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Content Type: 1
Title: Ideas for the Last Day of Class
Body:
From https://listserv.buffalo.edu/cgi-bin/wa
Recently an FLTEACH listserv subscriber asked for ideas for the last day or few of class. Read what other teachers suggested by going to https://listserv.buffalo.edu/cgi-bin/wa?A2=ind1606&L=FLTEACH&P=R2747&I=-3&d=No+Match%3BMatch%3BMatches and then clicking on “Next” by “By Topic.”
Source: FLTEACH
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Content Type: 4
Title: Thematic Axis
Body:
This activity was created for intermediate high and advanced low students enrolled in a hybrid online language course. It is included to show a cross-curricular activity with clear connections to history courses that could be part of a PBL experience based on the Civil Rights Movement.
Learning Objectives: Learners will be able to:
- Read a historical article or blog to understand the context for modern-day issues
- Discuss facts of historical significance
- Demonstrate understanding of objective and subjective language
Modes: Interpretive Reading, Interpersonal Speaking, Presentational Speaking
Materials Needed: Historical article about issues related to race in the local community, Thematic axis handout
Procedure:
- After introducing learners to issues related to race in their communities, provide them with an article about the historical context of said issues that is similar to http://www.oregonlive.com/hillsboro/index.ssf/2014/02/black_history_month_oregons_ex.html. Give them a homework assignment to summarize the importance or relevance of key personas, dates, and terms as they relate to issues related to race.
- The next day in class, students will form pairs and will debate and discuss (either verbally or with synchronous chat) where the terms that they researched belong on a thematic axis using the thematic axis handout (for hybrid courses, the learners must replicate this axis on www.mind42.com or another online source that allows for synchronous collaboration). For this particular activity, the y-axis is a progression from racism to tolerance, and the x-axis is a progression from segregation to integration. For example, if learners deem a particular term to positively impact integration more than another term, it should be placed farther to the right on the x-axis. Remember to remind learners that it is important that they support their objective opinions with subjective information from the article as they debate.
- Next, learners should review common ways to convey objectivity or subjectivity in the language that they are learning to review some of the techniques that the employed in Step 2 and to learn about new techniques. This review can come from a lecture or outside research. A resource such as “Objective Language: Writing Center Learning Guide” (https://www.adelaide.edu.au/writingcentre/learning_guides/learningGuide_objectiveLanguage.pdf) is a good place to start.
- After that, learners must work to explain (in either a written or spoken format) why they chose to place 5-10 of their terms in their specific location on the axis. For example, they should explain why they think one term has/had a larger impact on integration than another. They should be intentional about incorporating some of the objective and subjective language techniques that they learned about.
- Finally, learners should reflect on how well they were able to employ the aforementioned techniques when they discussed facts of historical significance and set a goal for future use of subjective and objective language. They should record this reflection in a reflection journal or an exit ticket.
Notes: This activity is introductory in nature but could easily be adapted to be a review at the end of a unit of study. Also, this activity incorporates Place-Based Learning. This is the reason that it is focused on the local community. Educators may wish to conduct a follow-up activity in which learners compare and contrast the Civil Rights Movement locally with similar movements abroad.
Source: CASLS Activity of the Week
Inputdate: 2016-06-15 11:03:42
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Content Type: 3
Title: Project Based Learning and the Cross-Curricular Approach of Smaller Learning Communities
Body:
By Stephanie Knight, CASLS Language Technology Specialist
Project Based Learning (PBL) is carefully integrated into Smaller Learning Communities (SLCs) throughout the country due to the standards of practice set forth by the National Career Academy Coalition. These standards (http://www.ncacinc.com/sites/default/files/media/documents/nsop_with_cover.pdf) advocate for all subjects to consider the overarching theme of an academy, engendering the development of cross-curricular units. While the overall impact of this approach to education is debatable within some contexts (consider this piece regarding inequality in schools http://www.theatlantic.com/education/archive/2016/04/do-career-academies-work/478863/), the idea that certain concepts are cross-curricular in nature and can positively influence student learning is not (Erikson, 2012). A cross-curricular approach to PBL has the potential to meaningfully engage even the most disassociated students in the classroom.
In order for cross-curricular PBL to be effective, each subject area involved has to contribute a meaningful component to the project. Arriving at this meaningful component can be tricky, particularly for world language teachers (my own experience is littered with recommendations that my students’ contribution to a project be the translation of work created in a history or English class. While this recommendation could be fine in some contexts, like creating a health services pamphlet for immigrants speaking the target language within the local community, it was typically a suggestion that fell outside of what Wiggins (1989) would refer to as “authentic” (p. 704).
In order to avoid the superficial integration of the world language class in the development of a cross-curricular unit, teachers from all disciplines should work together to discuss what concepts they teach (e.g., balance, change, power, or community) and how they teach them. This conversation will likely yield meaningful connections that practitioners can develop so that they plan the project in question with intention. Take the unit outline below for example.
Concepts: Change, power
Unit question: How does change impact power dynamics?
Subjects involved: French, Spanish, History, and Mathematics
Overarching topic: Colonization of the New World
Subtopics: Cultural diaspora (French and Spanish), Land ownership and whitening equations (History), Exponential growth and decay (Mathematics)
Final Project:
Step 1: History students are given a list of historical figures in the New World with some African ancestry and are tasked with figuring out when members of each figure’s family could hold property according to the laws that existed. They will use this information to create a series of maps to document the possible integration of races coexisting on Hispaniola overtime.
Step 2: French and Spanish students conduct research of the primary resources available from the Berkeley Library at the University of California (http://guides.lib.berkeley.edu/history/latinamerica/ps-caribbean) to find out any of the information that they can about the historical figures (including the “purity” of their blood) and/or the laws regarding property ownership in their communities. They create a report of these findings.
Step 3: The math students then use equations of exponential growth and decay to determine the “purity” of the blood of the potential property owners and their families to estimate when someone from a given lineage might be able to own property.
Step 4: The history students then take the information from the other students to make their maps and conduct further research to see if the mathematical predictions were correct and to discern the cause of any discrepancies (such as the passage of new laws).
In this example unit, every student in every class has the potential to contribute meaningful work, a meaningfulness that is not undermined for students who are not enrolled in all three courses. Furthermore, each learner is able to be an amateur practitioner of the subject that he or she is studying. The learning that goes on in this project is the type of learning that has endurance
References:
Anderson, M. (2016). How effective are ‘Career Academies’? The Atlantic. Retrieved from http://www.theatlantic.com/education/archive/2016/04/do-career-academies-work/478863/.
Berkeley Library at the University of California. History: Latin America. Primary Sources: Caribbean. Retrieved from http://guides.lib.berkeley.edu/history/latinamerica/ps-caribbean.
Erikson, H.L. (2012). Concept-based teaching and learning. IB position paper. Retrieved from http://www.ibmidatlantic.org/Concept_Based_Teaching_Learning.
National Career Academy Coalition (2013). National standards of practice for career academies. Retrieved from http://www.ncacinc.com/sites/default/files/media/documents/nsop_with_cover.pdf.
Wiggins, G. (1989). A true test: Toward more authentic and equitable assessment. The Phi Delta Kappan. 70 (9). 703-713.
Source: CASLS Topic of the Week
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Content Type: 5
Title: ST LFO to Go: Proficiency in Your Pocket
Body:
The Center for Applied Second Language Studies at the University of Oregon is pleased to announce the recent release of the new ST LFO to Go, a mobile app for STARTALK programs (https://itunes.apple.com/us/app/st-lfo-to-go/id907765318?mt=8). This app is free and allows learners to use their mobile devices to upload and reflect upon evidence that they create for LinguaFolio Online (LFO), the online version of the language portfolio LinguaFolio created by the National Council of State Supervisors for Foreign Languages (NCSSFL).
ST LFO to Go allows learners to capture and reflect upon their language use both within and beyond the four walls of the classroom. For example, a learner can use the app to document classroom interactions and activities. That same learner can then use the app to capture photo, video, and audio evidence of his language encounters that occur within the community after school hours. The app also allows learners to upload text evidence, embed work from external websites such as YouTube, and upload preexisting evidence from their devices.
We are excited for everyone to try out ST LFO to Go and are confident in its ability to positively impact the world language classroom. For LinguaFolio Online users who do not participate in STARTALK programs, please note that the updated versions of LinguaFolio Online and LFO to Go are coming in August 2016!
For more information about LFO to Go or LinguaFolio Online, visit lfonetwork.uoregon.edu. The STARTALK Program administered by the National Foreign Language Center at the University of Maryland supports development of STARTALK LinguaFolio Online and ST LFO to Go.
Source: CASLS Spotlight
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Content Type: 4
Title: Unit: Understanding Different Scenarios in Immigration
Body:
This unit was planned in collaboration with and implemented by Andrea Bohling at Glastonbury Public Schools. A prior version of this unit (Wallace and Tombarello, forthcoming) is published in Byram, Perugini, and Wagner (forthcoming).
In the following, we share a unit we developed for Spanish 5 as a culmination of a year-long study based on topics related to immigration (e.g., stereotypes, identity, immigrant populations, and the immigrant experience as an all encompassing concept). The student population that took on this specific assignment were juniors in high school, with the exception of two students who were seniors.
Collaboration:
When Andrea volunteered to collaborate with Fabiana, Manuela and Michael to integrate intercultural citizenship in the final unit of her Spanish 5 level 1 and level 2 high school classes, Manuela suggested that they modify a unit developed by Deanne Wallace and Jocelyn Tamborello (forthcoming) because that unit seemed to be a good fit for Andrea’s objectives in her class. Over the next weeks, we met in person and online to modify the unit and to design the following assignments and assessments.
Main goals:
The main goal for this activity was twofold. First, the objective was to allow students to utilize the cultural information and insights they had studied throughout the year in order to better understand the immigrant experience. With a focus on Puerto Rican, Mexican and Dominican immigrant groups, students were expected to incorporate mathematical concepts and calculations in order to design, as interpreters/facilitators, a product that addressed all fundamental necessities to establish a life, as an immigrant, in the United States. Secondly, students were required to produce a piece of reflective writing addressing and considering their experiences while facilitating the process of creating an action plan for the designated immigrant families for getting settled in the USA. Using a specific writing prompt, as well as an ICC and Proficiency rubric that delineated the expectations (See: ICC Project Final Reflection Rubric and ICC Project Product Rubric), students produced a piece that culminated their experiences as students of the Spanish 5 curriculum. As detailed in the final reflection prompt (See: ICC Project Description), students were encouraged to reflect on the different aspects (challenges, triumphs and obstacles) that may be part of an immigrant’s experience and, as complemented by the activity’s investigation, they were prompted to synthesize the unique and ever evolving nature that characterizes the immigration and assimilation processes. Students were expected to use Spanish throughout all conversations, reports, and presentations. As such, this project serves as a teaching tool for developing students’ intercultural communicative competence as well as an assessment of what they have learned in the prior units.
Context of Implementation:
Throughout the school year, Andrea’s students had learned about immigration as well as the different immigrant groups in the United States, mainly from Puerto Rico, the Dominican Republic, and Mexico. In her final project, Andrea intended to address intercultural competence (IC) (Byram, 1997) and intercultural citizenship (ICC) (Byram, 2008; see also Part 1 and Part 2 of Wagner and Byram, 2016, and Wagner, Cardetti, and Byram, 2016). She had a solid foundation in these theories having worked with them in her methods course and also in her inquiry project in her graduate studies. Nevertheless she shared with us that she would love to see concrete examples of how to teach and assess IC and ICC.
The Spanish 5 curriculum at Glastonbury High School has the following as its essential questions:
- Who are we?
- What are the concepts of “self” in Hispanic cultures and in diverse societies?
- How does self-identity change?
In addressing these questions, all students following the Spanish 5 curriculum delve into the study of the different Spanish-speaking immigrant groups (specifically the Dominicans, the Puerto Ricans and the Mexicans) in the United States. As students learn about these groups’ historical backgrounds, they are also able to further analyze the commonly held and continuously perpetuated stereotypes and preconceptions that exist about these immigrants in a way that allows students to uncover the richly varied experiences that separate these groups from one another. Students learn about the immigrant experiences that each group has, based on their unique history and relationship to the United States. In addition, students are faced with questions about the processes of coming-of-age, language acquisition, and assimilation; in addressing these inquiries students are encouraged to dissect the different dimensions of the immigrant experience.
Two of the three classes following this curriculum were “Spanish 5, Level 2” classes. Students at this level range between an Intermediate Low (IL) and Intermediate Mid (IM) based on the ACTFL Proficiency Scale for Speaking. The third class of students, “Spanish 5, Level 1” are estimated to range between an Intermediate Mid (IM) to an Advanced Low (AL). Due to each class’s composition, students were arranged in groups of four, three or pairs in order to complete this assignment.
Project Description:
As a concluding activity students were able to incorporate prior knowledge on the different immigrant groups, as well as the information on both the causes and the process that constitute immigration to the United States in order to prepare a logical action plan for an immigrant family with specific characteristics.
The allotted class time for the production of their plan, as well as the research and data organization needed for it, was a week and a half. This is the first time, we implemented this unit and we decided to use this as a pilot project which can be modified for later implementations. All reflections, pre and post assignment, were completed at home; however, preparation and organization for the final reflection was assembled during class time following an organizer prepared specifically for these classes (See: ICC Project Final Reflection Organizer).
Project Implementation:
Download a day-by-day description of the project implementation along with the teacher's reflection here.
Additional Materials
- ICC Project Survey
- ICC Project Description
- ICC Project Product Rubric
- ICC Project Final Reflection Organizer
- ICC Project Final Reflection Rubric
References
Byram, Perugini, and Wagner (forthcoming). Implementing intercultural communication in the classroom. In Byram, M., Perugini, D., & Wagner, M. (forthcoming). Teaching Intercultural Competence Across the Age Range: Theory and Practice. Clevedon, UK: Multilingual Matters.
Wagner and Byram (2016). Developing Intercultural Communicative Competence in the World Language Classroom. CASLS InterCom. Available from http://caslsintercom.uoregon.edu/content/21228.
Wagner, Cardetti, and Byram (2016). Developing Intercultural Communicative Competence in the World Language Classroom and Beyond. CASLS InterCom. Available from http://caslsintercom.uoregon.edu/content/21294.
Wallace and Tombarello (forthcoming). Teaching Intercultural Competence Across the Age Range: Theory and Practice. Clevedon, UK: Multilingual Matters.
Source: CASLS Topic of the Week
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Title: Special Issue of Linguistics and Education: Scalar Approaches to Language Learning and Teaching
Body:
The June 2016 issue of Linguistics and Education is available at http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/journal/08985898/34
In this issue:
Introduction: Scales analysis, and its uses and prospects in educational linguistics
Suresh Canagarajah, Peter I. De Costa
Moral panic about sexual promiscuity: Heterogeneous scales in the identification of one middle-school Latina girl
Katherine Clonan-Roy, Catherine R. Rhodes, Stanton Wortham
Scaling emotions and identification: Insights from a scholarship student
Peter I. De Costa
Global informal learning environments and the making of Chinese middle class
Jie Dong, Jan Blommaert
Shuttling between scales in the workplace: Reexamining policies and pedagogies for migrant professionals
Suresh Canagarajah
Producing change and stability: A scalar analysis of Paraguayan bilingual education policy implementation
Katherine S. Mortimer
Source: Linguistics and Education
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Title: Book: The Power of Identity and Ideology in Language Learning
Body:
From http://www.springer.com/us/book/9783319302096
The Power of Identity and Ideology in Language Learning: Designer Immigrants Learning English in Singapore
By Peter I. De Costa
Published by Springer
This critical ethnographic school-based case study offers insights on the interaction between ideology and the identity development of individual English language learners in Singapore. Illustrated by case studies of the language learning experiences of five Asian immigrant students in an English-medium school in Singapore, the author examines how the immigrant students negotiated a standard English ideology and their discursive positioning over the course of the school year. Specifically, the study traces how the prevailing standard English ideology interacted in highly complex ways with their being positioned as high academic achievers to ultimately influence their learning of English. This potent combination of language ideologies and circulating ideologies created a designer student immigration complex. By framing this situation as a complex, the study problematizes the power of ideologies in shaping the trajectories and identities of language learners.
Visit the publisher’s website at http://www.springer.com/us/book/9783319302096
Source: Springer
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Title: Book: The Routledge Handbook of English Language Teaching
Body:
The Routledge Handbook of English Language Teaching
Edited by Graham Hall
Published by Routledge Taylor & Francis Group
Progressing from ‘broader’ contextual issues to a ‘narrower’ focus on classrooms and classroom discourse, the Routledge Handbook of English Language Teaching’s inter-related themes focus on:
• ELT in the world: contexts and goals
• planning and organizing ELT: curriculum, resources and settings
• methods and methodology: perspectives and practices
• second language learning and learners
• teaching language: knowledge, skills and pedagogy
• understanding the language classroom.
The Handbook’s 39 chapters are written by leading figures in ELT from around the world. Mindful of the diverse pedagogical, institutional and social contexts for ELT, they convincingly present the key issues, areas of debate and dispute, and likely future developments in ELT from an applied linguistics perspective.
Throughout the volume, readers are encouraged to develop their own thinking and practice in contextually appropriate ways, assisted by discussion questions and suggestions for further reading that accompany every chapter.
Visit the publisher’s website at https://www.routledge.com/The-Routledge-Handbook-of-English-Language-Teaching/Hall/p/book/9780415747394
Source: Routledge
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Title: Book: International Perspectives on Bilingualism
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From http://www.cambridgescholars.com/international-perspectives-on-bilingualism
International Perspectives on Bilingualism
Edited by Lydia Sciriha
Published by Cambridge Scholars Publishing
The seventeen chapters brought together in this volume represent a selection of papers presented at the International Conference on Bilingualism held in March 2015 at the University of Malta’s Valletta campus. The multifaceted nature of the conference is evident in the diverse viewpoints from a range of authors who analyze aspects of the linguistic situations in Brazil, Bulgaria, France, Germany, Greece, Israel, Italy, Macau, Malta, Poland, Romania, Sri Lanka, and the United Kingdom. The volume comprises chapters on Code-Switching, Linguistic Landscape, Bilingualism, Culture and Identity, Language Policy, Bilingual Education, and Trilingualism.
Visit the publisher’s website at http://www.cambridgescholars.com/international-perspectives-on-bilingualism
Source: Cambridge Scholars Publishing
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Title: Call for Papers: 2016 Central Slavic Conference
Body:
From http://www.slu.edu/international-studies-program/central-slavic-conference/2016-conference
The 2016 Central Slavic Conference will be held October 21-23, 2016, in St. Louis, Missouri. Scholars in all disciplines working in Slavic, Eurasian, and East European Studies are invited to submit proposals for panels, individual papers, and roundtables.
The deadline for submissions is August 1, 2016
View the full call for proposals at http://www.slu.edu/Documents/arts_sciences/International%20Studies/CSC_callforpapers_2016b.pdf
Source: Saint Louis University
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