Foreign Language Curriculum and Instruction


Curricular Models

Quite clearly, the nature of the learner — whether we are teaching a child, an adolescent, or an adult — is going to play a major role in type of curricular model that is most relevant, appropriate, and effective for learning. In another module, you will learn about the nature of the learner. In this module, we will consider different curricular models for each of the age groups:

If you plan to teach at one particular level, you should focus primarily on that level in this module, but you should still be aware of the information for other levels since your own students will have been or will become learners at those levels. No one level can be considered and fully understood without a very complete awareness of curricular concerns at the other levels.

Foreign Language in the Elementary School (FLES) and Foreign Language Exploratory (or Experience) (FLEX).

1. Primary resource books, organizations, and Web sites for studying about FLES and FLEX include

2. Consult the sources above in #1. Then give a concise definition of the following terms:

(a) FLES
(b) FLEX
(c) Immersion: Total Immersion and Partial Immersion
(d) Content-based FLES
(e) FLES Grades K-6

3. Read Chapter 1, "What are the Advantages and Disadvantages of FLES, FLEX, and Immersion?" in Met (1998) Critical Issues in Early Second Language Learning, pp. 1 - 23. After reading this chapter in its entirety, create a chart that indicates the advantages and disadvantages of each of these elementary-level models:

Advantages

Disadvantages

 FLES

    

 FLEX

    

 Immersion

    

4. What criteria should be taken into consideration in determining which FLES model should be selected?

5. The following activity is adapted from Shrum and Glisan (2000, p. 93). You are to design a content-based elementary school lesson. While you will not present this lesson, you should …

(a) Design a lesson that is appropriate, given the developmental characteristics of your student (Shrum and Glisan,       2000, p. 80 [Figure 4.1]).
(b) Design your lesson to present oral and not written language.
(c) Be sure to involve the students in hands-on activities from the start of the lesson.
(d) Remember: Do not lecture or overwhelm students with information they do not understand. They learn by being       involved actively.
(e) You are to use the target language, making yourself understood through the use of realia, gestures, and mime.

Activity: Design a content-based lesson that addresses ONE of the following learner outcomes —
• Grade 1 Mathematics — The student will identify halves, thirds, and fourths of a region or set.
• Grade 1 Science — The student will classify objects by size, shape, and color.
 • Grade 1 Science — The student will make accurate observations using the senses.
• Grade 4 Mathematics — The student will measure length (km, cm, and mm).
• Grade 4 Science — The student will observe and label parts of a green plant.
• Grade 4 Science — The student will identify and describe some features and characteristics of the planets of our solar system.


6. The following activity is taken from Shrum and Glisan (2000, pp. 95-97). Study carefully Case Study 2, "Implementing an Elementary School Language Program." Pay attention to the subheadings "Ask yourself these questions" and "To prepare the case."

Activity: Create a written testimony for the school board regarding your views of the proposal submitted by the task force in this case study. Support your views with research findings and other information you have read.

Foreign Language in the Middle School.

1. Study carefully the chapter, "Integrating Language Study in the Middle School Curriculum," (Shrum & Glisan, 2000, pp.     100-118.

2. Consult the following books and articles:

3. Answer the following questions:

a. What is the difference between a traditional junior high school, an intermediate school, and a middle school?
 b. Explain the following statement: "Good middle-level education allows students to experience old things in new      ways and entirely new fields of learning in varied ways" (Nerenz, 1990, p. 95).
c.  According to the National Council of State Supervisors of Foreign Languages (NCSSFL), what purposes      should a learner's initial experience in foreign language include?
d.  According to NCSSFL, what are some of the characteristics of a successful middle school foreign language        program?
e. What is the difference between exploratory and sequential middle school foreign language programs?
f. Why are the two Cs of Cultures and Comparisons that are discussed in the national standards very appropriate     focuses for middle school instruction?

Foreign Language Study at the High School Level (9-12)

1. How do the national standards for foreign languages (See Module 6: What Learners Should Know and Be Able to Do), address multiple entry points into the foreign language curriculum?

2. Consult Standards for Foreign Language Learning in the 21st Century (1999, Yonkers, NY: The National Standards in Foreign Language Education Project), "Program Models from K-16" (pp. 20-22). This section includes a discussion on Opportunities to Learn K-8, Programs in Grades 9-12, and Programs at the Post-Secondary Level.

3. Consult the New Jersey World Language Curriculum Framework. This document (in PDF format, necessitating Adobe Acrobat Reader) is a good illustration of a complete curriculum framework for world languages. Chapter 5, "The Implementation Process," includes a discussion of multiple entry points, including a illustrative chart(Chapter 5, p. 47 [Multiple Entry Points and Language Layering]).

4. What is meant by "an extended sequence of study," as the term is used in the national standards?

5. Block Scheduling and Foreign Languages.

In October1998, the North Carolina Department of Public Instruction produced an extensive qualitative study entitled "Foreign Languages on the Block," which outlines perceived advantages and disadvantages of block scheduling to foreign language instruction.

Read the ACTFL white paper that appeared in the ACTFL Newsletter (Winter 1996, pp. 11-15), "Block Scheduling and Second Language Instruction," that is downloadable as a PDF file.

Also read Wallinger, Linda M. (2000). "The Effect of Block Scheduling on Foreign Language Learning." Foreign Language Annals, 33, 1 (Jan./Feb. 2000), pp. 36-50.

Then answer these questions:

a. What is 4x4 block scheduling?
b. What is an A/B schedule in block scheduling?
c. What are the conclusions drawn from these various articles and sources about the advantages and     disadvantages of block scheduling?
d. What do you see as the advantages of traditional scheduling versus block scheduling in foreign     language teaching?

6. Research Project — You are to carry out research, using books, articles, the Web, and write no more than one page about each of the following types of extended learning programs in Grades 9-12:

a. Advanced Placement courses
b. International Baccalaureate courses
c. Content-based advanced level courses in a world language.
d. High school world language immersion programs.

Foreign Language Study K-12.

1. Several states are now offering certification/licensure in foreign languages as K-12 and no longer as elementary certification and/or 8-12 certification. What is your particular state's certification/license? Do you consider such a broad license to be of value? Why (not)?

2. The following two articles from the ERIC Review mentioned above refer to foreign language education in general and K-12. Study these two articles carefully.

3. Here are some recent developments in foreign language education. Briefly discuss each:

a. technology-assisted language learning
b. content-based instruction
c. languages for special purposes
d. programs for heritage learners.

4. Briefly summarize the results of the national survey of K-12 foreign language education that was carried out by the Center for Applied Linguistics (CAL).

Foreign Language Study at the Post-Secondary Level

Visit the Web site of at least one college or university and carefully study the foreign language program. Answer the following questions based on that program, giving specific information.

a. Does the school have a foreign language entrance requirement?
b. Does the school have a foreign language graduation requirement?
c. What are the requirements for a major in a foreign language?
d. What are the requirements for a minor in a foreign language?
e. What role does a study abroad experience play in the foreign language program?
f. What doe you find that is unique in this particular foreign language program?
g. What is the Web site for the school and the department you have studied?

2. (Foreign) Languages Across the Curriculum ([F]LAC) Programs — Colleges and universities are now faced with exciting challenges that derive from the national standards for foreign languages, especially as the products of programs at the elementary and secondary levels move up from curricula and frameworks that are based on the national standards. Will colleges and universities rise to the challenge and redesign their programs in new and innovative ways? One of the new initiatives that is appearing in colleges is (foreign) languages across the curriculum ([F]LAC). Just what is an LAC program? Look at the site concerning the University of Richmond's LAC program. Also check out another site from the University of Richmond which contains a rationale and a proposal for an LAC program. You should visit the Web page of Brown University's Language Resource Center for a complete discussion of LAC, including links to other programs at other colleges and universities. Finally, there was an ACTFL white paper on languages across the curriculum by Emily Spinelli, published in the Fall 1995 ACTFL Newsletter, pp. 5-8.

Briefly describe what a (foreign) languages across the curriculum program entails.

3. There are many students who decide to begin their language study at the college or university level or who wish to begin their study another language. These students call for continued offering of beginning- and intermediate-level foreign language courses. Some of these students who begin their study in college as well as incoming students who have had significant foreign language study at the elementary and secondary level will continue to upper-level courses at the undergraduate and graduate levels.

a. In 1989, Dorothy James of Hunter College and the City University of New York, published an article in the 1989 Northeast Conference Reports, entitled "Re-shaping the ‘College-level' Curriculum: Problems and Possibilities," pp. 79-110 (in Helen S. Lepke, Ed. Shaping the Future: Challenges and Opportunities. Middlebury, VT: The Northeast Conference on the Teaching of Foreign Languages). If possible, read this article.

b. Elizabeth Welles, Executive Director of the Association of Departments of Foreign Languages (ADFL), published a white paper, "Standards for Foreign Language Learning: Implications and Perceptions," in the Fall 1998 ACTFL Newsletter, pp. 7-9.

c. In a 1998 ACTFL white paper, "The Impact on Higher Education of Standards for Foreign Language Learning: Preparing for the 21st Century," Dorothy James addresses the challenge that the national standards has set for post-secondary foreign language programs. This white paper appeared in the Fall 1998 ACTFL Newsletter, pp. 11-14.

d. Finally, in the Summer 1999 ACTFL Newsletter, Dale Lange, past president of ACTFL, wrote a response to the Welles and James white papers.

e. Basing your comments on the two white papers mentioned and the response by Lange (include the James article in the Northeast Conference Reports if possible), summarize the current situation in post-secondary-level foreign language instruction — both criticisms and positive aspects — and indicate possible solutions.

4. One of the major problems in ensuring a coherent and cohesive foreign language program is articulation.

a. Find a working definition of articulation.
b. What is the difference between horizontal and vertical articulation?
c. Why is articulation — especially vertical articulation — such a big problem?

5. Are you aware of dual degree programs at colleges and universities in which students combine a traditional liberal arts education with a professional field in preparation for a life of work in a global community? Give at least one example of such a program, and include the Web site of that program.

Distance Learning.