Optimizing Student Success: Focused Curriculum, Meaningful Assessment, and Effective Instruction

One of the greatest challenges facing foreign language teachers is the pressure to ‘cover the curriculum.’ Jeff Golub (1993) noted “when one must cover items—and usually there are far too many items in the curriculum anyway to be covered adequately—one tends to focus on teaching content instead of teaching students” (p. 3). Classroom teaching has often focused too narrowly on the memorization of information in a setting that resembles what Freire dubs the “banking model,” depositing knowledge without regard for the individual background knowledge and experiences. Language standards have broadened our sense of what we teach and why. These standards promote three purposes for learning a language: to communicate interpersonally, to interpret, or to present information and ideas. Individual state standards delineate performance outcomes, what students should be able to do (e.g. write a personal communication such as, a note, letter, or invitation) at various levels of language learning. These standards guide our choices of what to teach, but the curriculum must still be adapted to meet the age, needs, and interests of the students in our classrooms

Optimizing Student Success: Focused Curriculum, Meaningful Assessment, and Effective Instruction

One of the greatest challenges facing foreign language teachers is the pressure to ‘cover the curriculum.’ Jeff Golub (1993) noted “when one must cover items—and usually there are far too many items in the curriculum anyway to be covered adequately—one tends to focus on teaching content instead of teaching students” (p. 3). Classroom teaching has often focused too narrowly on the memorization of information in a setting that resembles what Freire dubs the “banking model,” depositing knowledge without regard for the individual background knowledge and experiences. Language standards have broadened our sense of what we teach and why. These standards promote three purposes for learning a language: to communicate interpersonally, to interpret, or to present information and ideas. Individual state standards delineate performance outcomes, what students should be able to do (e.g. write a personal communication such as, a note, letter, or invitation) at various levels of language learning. These standards guide our choices of what to teach, but the curriculum must still be adapted to meet the age, needs, and interests of the students in our classrooms

Fostering Connections, Empowering Communities, Celebrating the World

Selected Papers from the 2016 Central States Conference on the Teaching of Foreign Languages Editor: Aleidine Moeller, University of Nebraska-Lincoln 1. Analyzing Song Lyrics as an Authentic Language Learning Opportunity — Georgia Coats 2. Prose Combat: Contemporary Target Language Songs as Authentic Text — Kirsten Halling & Pascale Abadie 3. Enhancing the Use of Music in Language Learning through Technology — Nick Ziegler 4. The Case for Integrating Dance in the Language Classroom — Angela N. Gardner 5. Digital Language Learning: Bringing Community to the Classroom — Leah McKeeman & Blanca Oviedo 6. Digital Storytelling in the Foreign Language Classroom — Martha E. Castañeda & Nohelia Rojas-Miesse 7. Collaborative Online International Learning: Students and Professors Making Global Connections — Diane Ceo-DiFrancesco & Delane Bender-Slack 8. In Search of Defining “Best Practice:” A K–16 Connection — Susan M. Knight 9. Challenges and Triumphs of Co-Teaching in the World Language Classroom — Katrina M. Reinhardt & Rose Q. Egan 10. Developing World Language Students’ Proficiency with Reader’s Workshops and Extensive Reading During Literature Circles— Brigid M. Burke 11. Fostering Connections: Using Memorials to Teach History in Study Abroad —.Susanne Wagner 12. Analyzing Interpretive Communication in the AP German Culture and Language — Cori Crane 286 pp

Portfolio Assessment: A Showcase for Growth and Learning in the Foreign Language Classroom

There has been an explosion of studies and research attempts to find viable alternatives to the practice of assigning students a single letter grade in each subject in school (Jongsma 1989; McLean 1990; Stiggins 1991; Wolf 1988, 1989). It is argued that aspects such as effort, progress, and achievement are often ignored in the single grade and that letter grades indicate neither what students know and can do in a subject area nor the student\u27s strengths and weaknesses. Innovations in curriculum and instruction such as whole language, cooperative learning, and outcome-based education call for a more flexible approach to reporting achievement (O\u27Neil 1993). Developing abilities should be measured frequently with a multidimensional variety of tasks. Students are encouraged to take risks in the new teaching practices to help them build confidence and encourage creativity. To assign a grade defeats the purpose of the class and can undermine new teaching practices. Because of the limitations that a single grade imposes, several educators have examined the value of using portfolio assessment as an alternative form of evaluation in classrooms (Camboume and Turbill 1990; Paulson et al. 1991; Valencia 1990; Wolf 1989)

Learn Languages, Explore Cultures, Transform Lives

Selected Papers from the 2015 Central States Conference on the Teaching of Foreign Languages Aleidine J. Moeller, Editor 1. Creating a Culture-driven Classroom One Activity at a Time — Sharon Wilkinson, Patricia Calkins, & Tracy Dinesen 2. The Flipped German Classroom — Theresa R. Bell 3. Engaging Learners in Culturally Authentic Virtual Interactions —Diane Ceo-Francesco 4. Jouney to Global Competence: Learning Languages, Exploring Cultures, Transforming Lives — J. S. Orozco-Domoe 5. Strangers in a Strange Land: Perceptions of Culture in a First-year French Class — Rebecca L. Chism 6. 21st Century World Language Classrooms: Technology to Support Cultural Competence — Leah McKeeman & Blanca Oviedo 7. Effective Cloud-based Technologies to Maximize Language Learning — Katya Koubek & John C. Bedward 8. An Alternative to the Language Laboratory: Online and Face-to-face Conversation Groups — Heidy Cuervo Carruthers 9. Free Online Machine Translation: Use and Perceptions by Spanish Students and Instructors —Jason R. Jolley & Luciane Maimone 10. A Corpus-based Pedagogy for German Vocabulary — Colleen Neary-Sundquist 11. Grammar Teaching Approaches for Heritage Learners of Spanish —Clara Burgo 12. Going Online: Research-based Course Design — Elizabeth Harsm

Creating a Culturally Relevant Environment for the African American Learner in the Foreign Language Classroom

Several developments have transformed the way the foreign language classroom looks, the role the teacher and the learner assume, and the approaches and strategies we use to teach and learn second languages. These changes stem from fundamental gains in the knowledge base of how second languages are acquired and learned as well as experimental inquiry into a variety of educational innovations such as cooperative learning, multiple intelligences, and the integration of technology into the classroom. Qualitative, quantitative, and action research have provided the foreign language profession evidence upon which to make informed decisions to build a classroom environment designed to optimize learning for all students. One area that requires further research and inqui1y is how teachers can meet the challenge of optimizing learning for students of color. Hancock (1994) points out that few African American students enroll in and continue foreign language study compared to students from other cultural groups. He observes that African American students tend not to achieve as well as other students, even when they do enroll in such study (p. 9). Brigman and Jacobs (1981) concur that those minority students who do study foreign languages at the college level are not performing as well (p. 376)

Can We Learn a Language Without Rules?

If an individual were to have fallen into a deep sleep for 100 years, much like Rip van Winkle, and awakened to the world as it is today, the changes in modes of transportation, space travel, and computer technology would evoke a sense of awe. The one constant that may appear unaffected by time is a place called school. Here one could find students sitting in a classroom, at desks, in a row, listening to a teacher who poses questions to be answered by students. Certainly this is not always the case, there are exceptions, but generally it still holds true. The same can be said about how we teach foreign languages, more specifically, how we teach grammar in the language classroom. Typically we see grammar taught by introducing rules using the first language (L1) through repetitive drills and worksheets. Is this the most effective way to teach language structures? Certainly grammar constitutes an integral part of language instruction and with the development of communicative language teaching and standards-based instruction, the question of how best to teach grammar in the classroom is still heavily debated. The purpose of this article is to summarize the prevailing perspectives and theories of grammar teaching, provide an update on empirical studies, and present effective strategies and examples of grammar tasks that promote grammatical competence and support the second language (L2) learning process that is in concert with research, theory, and best practices

Leadership and Its Ripple Effect on Research

In this chapter we would like to address the impact visionary leadership can have on a field of research. Through forward-looking ideas and projects, an organizational leader’s influence on those who test, research, and inquire into issues that build and deepen the knowledge base in second language acquisition and foreign language education is illustrated through an innovative professional development program that was developed during Helene Zimmer-Loew’s tenure as executive director of the American Association of Teachers of German (AATG). The ripple effect of progressive leadership that inspires others to contribute actively to the well-being of a profession, or an organization, can be felt far and wide. The research studies described below provide substantial evidence of the powerful impact of an organization’s forward-thinking leadership on classroom instruction and student learning

Teaching culture in the 21st century language classroom

The paper presents an overview of the research on teaching culture and describes effective pedagogical practices that can be integrated into the second language curriculum. Particularly, this overview tries to advance an approach for teaching culture and language through the theoretical construct of the 3Ps (Products, Practices, Perspectives), combined with an inquiry-based teaching approach utilizing instructional technology. This approach promotes student motivation and engagement that can help overcome past issues of stereotyping and lack of intercultural awareness. The authors summarize the research articles illustrating how teachers successfully integrate digital media together with inquiry learning into instruction to create a rich and meaningful environment in which students interact with authentic data and build their own understanding of a foreign culture’s products, practices, and perspectives. In addition, the authors review the articles that describe more traditional methods of teaching culture and demonstrate how they can be enhanced with technology

Improving Teacher Quality Through an On-Line Professional Development Course: A Research Study

This study investigated how in-service teachers of foreign languages constructed knowledge, and how this knowledge transformed their teaching, their beliefs, and their sense of themselves as professionals in an on-line professional development course based on a constructivist approach. This article provides an overview of research on distance education, constructivism, and teacher education with findings from a multiple case study of an on-line graduate course on Instructional Planning offered through GOLDEN (German On-line Distance Education Network; http://manila.unl.edu/amoeller/golden), a collaborative professional development project of the AATG (American Association of Teachers of German; http://aatg.org/member_services/lists/aatg-l.html ), the Goethe Institut of Washington DC (http://www.goethe.de/ins/us/was/enindex.htm ), and the University of Nebraska-Lincoln. A non-traditional, constructivist approach to learning was implemented in which students and instructors became co-constructors of new information and knowledge. The study investigated in- service teachers\u27 instructional practices, beliefs, and reflections in an on-line course. The data were collected through extensive, multiple sources of information, including interviews, online observations, teachers\u27 narratives, course documents and artifacts, and e-mail communication between the participants and the instructors. This study provides in-depth investigation of four individual cases. The findings offer important insights for further online professional development and for distance education courses in general