El uso de materiales auténticos basados ​​en la cultura pop para fomentar la conciencia cultural de los estudiantes universitarios de primer semestre

Abstract

Culture is an integral part of language learning, nevertheless, some programs neglect to include this factor within the scope of their thematic content. For this reason, the present study proposes a series of authentic materials based on United States pop culture, within a didactic unit, to foster the development of first-semester students’ cultural awareness. This action research project, which took place at a University in Bogotá, Colombia, aimed to examine how these materials supported participants' process of discovering different cultural elements within the U.S. context. The researchers also sought to implement and identify possible contributions of inquiry-based learning approach in participants’ cultural awareness development, as the literature suggests that this pedagogical model can foster the understanding of other cultures within a language classroom. The research findings indicate that authentic materials support learners’ cultural awareness development given the culturally imbued content they provide which learners referred to when expressing ideas about U.S. culture.