Abstract

QUEZADA CAMBEROS, Silvia  and  MARGARITO GASPAR, Mayra. Literature as a representation of Mexican culture for speakers of Spanish as a foreign language. RIDE. Rev. Iberoam. Investig. Desarro. Educ [online]. 2018, vol.9, n.17, pp.494-506. ISSN 2007-7467.  https://doi.org/10.23913/ride.v9i17.390.

Literature, as a living manifestation of the language and expression of the cultural richness of a society, has used various linguistic and narrative strategies to create stories developed in a specific context. Although elements typical of Mexican culture may be conflicting for other Hispanic countries’ speakers, they are even more complex for a foreign language speaker. In this research we intend to observe the way students of Spanish as a foreign language approach the reading of literary texts that include phrases or dialogues typical of the Mexican speech, as well as particular situations of daily life. We propose to analyze how literature allows them to build representations of the national culture. This work had the participation of seven foreign exchange students from England, France and South Korea, with a Spanish level of B2, who read the story "Depends" of Guillermo Sheridan. They shared the challenges represented by the readings that include Mexican popular culture and how they managed to achieve the understanding of the text.

Keywords : culture; foreign languages teaching; identity; representation.

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