Running Head: PHILOSOPHY OF DISCIPLINARY LITERACY 1

Erika Lopez

Philosophy of Disciplinary Literacy

Arizona State University

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I have learned so much during this semester about what disciplinary literacy is and what

it would look like in a World Language classroom. At the beginning of the semester I had no

idea what it even meant or what it would look like for me in my future Spanish classes, but

diving deep into what literacy means and all the different types of literacy that exist made it clear

for me that it’s definitely something important to know and implement as a teacher.

When it comes to World Languages, there are five different C’s that we must help

students connect to in our teaching, these are: Cultures, Comparisons, Connections,

Communication, and Communities. Being able to teach these to our students means that we are

preparing the learners in knowing how to apply these skills in real-life settings for global

competence in their careers and other life experiences. In other words, helping them apply what

they learn outside of the classroom for their benefit. A great example brought to me by Mrs.

Trombley during the first few weeks of class was the example of having a new neighbor which

speaks a different language. Disciplinary literacy is teaching the student the language in order for

him/her to be able to communicate and connect with this new neighbor. While doing this, the

student will also be able to apply the other 3 C’s; comparisons, cultures, and communities.

This is only one purpose or example, but just like this one there are millions of others that

can come up in someone’s life. Disciplinary literacy also means being able to connect to other

disciplines, acquire information, and be able to learn diverse perspectives in order to use the

language learned to function in academic related situations. Being able to have cultural

competence was a big skill that I wanted to bring into my lessons this semester during the cross-

disciplinary lessons and projects because I felt that working with English, bringing just another

language into the lessons was not enough. Not only was it not enough, but it could be too boring

for students. Bringing in the cultural aspect to the cross-discipline project was that extra spaz
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needed, in my opinion. Not only was I bringing in the cultural aspect but I was also bringing in

the communication aspect because of those slang or Spanish terms used by Spanish speakers.

This helps the students connect to the cultures and learn more about their lives and experiences

while also learning new vocabulary that would also help them in the communication aspect of it.