Boletín 126 - Invisible culture, societal changes and unspoken rules.
Boletín 126 - Invisible culture, societal changes and unspoken rules.
+ powerful sentences starters for the film/lit essay, tier 2/3 vocabulary & grammar.
The Iceberg Model of Culture seeks to visualise that 90% of what is going on is hidden below the surface. For A Level students about to write essays, this is important to know. Exploring and uncovering what we cannot see and not just hanging your hat on what you can see, so-called “cultural artefacts” will lead to a much better essay.
Edition 126 of Boletín.
Powerful language for the film/lit essay courtesy of Ros Atkins.
Tier 2 & 3 vocabulary, grammar search
GCSE grammar workbook and PDF newsletter download.
👋Welcome to Boletín, an English-language newsletter covering historical, cultural & topical stories related to the A Level Spanish course. These newsletters accompany a student worksheet which can be freely downloaded here.
📌Edition 126
You may have seen the Iceberg Model of Culture before, I certainly had. It’s a visual reminder that what we see is generally about 10% of the actual situation and that under the surface there’s a lot going on which we’re not privy to. In the context of culture, this model is most associated with Edward T. Hall who coined it in 1976. For my version above I have changed a couple of very small things based on several versions of the iceberg found online.
I’ve based this issue of Boletín on the Iceberg Model of Culture as we’re reaching a critical juncture in the year. If they’re not already then Year 12 and 13 students will soon be writing film and literature essays and responding in speech to argument/discussion cards and IRP examiners.
To achieve highly in the WJEC A2 Unit 5 essay a candidate will have to demonstrate:
Excellent knowledge of different aspects of the culture and society of Spain and Spanish speaking countries. Arguments and points of view developed and justified with evidence. Conclusions drawn based on detailed analysis of issues and themes.
A great essay response will not just deal with the superficial aspects of culture as seen above the surface but explore, analyse and uncloak the hidden deeper culture which is not specifically referenced. In La Casa de Bernarda Alba this might look like exploring death rituals and Catholicism, the tendency of older parents to spend old age with their daughters, attitudes towards sin, class, social status etc.
📝Powerful language for the literature/film essay
I’ve recently switched from TalkSport on the way to work to Audible and this last couple of weeks I’ve been listening to The Art of Explanation by Ros Atkins.
In his book, Ros breaks down the anatomy of a clear explanation and it’s been immensely helpful. Ros describes the research process, the importance of knowing your audience, the initial investigation phase, the organisation of research into strands (think key points from the IRP), the distilling of information, the linking of information including the adding of context, tightening and then delivery.
As I was listening to this on my way to work, my year 13s were busy preparing for their first essay. I decided that, in addition to the normal preparatory work, we could use some Ros Atkins inspired sentences starters that I had translated from English into Spanish based off Ros’ suggestions. Let’s now look at what Ros calls bridging phrases and surfacing the structure phrases.
Bridging phrases
Ros describes the following phrases as bridging phrases because they can get you from one strand of your explanation to another. This avoids a hard stop once you’ve concluded a point and links you nicely to a follow-up point. Consider how these could be used in writing and speaking to improve your explanations, translations into Spanish are in the PDF newsletter at the bottom of the page.
That’s one area I’d emphasise, another is…
There is though more than one aspect of this issue to consider, another is…
Another thing I’d stress is…
And while that’s important, so is…
This also links to…
From this we can also look at…
There’s more than one dimension to this, another is…
But to understand this issue, we can’t only look at this, we also need to look at…
And that connects to…
And if X is one aspect of that, Y is another.
There are several ways of explaining this, another is
Surfacing the structure
For clarity in your explanation, it might help to give people the bearings they need to understand a point from your perspective based on what you have researched. For this you could use any of the sentences below which again are translated in the PDF.
You’re telling them what they’ve heard and what they’re about to hear (Ros Atkins).
Now we’ve looked at X, the next part of this is Y…
We cannot understand X, unless we consider how it connects to Y…
So far we’ve considered X and Y but Z is also important…
✒️The three texts.
Más alla del idioma.1
¿Sabías que el contacto físico es un aspecto normal de la comunicación para los españoles, y no debe ser considerado una intrusión del espacio personal? Son formas de comunicación que te pueden sorprender cuando llegas a España, y a las que te debes adaptar lo antes posible. Aprender español es más que saber solo la gramática y el vocabulario. Es conocer a la gente y su forma de vida: las costumbres, celebraciones y otros aspectos que pueden ser típicos de la cultura. Tanto el relajado estilo de vida, como la hospitalidad que la caracteriza, son cualidades que los visitantes encuentran encantadoras.
La cultura (in)visible.2
La cultura evidente es aquello que podemos percibir con los cinco sentidos. Es lo primero que notamos de una cultura, lo que conocemos haciendo turismo, como la comida, festivales, música, formas de saludar, formas de vestirse, etc. Por debajo del agua está la cultura profunda. Es la parte de la cultura difícil de observar a simple vista. Aquí están los valores, concepción de mundo, las creencias, la manera de pensar y sentir. La parte que está por debajo del agua es el 90% del total. La cultura profunda se aprende desde que naciste y es lo que guía tu manera de comportarte, pensar, entender y sentir el mundo que te rodea.
Cambios en la sociedad3
En los últimos 25 años, España ha experimentado cambios significativos, adaptándose a nuevas realidades. Las mujeres han avanzado en los campos de la educación y el empleo, promoviendo la igualdad de género. La inmigración ha enriquecido la diversidad cultural. El mercado laboral se ha vuelto más inestable, y el envejecimiento de la población plantea retos intergeneracionales. La tecnología ha transformado la vida cotidiana, y los desafíos ambientales, como el cambio climático, están impactando la sociedad. Estos cambios reflejan la evolución hacia una sociedad más integrada en Europa y consciente de los retos globales.
🗝️Tier 2/3 vocabulary.
Hacer turismo (vb) - to go sightseeing
Soprender (vb) - to surprise
Las creencias (nfp) - beliefs
Conocer (vb) - to know, get to know, be familiar with
Una manera de (nfs) - a way of
Comportarse (vb) - to behave
Experimentar (vb) - to experience
Enriquecer (vb) - to enrich
Volverse (vb) - to become
Plantear (vb) - to pose (in the context of text three)
🔍Grammar items to look out for.
The present perfect
Adjectives
Para where in order to can be used
Short-form possessive adjectives (my, your, his/her etc)
Indefinite adjectives (used to indicate a vague quantity such as a lot of, some, other/another etc.
Direct object pronouns
Abstract nouns formed with lo + masculine singular adjective
Gerund (ing verbs)
Estar used to denote the position or location of something
Avoiding the passive with a se structure
📁The GCSE grammar workbook.
The GCSE workbook is the main way I’m keeping this project viable since disabling all paid subscriptions. A big thank you to those who have already bought it. Here’s what it looks like printed out and stapled in all its glory.
The Boletín student worksheet can be download, as ever, over on TES.
Thanks for reading and subscribing!
Ollie
❤️
Costumbres Españolas - Tradiciones en España | don Quijote
El Iceberg como analogía de la cultura - Hablamos en español (hablamosenespanol.com)
Así ha cambiado España en 25 años (theconversation.com)