Teaching Language in Schools I

Fall, 2000
EDCI 3724 CRN 91559
EDCI 5784 CRN 91614

Class hours:                     Wednesdays 7-9:50
Location:                          Schultz 104

Instructor:                         Kris Lubbs

Offices:                             328 Major Williams Hall
                                        322A War Memorial Hall

Telephones:             231-4051 (Leave a message)
                               231-8348 (Leave a message)
                               540-774-9262 (Home)

Office hours:                     MW 10-12 and by appointment

E-mail:                              glubbs@vt.edu

Graduate Assistant:           Michelle Griffith

Web page:                         www.fll.vt.edu/lubbs

Web page for Handbook:   http://thandbook.heinle.com

Other useful web pages:     http://www.richmond.edu/~terry/methods.htm

                                           http://www.richmond.edu/~terry/tech.htm

                                           http://web.cortland.edu/flteach/methods/

                                           http://www.state.nj.us/njded/frameworks/worldlanguages
 

Required texts:

Shrum, J. L. & Glisan, E. W.  Teacher’s Handbook: Contextualized Languag
Instruction. Boston: Heinle & Heinle, 2nd edition, 1999.

National Standards in Foreign Language Education Project. (1996). National standards for foreign language learning: Preparing for the 21st century. Lawrence, KS: Allen Press, Inc.

Prequisite: Approval from the instructor is required for admittance into this class. Students must have completed or be completing advance studies in the target language. Required education classes should be taken in conjunction with or prior to the class.
 
 

Electronic Mail:

You will need to have an active PID for this course. In addition to general mail, an e-mail list will be used for announcements, work updates, and general class discussion. You may send messages to the e-mail list by clicking on “Reply to all.”

Honor Code:

The Virginia Tech Honor Code will be strictly enforced. All aspects of your coursework are covered by the Honor System. Please see the following website for further information:

http://www.vt.edu:1002/studentinfo/gradhonor/

Disabilities:

If anyone is in need of special accommodations due to a disability, please contact me during office hours, over electronic mail, or telephone before or after class.

Welcome to Methods of Teaching Foreign Language!

Mission statement:

As the instructor of this methods course, I plan to:

· create an inviting and stimulating environment in which the students will form a learning community based on mutual respect and interests with the common goal of pursuing research and inquiry into innovative and traditional methods of teaching a foreign language.

· create a content- and context-based curriculum in which concepts and structures are presented in a spiraling fashion that is cognitively engaging and intrinsically interesting for students;

· prepare teachers to be responsive to local, national, and international needs. (Byrnes, et al, 2000);

· facilitate as learners construct their own knowledge so that it will be meaningful and applicable to their own needs and goals, thereby granting them ownership of the class and its outcome;

· encourage self reflection so that the learners will constantly evaluate their progress as situated within the learning environment.

Goals of the course:

This general goals for our work in this course are to develop:

· An understanding of second-language acquisition research, incorporating pedagogical methods and learning theories.

· The ability to contextualize language instruction to address the goals of the Standards for Foreign Language Learning.

· The ability to construct meaningful and well-planned units of study such as lesson and unit plans.

· The ability to deal creatively and positively with those students who have diverse learning styles.

· A knowledge of assessment methods for language performance in context.

· An understanding of the use of technology to contextualize and integrate language instruction.

· An awareness of and an understanding of the importance of adapting to school culture.

Assessment:

The evaluation for the methods course will be based on the following:
· Class participation and exit slips   10%
· 4 chats      10%
· 4 Lesson plans      10%
· Unit plan      10%
· Weekly journal reflections   20%
· Presentations     20%
· Electronic portfolio     20%

Technology skills that are necessary to develop the electronic portfolio

· possess typing skills, including ease with using the many facets of a  word processing program;
· create a document;
· name, save, retrieve, revise, rename a document;
· send, receive, save, print, and delete e-mail to individuals or to groups;
· send, receive, and print e-mail attachments;
· paste text into an e-mail attachment;
· download and complete forms online;
· create and save files;
· copy, move, and delete file;
· perform general and specialized searches;
· bookmark useful web sites;
· load and use software and courseware;
· participate in a chatroom;
· create and maintain a web page;
· use clip art;
· use a scanner;
· do a power point presentation.
 

Tentative Course/Assignment Schedule

Note: the reflections will always be due on the e-mail list by midnight of the Monday before class in order to allow your colleagues to read them so they can be discussed in class.. Print out two copies, one to give to the instructor and one to use to make notes during class. There will also be a case study to read every week on the Webpage.
 
Date Topic Assignments
August 23 Introductions and OverviewRoberta Snelling—the PRAXIS Looking at ourselves as teachers and learners of a 
second languageStudent aiding 
August 30 Understanding the role of contextualized input, output, and interaction in language learning Shrum/Glisan Ch. 1 Reflection p. 18 TH Terry website 
September 6  Discussion of case study and learning theoriesPresentation of PACE lesson plan Case study chat 
Lesson plan based on PACE 
Visions at ACTFL website
September 13 Connecting language learning to the elementary school curriculum Shrum/Glisan Ch. 4
Reflection p. 97
September 20 Discussion of language learning in the elementary school Case study chat
September 27 Presentation of lesson for elementary school  Lesson plan for elementary school
October 4 Using technology and technology-enhanced language learning (TELL)  Shrum/Glisan Ch. 12
Reflection, p. 354 TH 
Terry
October 11 Class held in War Memorial 222 for a tutorial on electronic portfolios Case study chat
LeLoup
New Jersey Frameworks
Web sites 356 TH
October 18 Presentation of modules lesson plan Modules lesson plan
October 25 Contextualizing language instruction to address goals of the Standards for Foreign Language Learning  Shrum/Glisan Ch. 2
Reflection, p. 45 TH
New Jersey Frameworks
November 1 Preliminary presentation of electronic portfolio Electronic portfolio
November 8  Presentation of Standards lesson plan Unit plan based on Standards
LeLoup
November 15 Class held at ACTFL, Boston Case study chat
November 22 Thanksgiving Break
November 29 Integrating language study in the middle school curriculum Shrum/Glisan Ch. 5
Reflection, p. 114
December 6 Lesson plan for middle school  Lesson plan for middle school 
December 8 Electronic portfolio presentation  Electronic portfolio