Title:
DO HISPANIC CULTURAL ACTIVITIES IMPROVE THE ACADEMIC SUCCESS OF STUDENTS IN SPANISH COLLEGE CLASSES?

Authors:
Yesenia Chavez, Ph.D., USA

Abstract:
According to previous research, there is a relationship between language and cultural identity. It is also believed that including cultural identity in our teaching curriculum can improve our student’s interest in the subject matter we teach, improve the student’s teamwork abilities, create more open-minded students, improve student’s empathetic feelings towards each other and it could also promote safety and confidence in our classes (Mercurri, 2012; Marks, 2021). Furthermore, Peng (2017) also considers that cultural identity may promote language learning, may improve bidialectal relationships and it may also increase the idea of belonginess to a specific group. This research will answer the following question: does the use of cultural activities affect the academic success in college Spanish classes? 11 classes participated with a total of 146 participants in Spanish college classes in a college in southeast Texas. The results show that 64 percent of the classes who participated improved their total average grade when compared to the non-treatment class. Therefore, we recommend the inclusion of Hispanic Cultural activities in Spanish college classes.