An exchange between bilingual students in Los Angeles and Beasain

What does it mean to be bilingual (or multilingual)? What does it mean to be “bicultural”? Do the two concepts necessarily coincide? What are “language,” “culture,” “race,” “ethnicity” and “nationality”? What is their political significance as well as their importance in our daily lives? How do these concepts sometimes conflict and sometimes overlap?


This project explores these ideas by connecting high school students who live 6,000 miles apart, in the South Central neighborhood of Los Angeles, California and in Beasain, a small town in the Basque Country of northern Spain. Students will gain a deeper understanding about their own concepts of identity, learn about other cultures, and improve their English writing abilities.


Two groups of 40 students are participating, who are in their final year of secondary school (12th graders at Thomas Jefferson High School in Los Angeles; 2nd year bachillerato students at the Txindoki branch of BIP (Beasain Institutua Publika) in Beasain. Each student is partnered with a student in the other country. They will write emails to each other over the course of a month. Students will also create projects to educate each other their respective cultures, histories and politics.



Friday, March 9, 2012

Basque Symbols

What is a "lauburu"? by Karolina and Olatz


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