FOREIGN LANGUAGE
TEACHING METHODS FOR SECONDARY SCHOOL STUDENTS AND ADULTS
FLE 4375
undergraduate level
FLE 6336 graduate
level
Dr Eric S Dwyer
Florida International University
Fall 2001
Class: Tuesdays,
7:50 to 10:30 pm, ZEB 110
Office: University
Park campus,
Ziff
Education Building 353
phone: 305
348-2078
fax: 305
531-8733
email: dwyere@fiu.edu
Office hours: Tuesday 3:30
to 7:30 pm
Wednesday 3:30
to 7:30 pm
Thursday 3:30
to 7:30 pm
REQUIRED TEXT and
RESERVE MATERIALS
There is a required reading list that
will be available. The following books are also on reserve in the Green
Library. Please feel free to refer to these books as often as you can:
Allen, Edward David, and Valette, Rebecca M. (1977). Classroom
Techniques: Foreign Languages and English as a Second Language. New York: Harcourt
Brace Jovanovich, Inc.
Maley, Alan, and Duff, Alan (1982). Drama Techniques in Language
Learning. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
McCaslin, Nellie (1996). Creative Drama in the Classroom and Beyond. Sixth edition. White
Plains, NY: Longman.
For descriptions of general expectations
of the course, what
you can expect from the professor, what happens during housekeeping, and
policy statements on class
participation, please see Eric’s
web site at
http://www.fiu.edu/~dwyere
PURPOSE OF THE COURSE
This
course provides an overview of contemporary methods of teaching foreign
languages in secondary schools and adult or higher education. Current
approaches for interactive teaching skill areas (listening, speaking, reading,
writing, grammar, vocabulary, and culture) will be analyzed and practiced.
Throughout the course, students will explore their own beliefs about the
teaching and learning processes and develop awareness of the knowledge, skills,
and attitudes that are characteristic of foreign language teachers.
ASSIGNMENTS
technology project
You will be asked to design a technology project corresponding to
• one
of the benchmarks
• one
of the four language skills
• a
specific proficiency level.
This project must
incorporate two of the following components:
• email
correspondence, chat, bulletin board, or discussion
• web
search
• use
of a web site reading in the target language
• use
of an on-line dictionary
• enhanced
reading text
• on-line
quiz
and one of the
following components:
• creation
of a web page
• creation
of a Power Point presentation
Provide specific
details and instructions on how to use the lesson plan such that I can work
through the lesson on my own without much hassle. You may work with a partner on this project.
reflections from classroom observations
You are required to spend a significant amount of time in a secondary
school classroom as an observer of foreign language teaching. If you would like
to split time between a middle school and a senior high school, that would be
fine, though not required. Additionally, if you are teaching currently, some of
the observation
requirements entail
your own helping of students; as a result, you may apply the time involved in
aiding your own students on these.
You will have to make arrangements with the student teaching office in
room 230 on the second floor of the Education Building. The teacher you observe
must by law be certified in the State of Florida.
Once you are in the classroom, you will need to answer 28 questions. You
only need to spend enough time observing so that these questions are thoroughly
answered. Additionally, in an effort to make connections between our class and
your field experience, these answers must relate your observations to the
literature and class conversations.
In writing your reports, you must show distribution
of experiences and change over time, and the description of these changes must
be as detailed as possible. It is not OK to say, “The atmosphere fosters
communication.” You must justify such a statement with examples across
the time of the observations period. One possibility for showing change across
the semester is to design a timeline for each question that necessitates it.
For
statements with a conclusion like, “The story fits well with the
students,” you must describe how you reached that conclusion, preferably
before you make such a broad statement. This is the opportunity to establish
critical details.
For
the list of the 28
questions, please look at
http://www.fiu.edu/~dwyere/secfleobservations.html
reflections from Thursday night
sessions
Following each class, jot down some notes about the class and
contemplate what just occurred. Go home and write your in-depth thoughts about
valuable concepts, ideas, and practices you learned from each of the activities
you observed in class, and send them to the class by email. These thoughts are
what you think you need to remember in order to maintain being a successful
teacher. Every set of reflections should relate to your career and foreign
language teaching in some way. As a result, please feel free to use first
person in this essay. Again, you’ll want to describe how your knowledge
has been transformed through this experience.
If I respond and ask you a question of some sort, you’ll want to
make certain you answer this question in subsequent email.
I will ask you for your email address so that I may officially invite
you to be a member of the course bulletin board. You will also want to check
your email periodically for bulletin board announcements. You will need to post
at least twice weekly: once with the members of our particular course, and once
with a group of students participating in a similar course at the University of
Texas.
These reflections are due each Monday by 12:00 noon. Also be aware that
one or two chat sessions will probably be called during the semester. These chat
sessions will be planned well in advance so that you can make appropriate plans
to participate, as participation is mandatory.
PRESENTATIONS
lesson plan
Each week, you will be asked to plan and present a mini-lesson to
illustrate a particular language learning activity that has to do with a
language learning skill and that applies to one of our Florida Sunshine
Standard Benchmarks. You may look at any of the texts on reserve in the Green
Library, in any other text, or in the Curriculum Planning Tool
for Secondary Education put out by the Florida
Department of Education. Lessons should demonstrate the effective use of
grouping, interesting materials and/or manipulatives, and creative and
appropriate use of visual aids if and where appropriate. Each lesson is limited
to 10 minutes. Additionally, information about the lesson’s purpose and
objective and how to modify it for other grades, proficiency levels, content
areas, and other language skill areas should be presented to the class.
Evaluation will be based on the appropriateness of the activity to the lesson
content, clarity of directions (a very big deal!!!), instructional
effectiveness, time control, and organization and completeness of information
about the lesson’s purpose, applicability, and adaptations. The entire
group will be assigned a single grade, so it is incumbent upon all members to
contribute to the overall success of the work.
NOTE: If you fail to include any student-centered activities in this
presentation, you will not be able to receive a grade higher than C- for the
entire course.
In each write up, provide the following
information:
• Subject/topic/grade
• Instructional
objectives
• Content
outline, complete with a description of what will be learned by the learners.
Please do in outline format.
• which
benchmarks it applies to
• which
of the four language skills it applies to
• which proficiency level it
applies to
• which
of the FEAPs you’re addressing
• which
of the Florida DOE 1999 standards you’re addressing
• which
aspects of the FIU conceptual framework you’re addressing
Each lesson plan will be evaluated with the
following criteria in mind:
Vocabulary
display
of essential new vocabulary and appropriate presentation of these included
display of
vocabulary used in a new way and appropriate presentation of these included
new vocabulary
presentation is interesting and student-involved
new
vocabulary presentation provides clear contrast in homophonic expressions
repetition of target vocabulary is included
Grammar
Analysis of
most important grammar issues and any descriptions of prose used in the
content/text
students are
given ample opportunities to observe new grammar issues
repetition of
target grammar structure is included
Cultural
Considerations
Analysis of
probable unfamiliar cultural concepts
big C cultural
items representing the target culture are included
big C items
referral includes a logical and accessible glossary
story line:
substantial knowledge of the subject displayed; empathy and respect for the language minority
student displayed
issues or
little C items included
teacher clearly
validates and adds input to the promotion and inclusion of language minority
culture
Teacher
Performance
the teacher
presents a positive attitude throughout
the
teacher’s voice is at an appropriate volume
teacher demonstrates qualities that make him/her
comfortably approachable by the students
teacher shows
great feel for timing and flow
all these
issues are at least attempted in the target language, or reliance on the
students’ home language is kept to a minimum
Input
of Paraphrased Language
teacher
pronounces appropriately (regardless of dialect) and helps students pronounce
difficult words teacher uses appropriately modified language to help present
content
2-word verbs
modals
instructions
strung
prepositional phrases
questions
passives
infinitive
phrases
clipped
passives + relative clauses
complex
sentences
re-statements
pivot
language
directions—either spoken or demonstrated—are such that
students should do the activity successfully (preferable attempted in the
target language)
The
Text (normal issues)
story line
(when appropriate): paragraph flow and rhetoric demonstrates fluent
expression,
clearly stated ideas, and logical sequencing
language use:
effective complex constructions, few errors of
agreement, tense, number, word order, articles, pronouns, prepositions
mechanics: few
errors of spelling, punctuation, capitalization, paragraphing
underlying
theme and/or moral is included, clear, and robust
Learning
Strategies
Analysis of the
learning strategies which may be used and presented
teacher makes
suitable choices of learning strategies
explicit
presentation and clear explanation of learning strategies
appropriate
application of learning strategies to target content
students get a
chance to apply strategies they can come up with on their own
The
lesson plan
Description of
content area or language arts area included
Grade level
and/or proficiency level included
Analysis of
concepts needing preteaching clear
Goals of the
lesson clearly stated
students have
chances to work aurally
students have
chances to work visually
students have
chances to work kinesthetically
teacher
encourages students to ask questions
explanation of
teacher’s role in the presentation or how a teacher could direct such a
lesson is included
activities are
more than 50 percent student centered
cooperative
learning is fostered
heterogeneous
teams are created
group must pool
information to come up with a single body of knowledge
groups have
chances to solve problems
group has a
chance to evaluate its own success or see the fruits of its hard work
students have
the opportunity to learn or reinforce self-evaluation strategy
students have
chance to work to see what they learned
answers to
questions are checked by students (either self-corrected or by peers)
students have a
place to track their own progress
expansion
assignment allows students reflection about personal experience or personal meaning
organization is
fluent, is logical, is well-sequenced, communicates thoughts appropriately, and
communicates goals successfully
spelling, good
sentence structure, fluency, easy-to-follow enumerations or bullet points, legibility
easy to follow, smooth logical transitions from one visual to the next,
colorful, legible or big enough to read, interesting, not overwhelming but not
too simplistic (i+1 represented)
CALP
and Higher Order Thinking Language
teacher asks
and encourages CALPS language
structure of
the story lends itself successfully to CALPS questions
the six
categories of BICS and CALPS successfully elicited
display of all
BICS/CALPS is evident: knowledge, comprehension, application, analysis,
synthesis, and evaluation
storytelling
You must tell a five-minute story in front of the class in the language
of your concentration. The story may be something personal or from another source.
If the story is not your own, please be sure to fill us in on the source.
While it is true that one of the purposes of this activity is to instill
the idea that anecdotes and their telling are major components of many language
classes, the primary purpose of the activity is to learn how to tell such
stories to the language learning audience. As a result, an evaluation of the
vocabulary, lexical items, and grammar will be necessary before the telling.
Additionally, students will need to take great care to pronounce accurately and
clearly at a rate of speech which is potentially comprehensible to foreign
language students.
As a result, the storytelling project for the semester will be in three
sections.
• First, tell the
story. Here now is a sample checklist
of issues you may wish to consider when establishing your story:
• Make certain the story is comprehensible.
• Story line is accessible (intro, body, climax,
dénouement/conclusion).
• Pronunciation is clear.
• Pronunciation is at an appropriate speed
throughout.
• Repetition of new vocabulary is included.
• An interesting voice is maintained.
• Gestures and facial expressions are used
• Make certain the story is culturally valid.
• Questions and problems are set up.
• Questions are resolved at the end.
•
Big C items are included.
• Know the story well.
•
Express emotion.
•
Be animated.
•
Be well-timed.
•
Use eye contact throughout the room.
•
Feel free to use great detail.
•
Maintain a clear direction, logic, and flow.
• Generate interest.
•
Instigate conversation.
•
Be real, yourself.
•
Be credible.
•
Build tension.
•
Instill empathy.
• Second, have in a set
of vocabulary, idiomatic expressions, and grammar issues that are potentially
part of the story they are telling.
• Third, write a list of 6 questions that represent
Bloom’s higher order thinking skills. In the writing of the questions,
students will need to indicate at which point before, during, or following the
story the question would be most appropriately asked. A follow-up activity may be entailed
with this exercise.
If you are, be sure to include a student-centered exercise. If this
exercise is not student-centered, you may not receive a grade higher than C-
for the entire course.
ASSIGNMENT FOR UNDERGRADUATE STUDENTS,
FLE 4375, ONLY
summaries from weekly readings
You will be responsible for having read the assigned material. Before
class, please be prepared to chat about the material with other classmates. For
each week of readings, you must write a five-sentence summary of one of the
articles from the reading
list. Please provide an APA
bibliographic entry, a three-sentence summary of each chapter, and a
two-sentence reaction, reflection, or conclusion about that chapter.
Here is a recommended structure for the annotation:
After the article has been cited in APA form, the annotation
should provide a three-sentence summary of the article. The first and/or second
sentence should indicate the author’s motivation for having written the
article in the first place, any procedures for collecting new information,
and/or the question being investigated. The second and/or third sentence should
fill us in on the results of the procedure and any conclusion the authors make.
In this summary, be clear about he authorship of these thoughts and ideas. In
other words, be sure to clarify, perhaps even in each of the sentences, that
the ideas belong to the writer.
In a second paragraph, write a two-sentence reaction to the article. In
this case, a reaction should not be a judgment statement of the article’s
value; in other words, don’t use words like good or useful. Be sure to
answer this question: “What did I learn?” In doing this, recall
that a quick definition of learning is the movement, alteration, or addition of
information in your mind. As a result, you will need to strive to write about
your synthesis of the new material with your previous knowledge on the topic.
Typical example regarding this synthesis may include
• This
event reminds me of . . .
• It
is interesting to bear in mind this author’s comments in light of another
author’s comments . . .
• Previously,
I was under the impression that . . . ; however, these authors help clarify
this point or add credence to this point in that they . . .
Each summary is worth
14 points based on the following rubric:
.5 title
1.5
motivation
for writing the article/chapter
1.5
procedure
for collecting data or establish new information or
creating the question being investigated
1.5
results and/or conclusions
1 authorship of summary clear
1 authorship of personal
comments clear
1.5
statement of how you knowledge or personal experience is altered
2 inclusion of synthesis with
other sources
2 appropriate spelling,
punctuation, etc.
1.5
limited to 5 sentences.
ASSIGNMENTS FOR
GRADUATE STUDENTS, FLE 6336, ONLY
cultural adaptation reading and panel
discussion
Read a nonfiction book concerning cultural adaptation and/or language
learning. Then write a paper that summarizes the book and applies its story to
the language learning concepts we’re applying in this course. Below are
some examples of recently acclaimed books on this topic; however, you are not
limited to these titles. In fact, this list is too limited as it stands right
now, so I’ll appreciate your adding to it. If you do go beyond this list,
please have the book
cleared with me before working on it. Here are some choices:
Cadet, Jean-Robert
(1998). Restavec: From Haitian Slave
Child to Middle-class American. University of Texas Press.
Cohan, Tony (2000). On Mexican Time. Broadway Books.
Fadiman, Anne (1998).
The Spirit Catches You and You Fall
Down. Farrar
Straus & Giroux.
Gonzalez-Pando,
Miguel (1998). The Cuban Americans. Greenwood Publishing Group.
Hopkins, Jerry
(1999). Strange Foods. Tuttle Publishing.
Hunt, Christopher
(1998). Waiting for Fidel. Houghton-Mifflin Company.
Mayle, Peter (1991). A Year in Provence. Vintage Books.
Lopez, Tiffany Anne
(1995). Growing Up Chicana. Avon Books.
Reid, T R (2000). Confucius Lives Next Door. Vintage Books.
Trevino Hart, Elva
(1999). Barefoot Heart: Stories of a Migrant Child.
Bilingual Review Press.
Upon the handing in
of this review, you will then be asked to coordinate with other participants in
this extra credit
project to give a
panel discussion in class on what you all learned.
take-home exam
At the point in the semester where we finish our module readings, you
will have a take-home exam to complete. You will have ten days to complete the
essay questions. The take home test must reflect the readings in detail. In
only a few instances are there paragraphs with no references; in fact, usually
a well-defended paragraph has two or more.
EXTRA CREDIT
computerized Japanese orthography
project
You may participate
in a computerized Japanese orthography study I’m conducting this semester.
Appropriate participation entails coming to my office for two sessions over two
days, the first of which can last up to an hour and a half. The second lasts no
more than 15 minutes. A reflection on this activity, as done with other
reflections, will yield extra points in the participation grade.
report on language conferences
Attend sessions of any of the following conferences:
Then turn in a written
report of a minimum of four at one or both of these conferences. Your report
must include the name of the presentation, the name of the presenter, the time
and room number of the presentation, and the signature of the presenter. Your
report must not only be a summary of the material presented, but a critical,
reflective discussion of the material, including a synthesis of materials
discussed in this course.
If you choose to do so, you may be fulfill this requirement for this
assignment by volunteering at the conference for four hours and turning in a
review of three sessions. You’ll also need the signature of the person
you volunteer for to fulfill the requirements for this option.
To receive student discounts for these conferences, you may need a
letter from your professor. I would be happy to provide you with one.
SAD AND DREARY MEAN STUFF
GRADES
A indicates that the
quality of content and presentation are of model quality and go beyond the
expectations of the course.
B indicates that the
quality of content and presentation are of satisfactory level and meet the
expectations of the course.
C indicates that the
requirements of the assignments still demand some changes in order to reach a
satisfactory level, thereby meeting the expectations of the course.
CALENDAR
August 28
Overview of course
Brown’s 12
principles
Masala Model
September 4
Listening: beginning
level
Benchmarks
Proficiency
Culture:
Big C and Small C
September 11 Listening:
intermediate level
Language Teaching History:
Grammar
Translation, Audiolingual, TPR
Bloom’s taxonomy; BICS/CALP
Giving instructions
September 18 Listening: advanced
level
Language Teaching History:
Natural
Approach, Notional Functional
Storytelling, Content, Learner Strategies
September 25 Speaking:
beginning level
Language Teaching History:
Community Language Learning
Learner
Style and Multiple Intelligences
October 2 Speaking:
intermediate level
Language Teaching History: Suggestopedia
October 9 Speaking:
advanced level
Language Teaching History: Silent Way
Begin storytelling projects
October 16 Reading:
beginning level
October 23
Reading: intermediate level
First
draft of field observation report due
October 30
Reading: advanced level
November 6
Writing: beginning level
Technology project due
Take home exam
handout out
(graduate students)
November 13
Graduate student panel discussion on
cultural readings
November 20
Writing: intermediate level
Tuesday night reflections due
November 27
Writing: advanced level
field observation report due
December 4
take home exam due, as well as any extra
Other dates of
importance:
September 14
Last day (by 5 pm) to apply for graduation
at the end of Fall 2001
September 22
Last day (by 1 pm) to withdraw from the
university
with a 25% refund
October 1
Last
day to sign up for student teaching for
Fall 2001. Please do this if you plan on taking a Supervised Teaching
course in Spring 2002.
October 20
Last day (by 1pm) to drop with a DR grade
More important web sites
For a list of the
Elementary Foreign Language Benchmarks from Florida’s Integrated
Curriculum Planning Tool for Elementary
Education (CPT),
please see
http://www.fiu.edu/~dwyere/flesbenchmarks.html
For the Florida DOE
Standards Commission: Preprofessional Compentencies and Educator Accomplished
Practices,
otherwise known as
the FEAPs, please see
http://www.fiu.edu/~dwyere/feaps.html
For the Florida
Department of Education 1999 requirements according to Department of
Education—Spanish
K-12, please see
http://www.fiu.edu/~dwyere/fldoe1999spnk-12.html
For the American
Council on Teaching Foreign Language
Standards, otherwise
known as “The 5 C’s, please see
http://www.fiu.edu/~dwyere/actfl5cs.html
For the FIU
Conceptual Framework: Specific points, please see
http://www.fiu.edu/~dwyere/fiuconceptual.html