“FAQ's” About SDSU’s Intercultural Ambassadors Program

What is “Intercultural Ambassadors”?  Each year, a group of San Diego State University international undergraduates - the “Intercultural Ambassadors” – are carefully selected and trained during the fall semester to make a series of visits to K-12 classrooms during the spring semester.  Planning ahead with their assigned teachers, the “Ambassadors” share their cultures and languages through personal stories, literature, geography, visuals and other artifacts.

What are the program objectives?   While children learn many facts about their Ambassador’s country, the program focus is on building genuine relationships between the international visitors and the students and teachers with whom they come in contact. 

How many times does an Ambassador come to visit?   In order for the Ambassador and the children to get to know each other, each Ambassador makes three separate visits to the same classroom. 

May more than one classroom per school participate?  Yes.  In fact, we encourage participation by more than one teacher at a school.  However, each classroom must still commit to a series of three visits by the same Ambassador.  Two or more classrooms may not be combined for any of these visits, as that would interfere with developing the sought connection between the Ambassador and the children.  Intercultural Ambassadors is not a speaker’s bureau.

How long is a classroom visit?  A visit to older children (ages 8 or 9 and up), may be up to 1 hour in length.  Visits to younger children (ages 5-7) should be 30 to 45 minutes, by agreement of the Intercultural Ambassador and the classroom teacher.

How does the program work?  Each teacher is matched with an Ambassador.  (Matching is based on mutual schedules, preference for working with certain age groups, etc.)  Teachers and Ambassadors meet each other at an after-school workshop where they set the schedule of classroom visits and begin to plan activities for the visits. They will have additional meetings and/or conversations following the workshop to continue their planning.

What commitments must participating teachers  make?  All  participating teachers must attend an afternoon workshop on Thursday, February 12, 2009 at SDSU, where they will meet their Ambassador.  During the first half of the workshop, teachers who are brand new to the program will receive an orientation to program logistics, guidelines and suggestions for incorporating the visits into their curriculum.  Parking permits will be supplied.

What does the program cost?  At the present time, the program is offered free to schools throughout San Diego County.   Program costs are borne by ISTEP and the ISC.

How Do I Apply?

Check for current year announcements on the
ISTEP Professional Development page.