of the Essential Questions. In the end, students will have a resource that they created themselves to study with, as well as one that makes clear where they may have gaps they want to fill with further investigation! Score!

I am also contemplating using parts of this notebook with my level 3s this year to build their confidence with the AP themes and to reflect on their growth and learning throughout the German program. I will probably leave out the Essential Questions for my 3s, and stick more to the organizers in the “Resources” tab (and maybe organizing some of that topic knowledge under the related themes). I’m even thinking of doing an even more watered down reflection like this with my level 2s toward the end of the year…this resource is the gift that keeps on giving!

It is so important for us as teachers to incorporate culture into every lesson, and help students reflect on their growth and learning. This tool might help us do just that! Many thanks to Bethanie for her work, which you will find at her original blog post here.

Finally: here is the resource in German and Spanish! Feel free to make a copy and modify as you like. (And any corrections to the German are welcome!)

AP Grundsatzfragen und der Kulturvergleich

AP Preguntas esenciales y la comparación cultural

How do you feel you do at growing and assessing students’ Intercultural Competence? And how do you tackle the AP Cultural Comparison? Let me know in the comments below!