The NHLRC Model of Pre-

program HL Teacher PreparationMaria M. Carreira, PH.D.

Co-Director, National Heritage Language Resource Center, UCLA

STARTALK Fall Conference

October 19-20, 2018

Houston, TX

• A Language Resource Center (1 of 16) funded by the U.S. Department of Education

• Located at UCLA

• Mission: To develop effective pedagogical approaches to teaching HL learners

HL learner: An individual

“raised in a home where

a non-English language is

spoken, who speaks or at

least understands the

language, and who is to

some degree bilingual in

that language and

English”

(Valdés, 2001, p. 38).

OUR TEACHER

TRAINING

PROGRAM

Program goals

• To present the foundational principles and best practices of heritage language (HL) teaching (declarative knowledge – the “what” of teaching);

• Engage teachers in processing and applying those principles (procedural knowledge – the “how” of teaching).

• Participants

– Pre K-16

– All STARTALK languages except Dari and Swahili

• Structure and timeframe

– Three weeks online (NHLRC/STARTALK Modules)

–One week face-to-face

– 70-80 hrs, June

A MONTH (70-80 HOURS)

MAY SEEM LIKE A LOT, BUT…

The program participants present a wide

range of needs and strengths

• All levels of instruction and different program types

• Different language-specific issues to contend with

• Different levels of expertise and experience in HL teaching

The program goals are very ambitious

• Declarative knowledge: The foundational

principles and best practices of HL teaching

• Procedural knowledge: Applying and

adapting those principles and practices

Declarative knowledge

HL-specific instructional topics Grammar

Culture

The four skills

The three modes of communication

Pedagogical Frameworks

Macro-based instruction

The Gradual Release of Responsibility Model

Differentiated teaching (Growth Mindset)

Backward Design

Project-based learning

Procedural knowledge

• How to teach HL-specific grammar and

cultural topics, as well as skills (e.g. reading,

writing)

• How to design instructional units that follow

a macro-based approach and that build on HL

learners’ functional skills

• How to differentiate instruction by learner

needs in HL-only and mixed classes

This is a lot of material

But that’s not the only problem:

�The material feels a bit piecemeal.

We want participants to be able to integrate the

material to provide coherent instruction.

HOW CAN ALL OF THIS POSSIBLY BE

ACCOMPLISHED?

Our journey: Three inflection points

• 1st point: Extending contact hours through an online

component

• 2nd point: Using project-based learning (PBL) to

integrate the concepts and skills

• 3rd point: Framing learning in terms of the acquire-

process-apply-reflect paradigm.

1. Extending contact hours through an

online component

Step 1 Step 2

Claire, I need a picture of

the Modules

Our journey: Three inflection points

• 1st point: Extending contact hours through an online

component

• 2nd point: Using project-based learning (PBL) to

integrate the concepts and skills

• 3rd point: Framing learning in terms of the acquire-

process-apply-reflect paradigm.

2. Using project-based learning (PBL)

to integrate the concepts and skills

What is PBL?

A pedagogical approach in which students apply

problem-solving skills to address a real-life

challenge and where they communicate their

learning through the development of a public

product.

Example: The medical glossary

PBL supports best practices in HL

teaching

Building on skills that HL learners bring

to the classroom

✔

Connecting learning to the real-world ✔

Integrating all skills ✔

Responding to HL learners’ socio-

affective needs and their goals

✔

Facilitating differentiation ✔

Our journey: Three inflection points

• 1st point: Extending contact hours through an online

component

• 2nd point: Using project-based learning (PBL) to

integrate the concepts and skills

• 3rd point: Framing learning in terms of the acquire-

process-apply-reflect paradigm.

3. Framing learning in terms of the

acquire-process-apply-reflect paradigm

• Acquire: Gaining new knowledge and skills

through input;

• Process: Building personal understanding of

new knowledge and skills;

• Apply: Using new knowledge and skills in a

laboratory setting;

• Reflect: Explore way to use new knowledge

and skills.

More strategic use of the blended

formatBefore

– The online component was conceived of as a way to

extend contact hours

– A linear view of the relationship between the online

and face-to-face components

Now

– Online component � Acquire and process (also to

start forming the community of learners)

– Face-to-face component � Apply and reflect

� PBL

Summarizing: Lessons we have learned

Tension:

Depth v. breadth of coverage

Declarative (what) v. procedural (how)

knowledge

Our program’s approach:

Making strategic use of the online and face-to-

face components (acquire-process-apply- reflect);

Using PBL to integrate the “what” and “how” of

HL teaching.

The results

Next on our journey

• Going deeper into differentiation

• This means adding more material and skills

– ACTFL Performance Descriptors

– Can-do Statements

• The approach outlined here is a promising way forward

Thank you!