Les Chemins de St-Jacques-deCompostelle
Los Caminos de Santiago de
Compostela
 Christ’s Apostle James in northern Spain 30-40 CE
 Spain’s geographical, historical & religious context
 The Islamic invasion of Iberia – 711 CE – 8th century
 Circa. 813 bones/relics of James ‘found’ (no DNA)
 Battle of Clavijo (near Logroño) circa. 852 (no evidence but
a psychological watershed - “Santiago Matamoros”)
Pilgrimage routes in France
Pilgrimage routes in Spain
What is pilgrimage?
 Etymology of the word pilgrimage – evolving
 Titus Maccius Plautus – Roman playwright – 254-184
BCE (Before the Common Era) – word source
“Asinaria” The One About the Asses
 Original use non-religious
 A “classic” (religious) definition in 3 parts
A journey to a place of significance (often arduous)
2. The journey, the destination and the arriving are
equally important
3. A spiritual/religious significance for the traveller
1.
Primary source
pilgrim’s guide
th
-12
century
 Codex Calixtinus by Aimery Picaud – French cleric –
circa. 1139 (The Liber Jacobi – Book of Saint James)
 Insight into the profound prejudices of the times:
Frenchman’s opinions towards
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The Basque
The Navarrese (from Navarra on the Spanish side)
Galicians
 Rich pedagogical material + other primary sources (to be
discussed later)
Pilgrimage in the modern context
 20th century (the journey is paramount)
 Religious motivations + non-religious – Europe’s
identity
 Post-World War II Europe – repairing the recent past…
 1987 Council of Europe declared the Camino de Santiago
as the first European cultural route
 1993 Camino de Santiago (el Camino Francés) was
placed on the World Heritage list
 1998 France had all its four original medieval pilgrimage
routes also placed on the World Heritage list titled:
“Routes of Santiago de Compostela in France”
Statistics 1: Le Puy en Velay – Le*
GR65- 14,187 - 61 nationalities
Statistics 2: St-Jean-Pied-de-Port
 2012
 total of 45,409
82 nationalities
 pilgrims passed by the Friends Office – Les Amis de
Chemin de Saint-Jacques Pyrénées-Atlantiques
(l’Accueil Saint-Jacques)
 France – 9,032
Japan - 354
 Spain – 7,244
New Zealand - 296
 Germany – 5,322
Taiwan - 23
 South Korea – 1,996
China - 15
 Australia – 872
Philippines - 4
Statistics 3 - Santiago de
Compostela
 Certificate (The Compostela or certificate of
attainment) 192,488 (108,809 males – 56%) (83,679
females – 44%)
 On foot (164,778 – 86%) - 22 in wheel chairs (0.01%)
 Motivation (101,171 religious/cultural/spiritual – 53%)
 Tracks:
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Camino Francés: 134,979 – 70%
Camino Portugués: 25,628 – 13%
Camino del Norte: 12,919 – 7%
Vía de la Plata: 8,163 – 4% (Ailsa Piper’s text: Sinning …)
Statistics 4 – Santiago de
Compostela
 Age of pilgrim walkers arriving in Santiago
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30 – 60 years of age:
Less than 30 years of age:
Greater than 60 years of age:
109,310 (57%)
54,731 (28%)
28,447 14%
 Dominant professional backgrounds of pilgrims:
 Employed & in employment:
43,069 (22%)
 Students
34,747 (18.00%)
 Technicians/IT
24,754 (13.00%)
 Retired from the workforce
22,094 (11%)
 Liberal professions
21,779 (11%)
 Teachers
14,400 (7%)
Statistics 5 – Santiago de
Compostela
 Point of departure for pilgrims:
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Sarria (in Galicia – 107 km from Santiago de Compostela)
40,734 (21%)
St-Jean-Pied-de-Port (French Pyrenees) 22,214 (12%)
León 10,406 (5%)
Roncesvalles 8,468 (4%)
 Total of Nationalities = 68
 Spain
95,275 (50%)
 Germany 15,620 (8%)
 Italy
12,404 (6%0)
 Portugal 10,329 (5%)
South Korea 2,493 (2%)
Australia 1,885 (0.98%)
Japan 860 (0.45%)
New Zealand 377 (0.20%)
Pedagogy dovetailed into the
pilgrimage routes
 The focus of this paper/workshop is to establish the inseparable link between
language learning at any age and the language learner’s connection to that
language whilst engaging mind, body and soul whilst walking the pilgrimage
routes of France and Spain. In other words: walking with languages on the
pilgrimage tracks is a holistic engagement - the whole is greater than its
separate parts.
 The NSW Board of Studies K-10 Languages Syllabuses states its three objectives as:
 Using Language (using the target language) UL
 Making Linguistic Connections (First language and the target language) MLCs
 Moving Between Cultures (the subject’s first culture and the target culture)
including aspects of acculturation with immersion) MBCs
The Australian Curriculum:
Languages
 The Shape paper – November 2011
 The aims of learning languages (page 22)
 62.

The interrelated aims of learning languages are to:
 Communicate in the target language
 Understand language, culture and learning and their
relationship, and thereby develop an intercultural capability
in communication
 Understand oneself as a communicator
The pilgrimage routes facilitates
language learning…or maybe the
reverse…languages facilitates…
 Point 65 in the Shape paper states: “By stepping
outside the known space of their own language and
culture and entering a new communicative and
cultural space, the (language) learner is afforded
opportunities for noticing, comparing, analysing, and
reflecting on this experience and on themselves.
Two models in a pedagogical
setting for doing a pilgrimage
 The American model
 First pioneered by Emeritus professor in Hispanic
studies, David M Gitlitz (University of Rhode Island) in
1974 when he accompanied groups of college studentpilgrims on a academic medieval studies programs,
sponsored by their universities (Indiana, Nebraska,
Binghamton and Rhode Island). 1979; 1987; 1993; 1996
 Lately, by Dr Annie Hesp at Virginia Tech University

“I realized this would be an ideal way to teach kids Spanish and
a way that kids really want to learn.”
The American model… continued
 Dr Hesp’s testimony continued :
 “We’re often throw into our classroom with other Americans when
what we really want, is to get away.”
 With funding from GIEU (The Global Intercultural Experience
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for undergraduates at the University of Michigan) this Spanish
language teacher got her Spanish language students to physically
connect with the Camino de Santiago
Walking the pilgrimage in Spain is a “notable departure from
orthodox Spanish study abroad fare – Madrid, Barcelona, Seville.”
“It’s a fantastic way to see the Spain that students really want to
see, but that study abroad has a hard time providing.”
“It’s like walking through the Middle Ages…the cheapest and most
mind-altering way to spend a month in another country that I
can think of.”
Even the blisters from four to eight hours of walking did not
suppress most students’ excitement. “A lot of them would
probably tell you it was one of the most memorable experiences of
their life”
The inclusive model – advocated
 Undertaking the pilgrimage route on your own or with your
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partner – (maximum two people)
If below 17-18 years of age: doing it with a mentor or as a family
member (numbers vary – ideally it should never be more than
four people)
Inclusiveness inevitably occurs when on one’s own and/or with
one’s partner only
Conversely, exclusivity invariably occurs when the group is selfcontained and naturally repels ‘outsiders’ who are not part of the
‘group’
Much more pedagogy is being deployed when there are fewer
numbers (the individual has to engage more often), the target
language is required and needed more frequently.
10 stages: schematic model for pedagogical
engagement whilst on pilgrimage - (source Tommi Mendel from
Pilgrimages Today, a symposium on pilgrimages , Finland, August 2009)
7 Return
1 Decisionmaking/motivation
2 Preparation
3 Departure
4 Transition
5 Journey
6 Arrival
8 Re-integration
9 Working up the
experiences
10 Lasting effects
1 - Decision-making
 At a specific point in time after getting to know the
existence of this network of pilgrimage routes
 Decision-making follows:
 triggers (i.e. transitions/rites of passage/milestones e.g. going
into full-time employment; end of an undergraduate course;
long-service leave; super cheap holiday; being a
trekker/hiker/bushwalker; mourning loss/grieving; losing a
job; adventure; character building
 A language teacher/student:
 to use his/her languages and immerse themselves
 Personal/professional interests:
 art; history; architecture or religious commitment/faith
2 - Preparation
 Time : min. 6 months to max. 2-7 years – huge
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variation
Physical preparation : training & addressing existing
medical issues impacting on the individual’s ability
Choosing & acquiring appropriate gear : “Good
walking gear improves the walking outcome” CD Blog
Reading & researching about the specific
pilgrimage route : addressing language issues
Choosing which communication devices – if any
Sourcing other resources : guidebooks; maps etc.
2a – Pedagogical Preparation
 Target language studies continue : e.g. Korean; German; Japanese
 Specific language studies commenced for the chosen pilgrimage route
(French, Portuguese, Spanish etc.) if not a target language
 (Professional) language journal commenced in a number of languages
(at least in two languages): (source David Nunan*)
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This language journal should be so written as to be able to be shared and maybe
published on-line; in print form or using other media.
To document the cognitive, emotional, physical and for want of a better term the
spiritual journal sequentially by the subject using the 10 stages schematic model
shown earlier : Decision-Making to Lasting effects
Creating or contributing to other texts in parallel to the future source text (the
language journal) i.e. a blog or a vlog (video blog) in an educational setting
Research projects on various elements: e.g. history, culture, regionalism,
autonomous communities and their particular
festivals/traditions/customs/cuisine etc.
The World Heritage sites; the Islamic and Jewish influences on the pilgrimage
3 - Departure
 Date & location decided, subject to leave being
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granted
Family, friends & colleagues informed or giving
consent
Commitment made for a flight to Europe
Practical arrangements made during one’s absence
Sufficient funds in place for on-going financial
commitments + a daily pilgrimage budget accurately
worked out
4 - Transition
 The subject/individual is now feeling a sustained range of
emotions and feelings; from the positive to the negative…
 Once the subject has left his/her familiar environment
(comfort zone) transformative attitudes start to kick in
 Changing roles from being a full-time student or teacher to
being a (journeyman) pilgrim
 Anxiety and/or stress of being outside one’s comfort zone is
being replaced by some positive inputs
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An explosion of sensorial stimuli as one gets closer to the head of the
track or starting point
Excitement builds up commensurate with the first foot placed on the
pilgrimage track
5 – Journey
 Core business of walking every day; engagement and
trouble shooting
 Managing pre-existing issues
 Data gathering consistent with the individual’s project
 Managing a tsunami quantity of pedagogy
 MBC (Moving between Cultures)
 Using Languages
 Making Linguistic Connections
 When appropriate, creating and drafting written texts after
the walking and daily routines have first been completed
6 - Arrival
 Invariably, arrival is at Santiago de Compostela
 Celebrating appropriately
 Receiving either the certificate of attainment or the
“Compostela”
 Exploring for 2/3 days (maximum) the World Heritage listed
city
 Decision to keeping walking to Finisterre/Fisterra (Galician)
 The role and core-business of the walker-pilgrim changes
 Opportunities to write more
 Challenges and issues when walking stops after 30 days
7 - Return
 Pilgrim returning to:
 Country & home
 Community
 Family; friends and colleagues
 Work; studies and familiar routines
 Opportunities for further reflection and time-
permitting, frenetic writing opportunities
 Completion of pedagogical projects and assignments
as agreed (educational contract) to or as an aim
8 - Reintegration
 The individual/subject who was a pilgrim on the track
is reinserting himself/herself into their previous lives…
into their previous roles and responsibilities
 However: this reinsertion is never quite the same as it
was before departure
 Evidence of modifications and transformations
showing up
 Detachment is taking place between past and present
emotions and feelings
 WIP (the individual is a ‘work in progress’)
9 – Working up the experiences
 Taking place internally is both analysis of the experiences
and then a synthesis coming to the surface
 The returned pilgrim is constantly engaging in
 Reflection; memory recall; images of their pilgrimage; the comings
and goings of their consciousness
 In pedagogical terms:
 All assignments, research topics, questions, personal interests
have been published or will shortly be published or posted on
the internet
 Professional language journal of the journey is completed
Conclusion
 In Kenneth Grahame’s The Wind in the Willows Toad has
just informed Mole and Rat that “Boating” is now
definitively passé, rather he has discovered the pleasures
and attractions of the “open road”..
 “…the dusty highway, the heath, the common, the
hedgerows, the rolling downs! Camps, villages, towns,
cities! Here today, up and off to somewhere else
tomorrow! Travel, change, interest, excitement! The
whole world before you, and a horizon that’s always
changing! And mind!”
 For a pilgrim journeying on foot along the pilgrimage
routes with languages you cannot do better and you go
further in every sense of the word.
Recommended bibliography
 David Gitlitz’s & Linda Kay Davidson’s text (2000): The
Pilgrimage Road to Santiago – The Complete Cultural
Handbook – including art; architecture ISBN 0-312-25416-4;
geology; history; folklore; saints’ lives; flora & fauna.
 Conrad Rudolph’s (2004) Pilgrimage to the End of the World –
the Road to Santiago de Compostela ISBN 0-22673127-8
 The Pilgrim’s Guide – a 12th Century Guide for the Pilgrim to
St James of Compostela – Translated from the Latin by James
Hogarth – Published by the Confraternity of St James, 1992.
Known as the Codex Calixtinus
 Denise Péricard-Méa (2006) Les routes de Compostelle
Editions Jean-Paul Gisserot