Prism is a web-interface tool that was produced as part of the University of Virginia’s Scholar Lab graduate intern program. It allows for collaborative reading using highlighters to show which parts of a text have a particular significance for a combined group of readers.

The initial inspiration for the project came not from the digital world, but from an analog in-class assignment used to study short literary texts. Students were asked to place a sheet of transparency paper over the text, then use different colored markers to underline passages. Each color was meant to signify a different element the class was asked to look for. The transparencies were then stacked together and displayed, so students could see how others had approached the same text.

The Prism web site takes the activity and improves upon it using digital visualizations. A text is uploaded and users can choose from up to three different colors to highlight the text. One example on the site is the lyrics from a Taylor Swift song, and users are asked to underline each passage they find to be feminist and each they find to be conformist.

Once users have given their input, they are able to visual the text in two ways. Color-coded text shows the predominant color used by the group of users. Clicking on an individual word reveals the exact percentage breakdown between each color. And a font-size visualization quickly reveals how many users underlined a particular text in relation to others within a single highlighter color.

The actual meaning of each color code is defined by the person who uploads the text. A user can upload a text publicly or privately, meaning that only those to whom a link is sent can access the text. This makes the tool very useful for a classroom setting, where the editing is limited to students in the class.

This tool would be great for a poetry class, allowing students to contribute to the text they are reading before coming to class, alerting the teacher about what passages may have been missed, and what others seemed particularly important to the students. The visualizations can be the impetus for class discussion, and guide the instructor on which points were obvious, which were missed, and what unique insights the class may have.

This tool is also perfect for peer review for two reasons. First, both the student work and annotations can be done anonymously, eliminating at least some of the potential reticence to share work or criticism with a peer. Students can view an aggregate of responses quickly, without having to compare notes from multiple readers (meaning that an instructor can also provide feedback without the student mindlessly making a change without considering why it should be changed). Second, comments are very structured and limited to the color-code scheme, meaning reviewers have a more clear mandate about what they should look for. For example, the person uploading the text may be more concerned about a particular grammar point that content, and could ask that peers find those errors.

Here peer-reviewers are ask to mark any general errors, specific errors about past-tense conjugations, and to say what they thought was good about the text.

You can access Prism here.. It is compatible with Chrome, Safari, and Firefox. You must register a free account to use, but you can browse public texts without an account. The site offers multilingual support.

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30 stereotypes that explain the cultural shock of Italians in the US

When you move abroad, small cultural differences are often more fascinating than big ones. Probably it’s because they are everywhere around you, and sometimes they impact your everyday life significantly. Here are some of the differences I find most interesting — even when they are a bit stereotypical or exaggerated (because there’s a little bit of truth in a lot of these stereotypes):

Food

1. Food with incredibly long expiration dates. Milk gets me really confused in particular
2. Selling fruit and vegetables by unit instead of by weight
3. Grapes, watermelon and all kinds of food with no seeds inside. Seriously?
4. All-you-can-eat
5. Free fountain drink refills
6. More types of dressing than your mind could possibly conceive
7. Someone please tell me, who is this Alfredo and what would be his connection to Italian cuisine?
8. Finding out that “Pizza americana,” i.e. with fries on top, is not only completely unknown but also a pretty horrific idea for Americans
9. Knowing only McDonald’s and Burger King, and finding out there are also places such as In ’n Out or Five Guys
10. Huge plates

University

1. Compulsory class attendance
2. Homework, in college?
3. Varsity sport teams that are not terrible, or deserted
4. Free access to any facility
5. Professors who are actually in their office during office hours
6. Professors who are very serious about cheating, instead of helping you cheat
7. Free food everywhere
8. Wearing hats in class
9. Wearing pajamas in class
10. Huge campuses

Everyday life

1. Air conditioning
2. More air conditioning
3. A cold from all that air conditioning you’re not used to
4. People wearing shorts in January, because 35°F and a feeble ray of sun peeking through the clouds obviously means early Spring
5. Antibacterial everything, everywhere
6. No-ironing shirts are really a thing?
7. Crossing the street with red lights (but we do that anyways, even if it’s not legal)
8. Actually stopping when you notice a pedestrian on the crossing lines
9. You can really pay with cards for goods under 500 euros?
10. Huge cars

The list could go on much more, of course, but I think there’s plenty for now. Did you also experience a similar kind of cultural shock? What were the things that struck you the most?

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By Maxi Albrecht
German Language Intern

App: Bon Appétit!

Price: $1.99

Bon Appétit! is a translation app custom-made for any questions or needs that might arise in a restaurant setting in France.

Even though I am quite good at Spanish and do know a bit of French, my travels have often put me in situations where I was sitting in front of a restaurant menu and had no clue whatsoever what half of the words actually meant.  Also, it would be quite a pity if you ordered a nice Filet Mignon at an expensive restaurant but cannot tell the waiter the way you want it done. Bon Appétit! can help with these problems by providing not only the correct translations for many food terms but also by giving the most important sentences and expression from the French culinary realm.

The app menu is structured quite clearly and logically. First, there is a search bar, where you can search for different terms or words manually by typing them in or just looking them up in the alphabetical list.

When clicking on the term, it is possible to listen to the word in French, English etc. This is particularly useful if one is not very familiar with French pronunciation.

Secondly, there is a menu item entitled categories, in which different types of meals or food groups are listed. This is quite useful if one is only interested in certain categories, but the search function essentially provides the same information. Nevertheless, it is interesting if one wants to see which types of foods are normally consumed at a certain meal.

What is more, there is one category entitled ‘Expressions and words.’ This is one part of the app which I personally find the most useful. Often, certain ways of preparation, for instance, are very peculiar to a country or certain region and this is a very handy tool to quickly understand them. Furthermore, this part of the app provides a couple of phrases to use in a restaurant setting.

The third menu item provides more expressions and full sentences to use in culinary contexts.

It is also possible to add words or expressions as favorites, which will then appear in the fourth menu item. I found this particularly useful in two aspects: firstly, it helps to keep track of which food(s) you enjoy, which is particularly necessary if the cuisine differs quite greatly from what you are used to. On the other hand, it can also be used to have words close at hand, that you may want to remember. Thus, this item can also serve as a sort of vocabulary trainer.

Under the last menu item ‘More’ you can set language preferences, voice preferences and also contact the creators of the app about bugs, further wishes etc.

All in all, this is a very useful app for dealing with French language problems in the French culinary realm. The app provides translations for French food terms and expressions in English, German, Dutch, Italian, simplified Chinese, and Traditional Chinese. Moreover, it is possible to choose between male and female voices and Hong Kong or Taiwan Chinese.

Bon appétit, indeed!

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By Sonia Pérez Escalante
Spanish Language Intern

Although knowing the grammar is an essential step in learning any language, textbooks are not always able to convey the linguistic and cultural nuances, because it’s actually in the jargon, dialects, emotions, and humor where the soul of languages is… Especially in languages such as Spanish, spoken in over twenty different countries each of them with its own specific characteristics. For this reason, a good way to discover the differences among all the Spanish speaking countries is through movies, which give the viewer an easily understandable cultural and linguistic context through images, body language, and expressions. Here we show a top-five list of Spanish movies (suitable for students from beginner to advanced levels) that will help you with the study of this wonderful language.

TRES METROS SOBRE EL CIELO
(Beginner)

This Spanish movie by Fernando González Molina, based on a novel by the Italian writer Federico Moccia, it’s a romantic drama that tells the story of a young couple who belong to different worlds. Hugo (Mario Casas) is a handsome and rebellious boy who likes speed and extreme living. And on the other hand, Babi (Maria Valverde), is a girl from an upper-middle class family, raised in purity and innocence. The vocabulary is rather simple, making it easy to follow the plot without difficulty. The film also contains good examples of the typical way young people speak in Spain.

EL HIJO DE LA NOVIA
(Beginner/Intermediate)

This film by Rafael Belvedere is an emotional story about love, family, dreams, and learning to get old. “El hijo de la novia” (“The Son of the Bride”) tells the story of a single father trying to take care of his young daughter as he struggles to maintain the family restaurant he inherited from his parents. This movie is not only funny and touching, but it is also a great way to face the Spanish of Argentina and learn the vocabulary and grammatical differences between Latin American Spanish and the “standard” Spanish.

DIARIOS DE MOTOCICLETA
(Intermediate)

Diarios de Motocicleta (Motorcycle Diaries) is a story based on the real diaries of Ernesto “Che” Guevara, the leader of the Cuban and Latin American revolutions. In Diarios de Motocicleta we see a young doctor Guevara traveling from Argentina to Peru to volunteer at a leper colony. His experience on the road and the subsequent exposure to the impressive local indigenous poor tribes shows the development of Guevara who will eventually lead a revolution that radically changed the destiny of Latin America. This movie is a fantastic viewing for students of all levels because it contains examples of slang and dialects throughout South America, essential for any well-formed Spanish speaker, and also important information about Latinos’ history.

MAR ADENTRO
(Intermediated High)

Directed by the acclaimed Spanish director Alejandro Amenábar, Mar Adentro is based on the true story of Spaniard Ramon Sampedro, who fought an almost 30-year campaign in favor of euthanasia and his own right to die. Although this movie requires a more advanced level of Spanish, you will have the chance to recognize the imperative, subjunctive, and past tenses and get used to them in colloquial situations.

AMORES PERROS
(Advanced)

Amores Perros is a 2000 Mexican drama film directed by Alejandro González Iñárritu. The film is constructed from three distinct but overlapping stories linked by a car accident that brings the characters briefly together, showing the viewer the huge gap between social classes which still exists in Mexico DF and helping Spanish students improve their vocabulary and their understanding of some complex forms of Spanish grammar thanks to the explicit images which always accompany them.

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The Chinese language Intern Ruiling Feng gave a presentation at the Keck Center on September 5 to explain and celebrate 中秋节, the Chinese Mid-Autumn Festival.

Students and faculty enjoyed her explanation of the origin and reason for the holiday as well as a taste of the traditional moon cakes provided by the Department of East Asian Languages and Literature.

Ruiling is one of six interns who provide help to language students at Colgate. Look for posts from all the language interns on our blog as well as future cultural events hosted at the Keck Center.

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