About Us
A recent survey at UCalgary found that cultural interest is a key motivator for students enrolling in language courses. To integrate cultural learning, the Cultural Portfolio Project was introduced. In this project, students select various activities related to the culture of the language they are studying. After completing each activity, they write a portfolio entry detailing the activity, their observations, and reflections. This assignment encourages students to connect their course material with their cultural experiences.
Possible Benefits
- Flexible design that can be adapted to different educational contents
- Can be modified for use with any target language
- Can be written in the target language, the first language(s) of the student, or a combination of both.
- Students can choose from a range of activities
- Expands cultural learning beyond the classroom
- Develops intercultural skills
- Develops research skills in students
- Encourages students to connect with their own target language/culture interests
This website presents several resources related to the cultural portfolio project: sample project guidelines, rubrics, a bibliography of further reading, and a gallery of student work. The student portfolio entries showcased in this gallery are used by permission of each student. They exemplify a range of approaches to writing a cultural portfolio entry.
This project was supported by a Scholarship of Teaching & Learning grant from the Taylor Institute for Teaching & Learning at the University of Calgary.
The Project Team
Eleonora Buoncore, PhD is Associate Professor (Teaching) of Italian at the University of Calgary.
Rachel Friedman, PhD is Associate Professor (Teaching) of Arabic Language & Muslim Cultures at the University of Calgary.
Angela George, PhD is Associate Professor of Spanish at the University of Calgary.
Danny Barnes is an undergraduate student studying Italian and Linguistics at the University of Calgary.
Isshel Ganoza Rodriguez is an undergraduate student studying International Business Strategy at the University of Calgary.