7 Alternative perspectives
Alternatives
Mainstream and Alternative Perspectives
Look at this overview of two different descriptions of the ideal (real, authentic) speaker of Spanish and think about the impacts of both.
Mainsteam |
Alternative |
|
| Location | Lives in or comes from a Spanish-speaking country | Live or come from all around the world |
| Appearance | Dark hair and eyes but light skin OR May fit stereotypes of a “Latino” |
Various – no one way of looking like a speaker of Spanish including people from many places around the world and First peoples |
| Accent and Pronunciation | Has an accent associated with a Spanish-speaking country when speaking Spanish
Can pronounce all words in Spanish according to the rules of the language |
Work with the listener for effective communication with less focus on sounding a certain way
Makes an effort to pronounce words according to the rules of the language |
| Social Class | Middle to upper-class | Various |
| Language Level | Fluent – has spoken Spanish their entire life, since birth | Various depending on previous experience
All levels (including beginners) are part of the Spanish-speaking world |
| Learning Journey | Learned from family and at home
Learned in Spanish-speaking countries from others whose first language is Spanish |
Various – may have learned from family/friends or through formal education.
Recognises that some learners engage with technology to learn also |
Let’s get to work
Look at the table above and see the following TikTok
Reflecting
After watching the video of Freddie Highmore, add notes about the following:
His location (or country of origin):
His appearance:
His accent/pronunciation:
His social class:
His language level:
His learning journey:
Do Freddie Highmore’s characteristics align more with the traditional or alternative description of a Spanish speaker based on the table above?
Case Studies of Alternative Speakers of Spanish
Example 1: Famous faces
Watch, listen and reflect
Consider how these people speak Spanish.
Which of the descriptions in the table above would you associate with each speaker in the videos below (alternative/traditional – or a mix?)
.
The speakers are:
- Barack Obama – 44th President of the United States
- Rigoberta Menchu – She is an Indigenous activist from Guatemala. She won the Nobel Peace Prize in 1922.
- Anya Taylor-Joy – She is an American actress and model. She has become known for her roles in the series The Queen’s Gambit and Peaky Blinders, as well as The Mario Bros Movie.
- Godeliv Van den Brandt – She is a model and actress from the Democratic Republic of Congo. She has been on shows like Elite and Sky Rojo
Example 2: Gina Rodriguez and Jane the Virgin
This summer, [Ginna] Rodriguez gave an interview to People en Español in Spanish. She isn’t fluent [in Spanish], though, and when she shared the cover on her Instagram, criticism rolled in: followers mocked her grammatical errors and questioned if she was “really” Latina
Puedes leer una noticia similar en español en el siguiente link:
Ginna Rodriguez no habla español
OR
Jane the Virgin’s Gina Rodriguez on Criticism From Latinos
Let’s discuss the following questions:
- What do you think about this situation, how does it make you feel?
- If you were a follower, would you have acted/thought the same way?
Let’s think
Choose one topic to comment on
- Similarities and differences between the examples of speakers of Spanish above
- Something that challenged your own understanding of who is an ideal (real, authentic) speaker of Spanish
Teaching tip:
You can always update the list of people who speak Spanish with your students if you created one in an earlier chapter.
For example, you can ask them for a photo/picture/drawing of a Spanish speaker they like to create a board with those characters/people who matter to them. They can include their teachers or families, soccer players, actors, actresses, and even themselves.
You can also ask them for digital photos to create a Padlet. In the following link, we share an example. You can create a copy of the Padlet or add it to ours.
Remember that you may have created your own copy of the Padlet using the Remake function in an earlier chapter.
