Bruce CO#2

I observed Ms. Ciappetta's speaking class. On that day they were doing Powerpoint presentations the students made about their home countries. The students incorporated a lot of humor in their presentations through funny pictures of angry teachers or pictures of students sleeping. They practiced their speaking skills, with the aid of the written powerpoint. I imagine, eventually the Powerpoint would be removed so they could practice their speaking without the aid of written words in front of them.

There was one issue I noticed Ms. Ciappetta handle superbly. At the end of the presentations, there was always one student who made a cat-call whistle. Ms. Ciappetta addressed this cultural issue firstly by not naming the student. She explained step-by-step that in the USA, the cat-call whistle could be interpreted as a form of sexual harassment. Then she broke down the term "sexual harassment" and gave examples that are more obvious examples of it. It turns out, in Argentina, one woman said that the cat-call whistle is a form of congratulations people use at the end of presentations. It means "good job," and is equivalent to the non-verbal gesture of a "thumbs-up." In her country, there is no sexual connotation. However, because Ms. Ciappetta took her time to explain how this cultural gesture is interpreted in America, her students now know better.