AHA Moments and Intercultural Competence with Alicia Shoemaker and Ben Fisher Rodriguez

In episode 111 of “Growing With Proficiency The Podcast,” I’m super excited to chat with two incredible language educators, Alicia Shoemaker and Ben Fisher Rodriguez. We dive into the magic of ‘Aha Moments’—those lightbulb moments that bring so much joy and energy to both students and teachers. We talk about what the research says about why these moments are so important and share some practical tips on how you can create more of them in your classroom.

But that’s not all! We also get into the nitty-gritty of intercultural competence and cultural humility—big ideas that can take those ‘Aha Moments’ to the next level by making learning more inclusive and meaningful. Alicia and Ben share some awesome examples and resources that have worked wonders in their own teaching, so you’re definitely going to want to take notes. Listen above or here. 

If you’re looking to bring more joy into your classroom, understand the role of culture in learning, or just pick up some new ideas to keep your students engaged, episode 111 is packed with insights you won’t want to miss. 

Here are some highlights:

Understanding ‘Aha Moments’

Alicia started off our conversation by telling us about some of the resources that she shared in one of her previous presentations that I attended. She highlighted a few definitions of aha moments from three researchers: Dr. Wesley Carpenter, Dr. Keith Sawyer, and Dr. John Hattie and Dr. Jay Berkeley. Links to these resources are in the show notes, but listen to Alicia share these here. 

Ben emphasized that it takes time. If we want our students to have those moments of recognition, they actually need to have a lot of life in between the experiences. Students need to be reminded of it in class. For example, if we are talking about something in class, or keep visiting a concept or an idea, they need to have time to go out and be in a world where that’s new to them and see how that connects with things that they know or see. Then, when they revisit whatever the original stimulus was, picture, video, etc., they have more life and more connection to it. 

We also discuss how shifting your focus from just teaching language structures to creating meaningful conversations can make a huge difference in student engagement and learning outcomes.

Intercultural Competence

Next, Alicia explained the concept of intercultural competence and its importance in facilitating aha moments. In this part of our discussion, we explored what it means to be truly culturally competent and how this understanding can lead to richer, more meaningful ‘Aha Moments’ in your classroom.

Ben and Alicia talked a lot about defining intercultural competence in a succinct way, which is very challenging. Alicia referenced the 2017 ACTFL Can-Do Statements on intercultural competence, defining it as the ability to interact effectively and appropriately with people from other language and cultural backgrounds.

As Alicia and Ben discussed the importance of cultural humility in intercultural competence, they emphasized self-awareness and the need to build awareness of one’s own culture. We all agree that self-awareness is crucial for both teachers and students to develop intercultural competence. Intercultural competence also involves reflecting on and changing one’s own views and perspectives.

Creating ‘Aha Moments’ in Your Classroom

When asked about how to create these “Aha moments”, Alicia and Ben shared practical strategies for fostering these moments, making learning more engaging and impactful. Alicia emphasized the importance of creating a safe and trusting environment for students to have deep processing and aha moments. We also highlighted the use of visuals, such as images and videos, to support students’ processing and understanding.

Ben also suggested using authentic resources and mediating them with comprehensible language to help students access and engage with cultural information. It’s also important to ask reflective questions to guide students’ thinking and facilitate aha moments.

Listen to episode 111 as we go more in depth into what these magical moments are and why they matter so much in the learning process, both for students and teachers.

Cultural Humility

Alicia introduced us to the concept of cultural humility—why it’s crucial in education and how it can help create a more inclusive learning environment. She defined cultural humility as self-reflection on one’s own background and the background of others, and a commitment to lifelong learning. It’s important for teachers to describe cultural differences objectively and avoid negative or dismissive language.

In episode 111, we talked about the need for teachers to be open about their own cultural experiences and to model cultural humility for students. Ben shared his personal experience as a second language learner of German and the importance of modeling cultural humility. Listen here.

Real-Life Examples and Resources

Then, I asked both guests to share some examples and resources with us. Both Alicia and Ben offered up some tried-and-true resources and examples that have helped them bring these concepts to life in their own teaching.

Alicia mentioned the book “Common Ground” by Dr. Florencia Henshaw and Maris Hawkins, which provides practical examples of activities to support intercultural competence. Ben added that his approach is to start with familiar topics and gradually move towards less familiar cultural information to decrease cognitive load.

It’s also important to revisit and reflect on cultural information to deepen students’ understanding and facilitate aha moments. Alicia emphasized the need for teachers to provide students with the words and frameworks to describe their experiences and develop intercultural competence.

Episode 111 is packed with inspiration and practical advice that you can start using right away in your classroom. Tune in for some powerful insights that might just change the way you approach teaching! Listen above or here.