About
Project Description
In 2024 I proposed a project to develop new techniques for Teaching English as a Foreign Language (TEFL) through visual arts while preserving cultural integrity. It addressed the shortcomings of traditional TEFL curricula, which often fail to retain cultural values and rely on direct word substitution. The project focused on creating a culturally responsive curriculum that maintained cultural integrity while integrating art education and language acquisition.
The project consisted of six stages:
- Observing graduate students teaching art lessons in Mandarin.
- Translating the essence of those lessons into English.
- Teaching an English version to graduate students with feedback from the graduate class.
- Collaborating to create a transitional bilingual art lesson that retained cultural characteristics.
- Observing graduate students teaching the transitional lesson.
- Deconstruction of the bilingual lesson with the graduate students.
The study targeted elementary school-aged children, as they are at an optimal age for language learning. The project goal was to provide qualitative data to determine whether teaching English through visual arts supports cultural integrity and enhances language acquisition.
Website Team
Susan W. Trimingham
I am a visual artist and art educator. My work in education focuses on my belief that art can be a catalyst for understanding. Using research based on my personal experience teaching art in the field (Sierra Leone, Uganda, Benin, Soledad Correctional Training Facility, Salinas Valley State Prison, National Changhua University of Education-Taiwan ), I have documented the impact of education and experience in the arts on the development of emotional intelligence, a central organizing principle of human development and the connections to intangible cultural values.
In 2007, as a consultant in Benin, I designed and implemented a research project, for the International Center for Art and Music at Ouidah, to determine the impact of art skills on divergent thinking and the ability to see multiple perspectives using the Torrance Test for Creative Thinking. I have used this research and my international experiences to develop a culturally responsive curriculum that addresses diversity and global citizenship in the 21st century through art.
I am currently collaborating with the National Changhua University of Education in Taiwan to develop intercultural collaborations that foster the exchange of ideas and the development of a dialogue on art education with SJSU. I conducted research with NCUE summer 2024, funded by an RSCA grant, and collaborated with the Art Department and the International Studies Department to grow our international relationship.
I also piloted a Faculty Led Program: Exploring Japan through Art. This Faculty-Led Program offers the opportunity to experience making art with traditional artists in Japan, learning firsthand how art helps us understand the dynamic complexities of culture, and also the opportunity to live with a host family for a more in-depth experience of Japanese culture.
Luna Differding-Portales
Luna Differding-Portales is a sophomore at San Jose State University who is planning on majoring in Digital Media Arts and graduating Spring 2027. Her work as a design consultant helped to streamline the design process through creation of website mockups.
Her main body of work has been mostly in the realm of sculpture, both in the tangible world and the digital world, as well as painting. You can see more of her work at https://lunadifferdingpo.myportfolio.com/
She plans on attending graduate school after receiving her BFA and becoming a professor.
Liam Esler
Liam Esler attends San Jose State University, and is majoring in Digital Media Arts.
He is passionate about 3D-art and web develeopment, using his knoweldge to help to create this site.
Here is a link to Liam's portfolio website if you want to see what he is up to: Liam Esler Digital Portfolio
Nick Szydlowski is the Digital Scholarship Librarian at San José State University’s Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Library, where he is the work lead for the library’s Digital Scholarship Services department and an active contributor to King Library’s Digital Humanities Center.