Podcasts and Acculturation?

I have just been introduced to podcasts and was unaware of the wide variety of materials that are available. My assignment for class this week was to listen to a podcast that could assist in teaching. I had also, however, just finished an annotated bibliography on the effects of acculturation on academic achievement in immigrants. So, with that on my mind, I searched google for "podcast acculturation and academic achievement," and whattaya know, I ended up finding this from the University at Buffalo. It is an interview with Dr. Paul Smokowski about his work on acculturation and adjustment in Latino adolescents.

If this were an article, it would have fit perfectly into my bibliography. I feel the research I did on my bibliography will aid my teaching because, for example, I learned that assimilating completely to American culture for an immigrant is usually not best because they lose their culture and thus self-esteem. Subsequently, loss of self-esteem can result in decreased academic achievement.

So, reading theory and research is good. However, listening to this interview via podcast was really great because the researcher was interveiwed by a host who asked semi-layman questions that helped to cut through some of the academic jargon. Listening also increased my fluency with the jargon because, after reading so much, hearing the langauge in this domain really solidified new usages and connotations of words in my mind. Also, listening to someone speak about something can increase understanding because of cadence and inflection. It was also good to put a face/voice to some of this research and hear the passion of the researcher.

So, this podcast was a good way to offer a different perspective on theory that can help me in my teaching. I will be sure to consider podcasts in the future when searching for theory / research material.