Content-Based Instruction in a Spanish Language Classroom: Climate, Identity, and Historical Patterns of Latin American Migration to the United States

Abstract

This chapter describes the design of a cross-disciplinary, sustainability-based language learning module in an advanced Spanish seminar titled 'Latinos/as in the United States, in which the authors integrated language and content goals from three academic disciplines. With the authors as instructors representing applied linguistics, history, and meteorology, the six-day module linked the historical patterns of recent human migration from Mexico and Central America to the United States to climate, language, and identity. The chapter first discusses the theoretical and pedagogical frameworks of the module. Afterward, it offers a description of the instructional components and learning activities. Then, students' performance is analyzed and discussed using students' written reflections, which indicated achievement of learning outcomes. The chapter concludes by discussing challenges the authors faced and underscoring the benefits for instructors and students of engaging in sustainability education projects of a multidisciplinary nature within a foreign language curriculum.