Transcultural experiences: A literature bridge to English for ESOL students from Cuba

This qualitative study is concerned with exploring the transcultural experiences of ESOL students and connecting their lived experiences to literature in the classroom. The purpose of this study was to describe and explain the transcultural perspectives of six high school and community college students: four Cuban born students and two American born/raised students of Cuban-American culture. The participants were from Barbara Goleman Senior High School and Miami-Dade Community College. The six phenomenological portraits were explored in the form of lived experience pieces, representing the students\u27 transcultural experiences. The data was collected in the form of student interviews, researcher\u27s journal, and document reviews. The following exploratory questions guided this study: (1) From the perspective of four Cuban-born, non-native English-speaking students (NNS), what are the essential structures of their transcultural identities? (2) What are the underlying themes that account for the Cuban NNS students\u27 transcultural experiences? (3) What are the universal transcultural structures among the Cuban NNS students\u27 transcultural experiences and the Cuban-American, native English/Spanish speaking (NESS) students\u27 experiences? (4) What are the possible structural meanings of the Cuban NNS students\u27 interests in relation to their transcultural experiences? (5) What are some connections between the structural themes inherent in the Cuban NNS students\u27 transcultural experiences and teaching literature in ESOL? A phenomenological approach was used to investigate the participants\u27 transcultural experiences, focused on the students\u27 lived experiences. The study consisted of three interview sessions for each of the six participants. The analysis of the data was conducted following the principles of qualitative research, which included participant interviews, thematic analysis, researcher\u27s journal, document reviews, and triangulation. The researcher created portraits representing students\u27 transcultural experiences. Subsequently, the participants\u27 transcultural experiences were used to respond to the exploratory questions, including comparing and contrasting themes and drawing connections among teaching literature in the ESOL classroom. The results of this study show some relevant specific statements and themes that emerged from the students\u27 transcultural data. The results serve as a better understanding of these students\u27 transcultural experiences and the potentiality of connecting their perspectives to literature in the classroom. In addition, this study shows the need for a better understanding of the connection between transcultural experiences and literature in ESOL