The FLAG Journal

Peer Review

The Foreign Language Association of Georgia

Volume 2 Number 1 Fall 2010

Editor

Peter B. Swanson

Georgia State University

Editor

Susan Crooks

Kennesaw State University

2

Conference Information posted on http://scolt.webnode.com

Call for Papers The Editors of the FLAG Journal are extending an invitation to the language teaching community to

submit papers about all aspects of foreign lan-

guage education across all levels: innovative

teaching strategies, learner variables, policy and

issues, research, curriculum development, assess-

ment and technology among other topics. Articles

on all languages are welcome and manuscripts

must be written in English to accommodate our

readership. See the full description near the end of

this publication.

3

2010 FLAG Officers

President

David Jahner

Foreign Language Director

Gwinnett County Public Schools,

Instructional Support Center

437 Old Peachtree Rd.

Suwanee, GA 30024

Phone: (678) 301-7027

Fax: (770) 277-4470

President Elect

Elizabeth Combier North Georgia College & State

University, Modern Languages

305B Dunlap Hall

Dahlonega, GA 30597

Phone: 706) 867-2811

Fax: (706) 864-1485

Vice-President for Advocacy

Denise Overfield University of West Georgia,

Foreign Languages & Literatures

Maple Street, Carrollton, GA

30118

Phone: (678) 839-6515

Fax: (678) 839-5931

Vice-President for Language

Contests

Rhonda Wells DeKalb County School System

Instruction, Bldg. B, 3770 N.

Decatur Rd., Decatur, GA 30032

Phone: 678-676-0227

Immediate Past President

Greg Barfield

Student Advisor, Cobb County

Schools, International Welcome

Center East 380 Holt Road,

Marietta, GA 30068

Phone: (770) 973-2955

Fax: (770) 578-2742

Corresponding Secretary

Pat McCoy

Wesleyan School

5405 Spalding Drive, Norcross,

GA 30092

(770) 448-7640 x4438

Treasurer / Administrator

Mary Ellen Foye

P.O. Box 734, Griffin, GA 30224

Phone: (c) (770) 468-3396

Fax: (703) 451-0203

Members-At-Large

FLES (ESFL)

Sandra Cleveland Sharon Elementary School

Middle School

Jamie Patterson Fulton County Schools

High School

Joy Lynn Tynes

Cobb County Schools

Post Secondary

Amye Sukapdjo Gainesville College

Directors

FLAG Journal Editors

Peter Swanson

Georgia State University,

Modern

& Classical Languages

P.O. Box 3970, Atlanta, GA

30302-3970 (404)413-6595

pswanson@gsu.edu

Susan Crooks

Kennesaw State University

Dept. of F.L.

1000 Chastain Rd. MD 1804

Kennesaw, GA 30144-5591

Phone 770-971-9504

Archivist

Jane Hursey

Public Relations

Joe Frank Uriz Parsons Elementary School

1615 Old Peachtree Road, Su-

wanee, GA 30024 Phone: (404)

556-3653

Fax (678) 957-3055

Conference

Brandi Meeks

Starr's Mill High School

193 Panther Path, Fayetteville,

GA 30215

Phone: (770) 486-2710 Fax:

(770) 486-2716

Electronic Media

Horst Kurz

Georgia Southern University,

Foreign Languages

GA DOE Liaison

Jon Valentine Program Specialist for Foreign

Languages & International Edu-

cation

GA Department of Education

FLAG MS/HS Spoken Language Contest March 26, 2011 at Tucker High School

5036 Lavista Road

Tucker, GA 30084.

4

FLAG Journal Peer Review

A Publication of the

Georgia Association of Foreign Language Teachers

http://www.flageorgia.org/flag.htm

Contents

FLAG Officers ……………………………………………………………....3

Table of Contents ……………………………………………………………4

Editors‘ Message …………………………………………………………….5

President‘s Message ……………………...………………………………….6

Call for Manuscripts….………………………………………………………8

Collaborative Teacher Development: A Teaching and Learning

Experience for Two Foreign Language Teachers. By K. Hoyt and

K. Greenway…………………………………………………………………9

Goldilocks and Child Language Acquisition: A Story and An Investigation of the Effects of Bilingualism. J. Terantino………………………………. 31

Integrating Culture in the Foreign Language Classroom Using

Constructivist Projects. R. N. Boylan……………………………………..40

Holy Innocent‘s Episcopal School‘s Language Honor Societies.

K. C. Crewdson ……………………………………………………..…….49

JNCL—NCLIS ……………………………………………………………51

World Languages Summer Leadership Institute…………………………..53

FLAG Journal Submission Guidelines and Requirements………………..55

Checklist for Manuscript Submission……………………………………. 56Honor

FLAG Membership Form ………………………………………………...57

FLAG Award Application Instructions…………………………………...58

SCOLT Scholarships ……...……………………………………………...59

Calendar of Events ………………………………………………………..62

5

Editors‘ Message

Last year FLAG published its first edition

of the FLAG Peer-Review Journal. Since

that moment, we have been pleased with

the interest expressed by Georgia‘s for-eign language community.

In this issue, we are happy to present sev-

eral articles that detail specific informa-

tion about language learning. First, Dr

Kristin Hoyt and Kaylie Greenway discuss a collaborative teaching experience.

Next, Joe Terantino examines the effects of bilingualism. Afterwards, Ryan Boylan

discusses integrating culture into the foreign language classroom using constructiv-

ist projects. We hope you enjoy this second peer-reviewed issue of the FLAG Jour-

nal and we encourage you to submit an article of interest to us for the next publica-

tion. At the 2011 conference, we will host a session on publishing in the Journal.

See the Call for Papers for more details. If you have any questions/comments about

the journal, please feel free to contact us: Peter Swanson <pswanson@gsu.edu> or

Susan Crooks <scrooks@kennesaw.edu>.

The FLAG Journal Peer-Review Editorial Review Board

Our sincere gratitude to the following individuals who have agreed to serve as

reviewers of manuscripts submitted for publication in this edition. We

cannot fulfill our mission without you!

David Alley

Georgia Southern University Denise Overfield

University of West Georgia Rhonda Wells

DeKalb Co. Schools

William Griffin

Kennesaw State University Carol Semonsky

Georgia State University Melissa Young

Georgia State University

David Jahner

Gwinnett Co. Schools Jon Valentine

Ga Dept of Education

6

President’s Message

Dear FLAG Members,

Welcome to the 2010 – 2011 school year! Hopefully your

academic year is off to a successful and rewarding start! To

many, this is the best time of the year: warm days and cool

nights after the long, hot summer; high school and college

football, and settling into the routine of the school year.

The year ahead promises to be busy and filled with tremen-

dous opportunities for our organization. In November, Geor-

gia will elect a new governor and state school superintendent: both positions can and do have tremendous impact on foreign

language education. Use FLAG‘s policy and position statement to inquire about

candidate‘s opinions of issues that are relevant to us as language teachers.

Also in November at the annual ACTFL Conference in Boston, FLAG‘s own

Clarissa Adams-Fletcher from Dunwoody HS is one of five finalists for National

Language Teacher of the Year! We wish her well and know she is representing all of

us with distinction. We are proud of your accomplishments, Clarissa!! As we move

into the winter months, our state language affiliates gear up with conventions and

immersion weekends.

March 4 – 5 should be cleared on your calendar already for the annual FLAG Con-

ference! For the first time in many years, we will meet in Atlanta and for the first

time ever at the Westin Atlanta Airport. The hotel rooms are under $100 and the

facilities are beautiful – and metro members can take MARTA to the Airport station

and catch a shuttle 24 hours a day. We are also looking forward to our keynote

speaker, Andre Lewis from the U.S. Department of Education.

Also in March, Joe Frank Uriz, current FLAG Teacher of the Year, will represent

our organization in the regional Teacher of the Year selection at SCOLT in Baton Rouge. We all know Joe will represent us with distinction!

The FLAG Spoken Language Contest is booked for Tucker HS in March and the annual FLES Contest will take place in April. The entire Executive Board urges you

to participate in these annual events to show off your students and reconnect with

colleagues from around the state. Finally, if you haven‘t already done so, become a

member of FLAG‘s Listserv and Facebook page and fan club. There are many ways

for you to become involved in YOUR professional organization.

Finally, as my days as FLAG President draw to a close, I would also like to take a

moment to thank all those who have mentored me and helped me throughout my

career. It has been an honor to represent some of the best language teachers in the

country and I look forward to seeing many of you this year!

All the best,

David Jahner FLAG President

7

Are you thinking about applying for the JET Program? If you are an enthusiastic, motivated and dedicated college graduate, why not embark upon a journey that will change your life? Each year the JET Program recruits thousands of new participants to come to Japan and experience a new and unique way of life. Participants are assigned to be either Assistant Language Teachers (ALTs) who provide language instruction in elementary, junior and senior high schools or Coordinators for International Relations (CIRs) who work

in communities on international exchange activities. Participants are placed with local government organizations throughout Japan in every imaginable locality, including large cities, small and me-dium-sized towns, and rural farming and fishing villages. A one year term on the JET Program could be just what you are looking for to broaden your horizons and take a different step in life.

Requirements

Hold a Bachelor's degree in any sub-

ject by July 1 of the year of departure;

Be a citizen of a participating country

(list at www.jetprogramme.org);

Have excellent English skills;

Have a keen interest in Japan;

Be under 40 years of age;

Not have participated in the JET Pro-

gram in the past three years, or for

more than five years total; Not have lived in Japan for 6 or more

years in total in the past 10 years. TEFL qualification is helpful, but not

required for ALT applicants

Conditions

Approximately 3,600,000 yen per

annum after Japanese taxes are

deducted

Health insurance

Accommodations arranged by host

institutions

Round trip air transportation to

Japan

Duration is for one year, ending in

July or August of the year follow-ing departure.

Contract renewable for up to four

additional years with the mutual

consent of the contracting organi-

zation and the participant.

Participants normally work a 35-

hour work-week (Monday to Fri-

day).

Japanese national holidays (15

days), plus at least 10 additional

days (usually 12 to 20) of paid

leave

Participants are placed throughout

Japan. Candidates can indicate

placement preferences on the ap-

Timetable

Early October: New applications

available at www.us.emb-japan.go.jp/

JET/

Deadline: Late November

Mid-February: Interviews held at

respective Consulate or Embassy

Early April: Result announcement

May/June: Successful applicants

informed of their assignment

June: Q&A Orientation

Late July: Depart for Japan Check out http://twitter.com/

JETProgram

For details, contact the Consulate

General of Japan in Atlanta

at 404-926-3020 or

jet@cgjapanatlanta.org or visit

www.us.emb-japan.go.jp/JET/

8

Call for Manuscripts

The FLAG Journal Peer Review is an annual refereed publication

serving classroom instructors, researchers, language education majors,

and administrators concerned with the teaching of foreign/second lan-

guage at all levels of instruction in Georgia.

The editors and editorial board welcome research and review-

oriented articles in the area of: foreign language education and tech-

nology, foreign language advocacy, culture, diversity, ESOL, film,

FLES, multicultural instruction, national certification, program articu-

lation, travel, international programs and initiatives, and even avail-

ability of career positions in Georgia‘s schools, colleges, and universi-

ties. We encourage you to submit previously unpublished articles for

publication in our journal that feature pedagogical concerns and in-

sights, strategies, and successes in the language classroom, as well as

methodologies, teacher preparation, and National Board Certification.

A double-blind review process will be followed. Manuscripts are

distributed by the editors to no less than two reviewers with expertise

in the areas addressed in each manuscript. Reviewers‘ written com-

ments and a recommendation on acceptance are returned to the editor,

who will communicate the comments and decision on acceptance to

the author(s).

Please follow the manuscript guidelines (following page) and send

your submission to: Dr. Peter Swanson and Ms. Susan Crooks, FLAG

Journal Editors

pswanson@gsu.edu

scrooks@kennesaw.edu

AATSP Upcoming 2010-11 Events - December 1 Deadline for TOTY and POTY Nominations

- March 25-27 Spanish Immersion Camp, Hampton, GA

- April 18 Deadline for Mini-Grant Applications

9

Collaborative Teacher Development: A Teaching

and Learning Experience for Two Foreign

Language Teachers.

Kristin Hoyt

Kaylie Greenway

Kennesaw State University

Abstract

Two foreign language (FL) teachers collaborated to design and undertake a project from which they both

benefited as teachers and learners. The two teachers brought different perspectives to the project, from

their particular situations as: (a) a pre-service FL teacher (of Spanish) nearing the culmination of her

teacher preparation program of studies, and (b) an experienced FL teacher (of French) and FL teacher

educator. Based on principles of self-reflective inquiry for professional development and guided by ongo-

ing collaborative exchange, both teachers benefited from unique opportunities that were generated via

situated, experiential learning. The pre-service FL teacher happened into a most distinctive opportunity to

revisit the experience of a beginning FL learner and to correlate this first-hand personal experience to her

forthcoming role as a FL teacher of Spanish in her own classroom. The experienced teacher discovered a

unique opportunity for building on her competencies as a FL teacher in her role as instructor of a begin-

ning level, university FL class (French 1001) as well as a singular occasion to advance her growth as a

teacher educator, as she collaborated with the pre-service FL teacher who was enrolled as a student in the

French 1001 class. Moreover, the results of the collaborative learning experience show promise for repli-

cation of the model to benefit other FL teacher candidates as they progress through their university pro-

gram of studies, expanding upon FL pedagogical knowledge and skills in an applied manner as learners

of a new FL, within a correlate, yet innovative setting, as reflective investigators.

Background and Context

FL education majors at Kennesaw State University are required to take at least one

semester of another (new) FL as one of their major requirements. Thus, the pre-

service FL teacher enrolled in a beginning-level French class in the last semester of

her university-based coursework, just prior to her school-based field experiences

(student teaching) and the culmination of her undergraduate program of studies. The

collaborative teacher development project emerged from a novel situation where the

French 1001 class, in which the pre-service FL teacher enrolled, was to be taught by

the FL education instructor with whom she had taken two FL methods courses. The

FL methods / French instructor is an experienced teacher with nearly twenty years of

combined experience in secondary school teaching of French and college-level

teaching of French and FL methods classes. Upon discovering their paths would

merge in another context beyond FL education classes, the two teachers were in-

trigued by the potential of this unanticipated academic encounter and proposed the

project seeking to discover novel ways to extend their learning about the teaching of

FLs.

10

Based on a belief that professional development is not only facilitated, but enriched

when it occurs within a community of practice, this collaborative teaching/learning

experience was grounded in sociocultural theory, where learning is viewed as a so-

cially-mediated experience (Vygotsky, 1986; Wertsch, 1998). The context of teach-

ing presents both the social exchange between teacher and learner(s) as well as the

interaction among teachers. Incontrovertibly, teacher growth is a social process. Ac-

cordingly, the dynamic of working together with other teachers or with learners,

those who share common interests and goals, can generate vibrant energy for growth

not realized independently. Collaborative teacher development, as defined by Johns-

ton (2009), captures the theoretical basis of this project: ―Collaborative teacher de-

velopment is any sustained and systematic investigation into teaching and learning

in which a teacher voluntarily collaborates with others involved in the teaching

process, and in which professional development is a prime purpose‖ (p.242). And,

there is no arguable reason to suggest that collaboration with like-minded educators

would preclude an emergent or pre-service teacher.

Project Research Design

The project adhered to an Institutional Research Board-approved design comprised

of pre-determined procedures, a structured sequence, and specific parameters for

consensus, thereby safeguarding the pre-service FL teacher from any unwarranted

sense of duty to further the university teacher‘s research agenda. The project was

conceived to provide a setting in which both FL teachers could mutually examine

the pedagogical techniques and instructional strategies incorporated into course de-

livery for French 1001 through guided data collection procedures. Both FL teachers

engaged in three inquiry activities: data collection, journaling, and oral and written

exchange. The project focused on non-judgmental discourse with an intentional

awareness of the hierarchical difference between the two teachers and a deliberate

endeavor to avoid any misuse of this disparity by agreeing to a mutually-shared

monitoring of the project‘s implementation.

The project inquiry represented a mixed-method approach, incorporating both quan-

titative and qualitative measures of data collection and analysis. Nonetheless, the

shared aspiration to discover novel or unforeseen outcomes set the tone, and the

exploratory nature of the initiative characterized the project throughout. Both teach-

ers articulated guiding questions as follows:

The pre-service FL teacher of Spanish:

1. What might I, as a Spanish FL education student, discover about my own FL

learning styles as I learn French – a new, different FL?

2. How might my increased awareness of my own FL learning styles impact my

teaching style as a FL educator?

11

The experienced FL teacher of French and FL methods:

1. In what ways can my role as facilitator of student learning for pre-service FL

teachers be expanded beyond the predictable parameters of the FL education

courses I teach, by interacting with teacher candidates in other academic class-

room settings?

2. How might my teaching in the FL classroom setting serve dual purposes for

professional development: (a) with respect to my own lifelong learning and

professional growth as a FL teacher, and (b) as a practical model that serves as

an interactive observation laboratory accessible to pre-service teachers for ap-

plied critical inquiry into teaching and learning?

Data Collection

A classroom observation instrument was used to record quantitative data (see Ap-

pendix A). It served as a checklist for the pre-service teacher to document the pres-

ence and number of incidences of various aspects of classroom instruction related to

lesson content, instructional delivery, and assessment of learning. The observation

instrument was modeled after the supervisory observation instrument used in the FL

teacher preparation program. The pre-service teacher also used a personal learning

journal, in which she recorded notes and narrative reflections both during and after

class sessions (see Appendix B). The experienced teacher kept running field notes as

a source of both quantitative and qualitative data over the course of the semester.

Ongoing email exchanges and informal discussions between the pre-service teacher

and the experienced teacher also served as data.

Data Analysis

The pre-service teacher made comparisons between the check-listed information

documented on the classroom observation instrument as well as the notes and reflec-

tions recorded as journal entries. She identified similarities and differences, consis-

tencies and irregularities, along with emerging patterns in areas such as: (a) class-

room activity types utilized, (b) her own tendencies, challenges, and successes as a

FL learner, (c) her expectations of ways a FL should best be taught, and (d) her

awareness of how the learning experiences of other university students in the class-

room converged with or differed from her own.

Based on field notes documenting the course content and instructional delivery ap-

proaches utilized, in concert with ongoing feedback and exchange with the pre-

service teacher, the experienced teacher critically reflected upon her own FL teach-

ing and the degree of adherence to the pedagogical principles championed in the FL

teacher preparation program. In addition, she made comparisons between FL teach-

ing in the university setting and the methods for teaching FL in the K-12 setting that

are advanced via coursework in the teacher preparation program.

12

Summary of Data Results

Based on her comparative analysis of classroom activities and how these correlated

to her perceived progress and success in learning a new FL, the pre-service teacher

identified strengths and weaknesses in her approach to learning a FL. She noted the

impact that various activity types had on her learning and the ways in which certain

instructional activities advanced or limited her progress in learning. As she reflected

upon her assumptions and expectations related to the teaching of FLs, the pre-

service teacher recognized how factors that contribute to learning (e.g., motivation,

confidence, persistence, etc.) were influenced by her personal preferences for certain

learning activities. Finally, she observed first-hand that proficiency in one FL affects

learning another FL. She acknowledged that her orientation as a FL teacher sets her

apart from other FL learners in several ways (i.e., having an established and apt skill

set including familiarity with FL learning strategies; enjoying earnest engagement in

learning a FL; and possessing knowledge of the principles of second language ac-

quisition).

The experienced teacher found that there are distinct differences as well as notewor-

thy parallels between the teaching of FLs in the K-12 setting versus the university

environment. To the extent that both of these settings support standards-based com-

municative language teaching, the similarities reflect necessary consistencies in FL

curriculum planning and instructional delivery that are based on principles of second

language acquisition, constructivist learning theory, and best practices in FL educa-

tion. The differences fall into categories such as: amount of time allotted for teacher-

student classroom contact, quantity of content addressed during an academic semes-

ter, expectations for quantity and quality of student work completed inside and out-

side of class time, and student needs and interests. In addition, the university teacher

acquired a renewed and heightened awareness of occasions for mismatch between

her avowed principles and actual practices of language teaching such as: differenti-

ating instruction to meet diverse learning styles, providing necessary scaffolding of

sequenced skill-building activities for student practice prior to assessment of student

performance, centering on established course curricular outcomes, and articulating

clear expectations for student performance.

Findings (pre-service teacher)

The pre-service FL teacher credits the collaborative project with expanding her

range of FL education knowledge and experience. She believes that the opportunity

to revisit the experience of a beginning foreign language learner and to correlate this

first-hand personal experience to her future role as a foreign language teacher was

distinctive and allowed her to make connections otherwise not evoked.

As a FL learner and a FL teacher, the pre-service teacher was able to draw connec-

tions between her own learning styles and preferences and her emerging teaching

13

style and approach. Although she had completed learning styles inventories in the

past and thought she was quite familiar with her approach to learning, the first-hand

experience of learning a new FL in the classroom setting further elucidated her un-

derstanding, in somewhat surprising ways. Certain beliefs and particular doubts,

especially regarding the use of the target language in the classroom, took on new

meaning as a result of her first-hand experience in the collaborative project. The

teaching maxim about the power of hands-on learning took on real-life significance

as more than just a pedagogical recommendation or item on a list of best practices.

Although she would have otherwise undoubtedly vowed allegiance to this teaching

principle, a deeper commitment to its implementation is now in place. In her FL

learning experience, the ability to more clearly grasp language concepts personally

resonated for the pre-service teacher as she participated in performance-based paired

or group activities, such as a role play. As an example situated at the other end of the

pre-service teacher‘s belief spectrum, she discovered that oral repetition of vocabu-

lary words and expressions, which she expected to be mindless drill used as a class-

time filler, served in advancing her retention. She attributes the repetition as not only

facilitating her ability to better grasp new and unfamiliar language sounds, but as

also making it possible for her to produce more accurate pronunciation than she be-

lieved possible for a first-year language learner. Further, the pre-service teacher be-

lieves the repetition served to foster her retention of word meanings.

In reflecting upon learning styles, the pre-service teacher extended beyond her own

learning to consider how her future students would learn. She broadened this in-

creased understanding of her learning process by projecting forward and imagining

the interaction between her teaching style and the learning styles and preferences of

her future students. The pre-service teacher recognized that her own experiences as a

beginning FL learner featured some learning preferences that were rather distinct

from her previously held perceptions of her learning approaches. This realization

prompts her to be more deliberate in acknowledging the diverse range in learner

approaches that she will encounter in the classroom. Not only will there be students

who do not learn as she does, but there will be those who would benefit from con-

sciousness-raising of their learner preferences and strategy training to effectively

appropriate their learning styles. The pre-service teacher developed a new-found

respect for the importance of creating a learning environment to address students‘

diverse personal learning styles. As a point of example: In acknowledging her pref-

erence for paired and group activities over individualized tasks, the pre-service

teacher concedes she will no doubt design more lessons that highlight teaching and

learning in group settings. Yet, she intends to be ever mindful of learners who are

more confident working alone and to balance instructional activities with varied task

types. To cultivate her own awareness in this respect, she has considered the useful-

ness of keeping a planning checklist of activity genres to informally document her

use of activity types and to counter unconscious omission of activity types that are

14

not immediately linked to her own learning preferences.

In keeping with increased awareness of the importance of diverse teaching tech-

niques and strategies to facilitate student learning, the pre-service teacher also culti-

vated an attentiveness to her fellow-learners. She noted their reactions to the learn-

ing environment and made important correlations. She compared their responses to

her own as a co-learner as well as projected forward their behaviors and perform-

ance toward her future classroom – her future students. Several distinct insights

emerged, as captured in the pre-service teacher‘s journal:

Incorporating technology into the FL classroom: Learning French did not come

naturally to me, but using technology helped tremendously. During each

class meeting, my classmates and I were able to see (mediated through

PowerPoint slides) the lesson objectives and day‘s activities. Dr. Hoyt used

PowerPoint as an organizational and management tool to inform students

and keep the lesson on task. All the PowerPoints were posted to an elec-

tronic shared domain that we could access anytime during the semester. I

was able to return to the PowerPoints anytime I liked, as a reminder of top-

ics discussed in class, or simply to use as a study tool before an exam. Ad-

ditionally, video played an important role in my learning. Used in a variety

of ways in class and available online to students for viewing outside of

class time, the videos brought the content of the lessons to life for me –

both authentic language use and meaningful cultural contexts. The video-

clips helped me and my classmates to stay focused and excited about what

we were learning; a welcome change from trying to push through textbook

exercises. There was a visible, and often audible, enthusiastic response in

the classroom when Dr. Hoyt used the videoclips. There were even students

who independently accessed video segments that went beyond the content

of our semester-long course, to follow the storyline further. In today‘s

world, it is so important for teachers to keep their students excited about

what they are learning. I see the use of appropriate technology to support

learning as not only a tool for motivation, but a medium with which my

future classroom of 21st century learners will be accustomed and which

they will expect to see purposefully integrated into their learning experi-

ence.

Integrating cultural connections into the FL classroom: After having experi-

enced classrooms with and without culture incorporated into lessons, I have

witnessed that culture is often what hooks students before anything else. I

know it did for me. As students seem to either personally relate to certain

cultural aspects or to recognize clashes that contrast with their own culture,

they are intrigued. Culture in the classroom reminds me that language

learning is about so much more than understanding the structure of a lan-

guage; it‘s about a people and their way of life. Through this project, I

15

found that learning about the French culture got me invested in learning

French. Additionally, I observed how the cultural component of lessons

played an important role in generating excitement among my classmates for

learning French. The cultural components expanded the idea of ―learning

French‖ beyond vocabulary lists or verbs on a paper; it made the language

real. Culture as a basis of the language learning made the process seem

alive, and I was eager to learn more. Clearly, I am thinking more seriously

about how imperative it will be for me to incorporate culture in my own

teaching. I cannot help but think that if culture hooked me, it can also hook

my students. I aspire to a classroom environment in which students will

engage in language study in response to their personal investment in lan-

guage and culture learning, and not as a conjured-up behavior or perform-

ance-on-demand to obtain a desired grade.

Modeling accurate pronunciation and providing opportunities for repetition

and practice in the FL classroom: I was surprised to discover how impor-

tant pronunciation and repetition became to me as a learner of a new FL. I

had personal experience with my learning of Spanish where my teachers in

the past did not focus on accurate pronunciation, and I continue to struggle

with some of those same errors today. My personal experience tells me that

if a student does not practice correct pronunciation from the beginning,

errors could and generally do fossilize causing a gap in proficiency. As a

result of this project, I gained first-hand understanding that repetition and

practice plays an important role in preventing fossilization of errors, mak-

ing students better speakers of the language and more able to produce an

authentic version of a language. While my motivation for proper pronun-

ciation was prompted by prior personal experience as well as my predispo-

sition as a future teacher, I noticed that my peers were far less concerned

with pronunciation and accuracy than I was. My focus on practice and my

uneasiness with my shortcomings were countered by their halfhearted ef-

forts and a casual dismissal of their deficiencies. Interaction with my peers

as they attempted to persuade me to relax my expectations gave me insight

into attitudes that some of my future students are inevitably going to have.

As a teacher, I have to reasonably acknowledge the reality of my students‘

needs and interests and go that extra mile to inspire and motivate them to

engage in their language learning.

Implementing performance-oriented paired and larger group activities in the

FL classroom: I learned through this project that group work and partner

activities such as skits and role play really help to practice a new language.

I remember several instances where I would struggle with a few words or

phrases and Dr. Hoyt would have us create a skit in pairs to practice. Using

the language in a practical sense (for example: restaurant role play) really

pushed my language along. I was able to use the language outside of mun-

16

dane, discrete-point ‗fill in the blank‘ or ‗complete the sentence‘ activities.

I also found that doing the skits and role plays was enjoyable for not only

me, but for the other students in the class – to have fun with the language.

We were able to make jokes and be more natural rather than parroting ro-

botic answers. And overall, presenting the skits was more satisfying and

knowledge-rich than textbook exercises. I have greater awareness now that

my personal preferences for certain learning activities factored heavily in

producing the necessary motivation, confidence, and willingness to persist

when facing difficulties. As critical to learning as these factors are, I recog-

nize I had the benefit of an additional impetus as a future teacher. I admit I

was seeking opportunities to learn something that I can apply when I teach

my own Spanish class. So, I have gained more appreciation for the impor-

tance of inspiring in my students a desire and a passion for learning a new

language.

Modeling student expectations in the FL classroom: I remember that in middle

and high school although some of my teachers would talk about what they

expected from us with classroom activities, they never really showed us

what they wanted. I was previously unaware of the power of a visual or

demonstrative example of an assignment, task, or project in helping stu-

dents to better meet expectations. I learned that it is so important for teach-

ers to take the time to not only explain assignments, but to also provide

students with an example. Whether it be a sample from previous students‘

work or an example of the teacher‘s own personal work (which I also dis-

covered is intriguing to students as they want to know that their teachers

are real human beings), learners benefit from modeling. I noticed that mod-

eling eliminated a lot of ‗unnecessary‘ questions later and facilitated stu-

dent production of better final products for both me and my classmates in

the French class. I also noticed that seeing an example of the expected final

product (or a model of an expected performance) generated a certain level

of eagerness in my classmates to initiate the preparation of their own prod-

ucts/performances, something that I believe rarely happens when students

are expected to prepare a major presentation to be delivered in front of the

class. Being both a student in the French class and an observer as a future

FL teacher allowed me to benefit in two distinct ways. Based on my own

experiences as a learner, blended with what I observed in the reactions

from other students in my class, I acquired insight into how my future stu-

dents may feel. But as a classmate of my peers, I also had access to infor-

mal student-to-student discussions to which teachers are typically not privy.

I was able to reflect upon my classmates‘ complaints and comments about

assignments, including their ideas about how learning tasks might be ren-

dered more appealing to them.

Addressing writing skills early and often in the FL classroom: Prior to this col-

17

laborative project, I had forgotten about the stages of my own journey in

learning Spanish. I didn‘t recall how difficult it had once been to produce a

complete simple sentence in a new language. On the first French quiz

where we were expected to produce open-ended writing, I was a bit shaken.

I was largely unprepared to generate written language at the multi-sentence

level. In my judgment, beginning-level language teachers too often stop

short in providing opportunities for students to produce beyond short an-

swer or single, simple sentence written responses in their classroom learn-

ing activities and tasks. Even in this case where I was highly motivated to

learn, I had to assume responsibility for developing my writing skills to

generate a paragraph-length written text, because there had not been ample

opportunity for skill-building practice. I noted this same struggle occurring

with my classmates – even magnified for them, as they lacked the self-

directed motivation that I possessed. It was difficult for me at first, but by

the end of one semester, I was able to produce a written paragraph in the

target language. This experience has made me keenly aware of the need for

adequate and appropriate open-ended writing practice during class activi-

ties, prior to assessing student writing for a grade. As for my own challenge

with writing in French (also shared by my classmates), I sensed that we all

enjoyed as well as benefitted from the in-class opportunities we did have to

practice writing skills. This occurred when, based on prompts, we wrote

original sentences on the white board in class, either individually or in

pairs. After the sentences were written, we then worked cooperatively as a

whole class to edit and correct each others‘ writing, allowing us the prac-

tice in writing and the explicit attention to our common mistakes (as they

generally were).

Immersing students in the target language in the FL classroom: Aside from my

articulated research questions when I entered into this project, I had a per-

sonal side agenda: I wanted to discover first-hand if teaching in the target

language is truly attainable. My experience with this FL class was that I

learned French in an environment where at least 95% of classroom teaching

was conducted in French. I saw myself progress during one semester‘s time

from not knowing a single word of French to understanding instructor pres-

entations, videoclips, classroom instructions, and more. From the outset, we

regularly used some basic classroom expressions that helped us communi-

cate our basic learning needs (e.g., How do you say … in French?; What

does … mean?; I don’t understand; repeat, please.; What page, please.;

etc.). I also realized from the ongoing and consistent use of French in the

classroom that much of the communicative input I was deciphering was not

oral language at all. I was decoding body language, facial expressions, ges-

tures, and many other contextual clues to grasp the meaning and compre-

hend classroom communication in a FL I did not know well. I became

18

aware that constant input in the target language was familiarizing me with

high-frequency words and expressions. In comparing to my experience

with learning Spanish where input in the target language was considerably

more limited and translation was regularly provided as classroom input, I

assessed that my progress toward increased proficiency in French (albeit

still within the novice and intermediate low ranges) was occurring much

more quickly. Based on this personal experience, I plan to teach as much as

I can in the target language. Whereas I previously believed that teaching in

the target language would actually hinder my students‘ progress, I discov-

ered through my own learning experience with French that it advanced my

proficiency more rapidly. I have personal understanding and buy-in now as

to the profession‘s stance on best practices that includes adherence to

teaching in the target language. I was not a believer and am somewhat

amazed and surprised at this personal discovery, but I have experienced the

dynamic of being immersed in a target language classroom learning envi-

ronment. I adapted more quickly to hearing only the target language, and I

was able to produce more language and progress in my language produc-

tion at a faster rate.

Findings (experienced teacher)

The experienced teacher encountered ample occasion to reflect upon her own prac-

tices as a FL teacher and as a FL methods instructor. She discovered that the ex-

change and dialogue with the pre-service teacher stimulated her thinking about long-

familiar pedagogical principles and practices in a new way. There was the obvious

opportunity to serve as a sounding board for the pre-service teacher as she puzzled

through making sense of the connections between her observations, her personal

experiences as a FL learner, and her projected experiences as a FL teacher. Beyond

this facilitating role as listener and prompt for interpretation, the experienced teacher

found herself reflecting in a uniquely-focused manner on her own pedagogical prac-

tices in both of her teaching areas. Her sense of awareness was stimulated in a pro-

found manner by the nature of the collegial conversations with the pre-service

teacher as well as by the content of the field notes she kept, which not surprisingly,

keenly intersected with the content of the collaborative exchange.

In a somewhat parallel manner to the way in which the pre-service teacher made

connections between her experiences as learner of a (new) FL to her future role as

teacher of FL learners, the experienced teacher noted links between the pedagogical

content in her methods courses and the implementation of those pedagogical princi-

ples in the teaching of her French class. Since the pre-service teacher had been a

student in a French class as well as two methods classes taught by the experienced

teacher, she had first-hand experience in both domains. So, having the pre-service

teacher as a collaborative partner in the project, who was not only familiar with both

19

teaching contexts of the experienced teacher but also supportively engaged in those

domains as a co-teacher/learner, propelled the collaboration into a focused learning

experience for the French/FL methods teacher. It was as if specific aspects of her

pedagogy-in-practice rapidly came into sharp focus when exposed to an informed

and involved audience. The four specific areas in which the experienced educator

identified varying degrees of mismatch between her pedagogical principles for the

teaching of FLs and her own practice in teaching French were related to differentiat-

ing instruction, scaffolding of learning activities, planning for and remaining fo-

cused on clearly articulated student learning outcomes, and plainly articulating to

students the expectations for their performance.

Differentiation: In the context of the collaborative project, as the pre-service

teacher articulated her growing awareness of how she stood apart from

other students in the French class due to her greater level of motivation and

her more sophisticated set of language learning strategies, the experienced

teacher noted more keenly the diverse types of learners in the French class

and the range of motivation levels they exhibited toward learning French.

She recognized that her attention to facilitating an array of learning experi-

ences for a genuinely varied group of students was not as dedicated as it

could have been, in contrast to the knowledge she possesses on differenti-

ated instruction. Her field notes documented her use of both partner/group

work and independent tasks, visually- and aurally-mediated activities, inter-

personal- and intrapersonal-focused learning experiences, hands-on class-

room activities, and even a module in which students learned two tradi-

tional French folk songs to present for a French club talent show. Nonethe-

less, she had not been consistently optimizing the full range of opportuni-

ties to address these diverse groups with the broad panoply of teaching ap-

proaches, instructional techniques, and classroom activities that she regu-

larly touted in teaching her FL methods class. Moreover, she extended this

application and took note that while she granted ample attention to differ-

entiation as a content topic in her FL methods class, even that audience of

generally motivated students (pre-service teachers) represents a wide range

of learning styles, and they likewise merit differentiated approaches in the

instruction they receive.

Scaffolding: On the topic of developing writing skills in a FL, the pre-service

teacher dialogued with the experienced teacher about the difficulties she

encountered in producing a paragraph-length product in the beginning level

French class. This discussion brought to the forefront the criticality of scaf-

folding learning tasks to support skill building. The experienced teacher

recognized that she had used time constraints, in terms of available instruc-

tional minutes, as an pretext for short-cutting the sequenced, supportive

steps needed to advance writing skills. As mentioned previously, there are

20

clear differences between FL teaching in the K-12 context and the univer-

sity context with respect to quantity and quality of student work completed

inside and outside of class time. Typically, the college curriculum pro-

gresses at a pace nearly twice the rate of high school curriculum in terms of

content covered over the time period of a semester. And certainly, college

students are expected to demonstrate more self-discipline and self-direction

in terms of study and practice on their own time. However, the principles of

second language acquisition are nonetheless at work, and FL learners of

any age or maturity will necessarily progress through predictable stages of

language development. FL learners, particularly first-time language learn-

ers, typically cannot successfully demonstrate meaningful and accurate

academic written language at the paragraph level, without teacher-guided

instruction that incorporates deliberate stages, which are appropriately sup-

ported through a cycle of feedback and sequenced incremental steps. In the

interest of moving forward with content, the experienced teacher acknowl-

edged that she had minimized attention to this important pedagogical prin-

ciple of scaffolding instruction. With respect to her own teaching, she had

dismissed her own repeated message to methods students about the impor-

tance of making difficult but important choices in curricular planning. The

message: Be intentional and limit the quantity of content. Identify and se-

lect essential content, and then teach the content meaningfully by present-

ing it in an in-depth manner where learners have multiple opportunities to

engage in purposeful ways that are associated by design and are carefully

linked for progression from teacher facilitation to learner autonomy in ap-

plied use.

Maintaining focus on articulated student outcomes: The experienced teacher

found that she was as vulnerable as any pre-service or beginning teacher in

succumbing to the temptation of ―plodding through material‖ in sync with

textbook exercises, and losing close touch with the outcome-based curricu-

lar plan in place. She was reminded of the aphorism ―Keep your eye on the

prize.‖ The curriculum to be addressed in the beginning level, lower divi-

sion university French courses at Kennesaw State University is based on a

well-conceived and articulated curriculum plan that is grounded in stan-

dards-based student learning outcomes, designed with the goal of providing

instruction that adequately and effectively prepares students for the inter-

mediate level classes. Implementation of the lower division curriculum for

the four-semester course sequence is reinforced by a textbook program that

buttresses the program‘s goals and objectives, which are conveyed in terms

of performance-based, student learning outcomes. The experienced teacher

noticed that the pre-service teacher‘s comments about the drudgery of text-

book exercises coincided with her own field notes, in which she docu-

21

mented occasions where she strayed from the targeted plan of strategic

classroom activities. It could be suggested that once learning tasks lose

their meaningfulness, students sense the lack of focused purpose of what

they are being asked to do. Might this indicate a correlation between the

relevance of learning tasks and the degree of student engagement in those

learning activities? Might it further suggest a correlation between the rele-

vance of learning tasks and the bearing those learning experiences have on

cultivating the desired student knowledge, understandings, and skills neces-

sary for successful demonstration of expected student learning outcomes?

If so, the notion of raising expectations for learning is not simply a noble

aim of educators, but a vital indicator that student learning needs and inter-

ests should be taken seriously. Students deserve key opportunities for learn-

ing; that is, key learning experiences that are purposeful and meaningful,

and which provide strategic paths in the direction toward attainment of

worthwhile learning goals.

Articulating clear expectations for student performance: As the pre-service

teacher shared her own and her classmates‘ reactions to teacher modeling

of expected performances, it evoked further thinking on the part of the ex-

perienced teacher. She reflected upon the profound impact of putting into

student comprehensible terms what resides in her own thinking about stu-

dent expectations. She identified her natural inclination to conceptualize

student work from a ―teacher perspective‖ that frequently relies on ill-

founded assumptions about student grasp of expectations for learning tasks.

Though assignments given over the course of the semester were clear in her

own mind, the degree of opaqueness in students‘ minds regarding certain

assignments was readily revealed when student products were submitted.

Thus, it is not actually an issue of ill-conceived learning tasks. Rather, it is,

in fact, about conveying expectations for those assignments by rendering

the teacher‘s conception into something meaningful vis-à-vis student per-

ception. It is about teachers explicitly communicating expectations to stu-

dents in comprehensible terms. It seems educators share this natural ten-

dency to concentrate on their personal perspective as teachers. They often

fall short in transferring the spotlight to the learner in their presentation of

curriculum, their dialogue about teaching, and even their preparation of

materials for student and/or parent and community consumption. Articu-

lated student learning outcome statements, in their significant role as a key

component of a curricular plan, are crucial to this shift from conception to

perception. Accordingly, expected learning outcomes elucidate a curricular

plan at the practical level of the classroom, especially in terms of student

knowledge, skills, understandings, and how those will be demonstrated and

evaluated in measurable performances. As discussed in the preceding sec-

22

tion, it is critical that teachers focus on the curricular plan and its correlate

learning outcomes while implementing instruction that serves that curricu-

lar plan. But it may be even more imperative that students are informed

about and have an explicit understanding of the expected learning out-

comes. This is what became clear in a new way for the experienced teacher

over the course of the collaborative project. Students must understand what

is expected of them and what they need to reach those expectations. For

example, how might students respond to a specifically-tailored expected

learning outcome such as the following? ―By the end of this course (unit,

chapter, etc.), I will be able to use the target language in its oral form to

demonstrate my understanding of vocabulary and expressions related to

family by orally presenting a visual representation of my family members

to my classmates, naming my family members, sharing their ages and rela-

tionships to me, as well as describing their physical and personality traits.‖

It could be suggested that students‘ grasp of course goals, framed in this

personalized manner, may bolster their motivation, inspire buy-in, and em-

power them to hold their teachers accountable.

Discussion and Pedagogical Implications

Both the pre-service teacher and the experienced teacher benefited in several ways

from the collaborative scholarly engagement in the realms of both teaching and

learning. The pre-service teacher had the opportunity to sharpen her pedagogical

reasoning skills (Shulman, 1987) as she pieced together her FL learning experiences

in French with her FL education academic knowledge and envisioned classroom

applications for teaching and learning. Additionally, she increased her metacognitive

awareness of the landscape of the second language classroom (Johnson & Golom-

bek, 2002) by exploring and analyzing the complex dynamics of teaching and learn-

ing that occur between teachers and learners. Further, she experienced newfound

empowerment as a novice, even emergent, teacher who is a producer of knowledge

and understanding (Johnston, 2009). These areas of growth each represent develop-

mental aspects leading toward an increasingly evolved professional identity as a

language educator.

The experienced teacher deepened her pedagogical reasoning skills as she gained

new insights and forged existing understandings about the connections between her

knowledge of FL curriculum / instruction and her application of the principles of FL

curriculum / instruction in her own French teaching. As a result of this collaborative

inquiry, the experienced teacher gained a heightened awareness of the similarities

inherent to teaching FL in both the K-12 and university contexts, as well as the dis-

tinguishing differences in these two settings. Consequently, with respect to these

similarities and differences, the teacher educator acquired a newfound sense of obli-

gation to highlight such comparisons during class discussion in the methods courses.

23

As pre-service teachers bring their personal experiences as learners to a more con-

scious level, they can make explicit connections between their own FL learning ex-

periences in the college classroom and the teaching and learning situations they will

encounter in the K-12 classroom. Increased awareness and intentionality foster de-

liberate and sound pedagogical decision-making.

Most notably, the project brought to the fore the remarkable potential of extending

opportunities to pre-service FL teachers to enroll as beginning language learners in a

FL class, as an ancillary learning experience in their teacher preparation programs of

study. The unique viewpoint that a FL teacher brings to a FL class as a learner opens

up opportunity for expanding upon pedagogical knowledge and skills in an applied

manner – from perspectives of both teaching and learning (Marsh, 2007). In this

case, the unique compatibility of the two teachers resulted in fruitful collaboration,

perhaps due to their convergent working styles when approaching academic tasks

and/or their similar personality types that cultivated a relationship of openness and

trust. Although the outcomes of this collaborative project were quite positive, it

should be noted that there are potential pitfalls in the model. For example, there

could be anxiety surrounding grade repercussions that might limit the transparency

of feedback from pre-service teacher / student to instructor / faculty member. In this

respect, the present study shows great promise for further expansion of the model

with articulation of additional guidelines and parameters to channel the project.

There is even potential for replication of the project in a modified manner, wherein

the instructor of the university FL class would not necessarily be a teacher educator

and would not actively engage with the student in his/her role as a pre-service FL

teacher. In this case, a directed self-study could be steered by a set of procedures and

overseen by a methods instructor, or other teacher educator with whom the pre-

service teacher/student were to have an established relationship. Assuming permis-

sion granted by the FL instructor, the pre-service teacher‘s classroom observations

could be supplemented by guiding questions, developed specifically to prompt re-

flective analysis of the teaching and learning experience.

In the present case, being more conscious of the observing (and informed) eye in the

classroom prompted the experienced teacher to be more critical in terms of self-

evaluation. Accordingly, she aimed to explicitly model pedagogical techniques that

mirror best practices in communicative FL teaching. The extra effort put forth gen-

erated a familiar, yet profoundly important reminder about the criticality of linking

theory to practice in teacher education. Paramount to the design of most teacher

preparation programs is a theory-to-practice weave throughout the sequence of

courses, which evolves over time and culminates in the application of theory in a

classroom setting during student teaching. Nonetheless, the charge for teacher edu-

cators to cultivate and model robust theory-to-practice as they work with pre-service

teachers presents an ongoing challenge. The difficulty is undoubtedly escalated due

to the teaching and scholarship roles these faculty members primarily play in the

24

university setting, which keep them distanced from the same (K-12) applied setting

for which their students (pre-service teachers) are destined.

So, in the case of this collaborative project, as the teacher educator grappled with

aspects of her instructional delivery in the beginning level FL class that fell short of

her pedagogical ideals, she recognized her tendencies as a methods instructor to

minimize the struggles that beginning teachers face in translating their new theoreti-

cal knowledge to classroom practices. As a part of their ongoing exchange over the

course of the semester, the two teachers dialogued about these challenges from the

multiple viewpoints they shared as learners and teachers in different contexts and

different phases of professional growth. The teacher educator gained a renewed un-

derstanding of the obstacles faced by beginning teachers, resulting in an increased

sense of empathy toward her foreign language methods students – those future for-

eign language classroom teachers that she regularly encounters in the FL methods

courses she teaches. This has spawned several enhancements to the methods course,

such as additional modeling of instructional techniques, more explicit examples of

teaching strategies, and purposefully-focused activities where methods students

make their own connections between theory and practice during micro-teach assign-

ments.

The implications drawn from the project‘s findings buttress emerging scholarship

trends that call for teachers to transition from existing models of knowledge applica-

tion, in which teachers purely apply theory to practice (Allwright, 2003). Rather, as

proposed in Kumaradivelu‘s postmethod model (2003), teachers hold great potential

for knowledge production as they reflectively engage in examining their practice;

moving from simply application of theory to practice, to theorizing on their practice

as an integrated aspect of their ongoing classroom teaching practice. Additionally,

the findings from this project contribute to a growing body of research on collabora-

tive teacher development in the field of language teacher education (Edge, 2002;

Johnson & Golombeck, 2002; Johnston, 2009). Self-reflective inquiry, which under-

girded the project and in which the teachers engaged over the course of this particu-

lar study, yielded important professional growth for both teachers. Moreover, this

supports recent proposals that teacher self-study focused in situated practice brings

added value to collaborative development (Allwright, 2005; Bailey, Curtis, et al.,

2001; Freeman, 1998; Johnson, 2009).

References

Allwright, D. (2003). Exploratory practice: Re-thinking practitioner research in lan-

guage teaching. Language Teaching Research, 7(2), 113-141.

Allwright, D. (2005). Developing principles of practitioner research: The case of

exploratory practice. The Modern Language Journal, 89(3), pp. 351-366.

The American Council on the Teaching of Foreign Languages (ACTFL). (1998).

25

Performance guidelines for K-12 learners. Alexandria, VA: Author.

Bailey, K. M., Curtis, A., & Nunan, D. (2001). Pursuing professional development:

The self as source. Boston, MA: Heinle & Heinle.

Edge, J. (2002). Continuing cooperative development: A discourse framework for

individuals as colleagues. Ann Arbor, MI University of Michigan Press.

Freeman, D. (1998). Doing teacher-research: From inquiry to understanding. Bos-

ton, MA: Heinle & Heinle.

Georgia Department of Education. (2007). Georgia Performance Standards for

Modern Languages & Latin. Atlanta, GA: Author.

Johnson, K. (2009). Second language teacher education: A sociocultural perspec-

tive. New York: Routledge.

Johnson, K. E. & Golombek, P. R. (Eds.). (2002). Teachers’ ways of knowing: Nar-

rative inquiry as professional development. Cambridge, MA: Cambridge

University Press.

Johnston, B. (2009). Collaborative teacher development. In A. Burns & J. C. Rich-

ards (Eds.), The Cambridge guide to language teacher education. Cam-

bridge, MA: Cambridge University Press.

Kumaradivalu, B. (2003). Beyond methods: Macrostrategies for language teaching.

Yale University Press.

Marsh, P. A. (2007). What is known about student learning outcomes and how does

it relate to the Scholarship of Teaching and Learning? International Jour-

nal for the Scholarship of Teaching and Learning, 1(2). Accessed online at

http://www.georgiasouthern.edu.ijsotl

National Standards in Foreign Language Education Project. (2006). Standards for

foreign language learning in the 21st century. Lawrence, KS: Allen Press.

Shulman, L. (1987). Knowledge and teaching: Foundations of the new reform. Har-

vard Educational Review, 57(1), 1-22.

Vygotsky, L. (1986). Thought and language. Cambridge, MA: The MIT Press.

Wertsch, J. W. (1998). Mind as action. Oxford, UK: Oxford University Press.

26

Appendix A

FLED Classroom Observation Checklist

Strongly

evidenced Some

evidence Limited

evidence No

evi-

dence

N/

A

Date

Subject Matter Expertise

(The teacher …)

demonstrates appropriate lan-

guage proficiency (fluency, accu-

explains grammar (rules that

govern the formation of words

exemplifies key differences be-

tween the target and other lan-

is knowledgeable about target

culture & engages students in

selects appropriate literary &

cultural texts for lessons

integrates concepts from other

subject areas (math, social stud-

Facilitation of Learning

(The lesson …)

exemplifies a variety of effective

methods and strategies

shows good pacing & well-

planned transitions

embodies appropriate and varied

activities (includes pair & group

illustrates balance between ques-

tioning strategies and task-based

requires problem solving or other

critical thinking skills

presents clearly defined standards

-based objectives

integrates culture & other subject

areas

demonstrates use of visuals,

realia, authentic printed & oral

27

Strongly

evidenced Some

evidence Limited

evi-

dence

No

evi-

dence

N/

A

Date

Facilitation of Learning

(The teacher …) teaches in the target language &

tailors language to students‘ profi-

ciency level

shows enthusiasm for the subject

matter and the activities

facilitates classroom activities

negotiates meaning (uses gestures,

acts out meaning, draws, explains

in target language)

employs appropriate classroom

management strategies

provides purposeful feedback (on

meaning & linguistic accuracy)

affirms and encourages student

progress

introduces lesson clearly & gives

clear directions

addresses the needs, skills, and

abilities of diverse language learn-

ers

provides opportunity for students

to connect to target language

community

uses technology appropriately &

effectively

Facilitation of Learning

(The students…) negotiate meaning during activi-

ties and with teacher

interact with classmates in mean-

ingful contexts

are actively engaged in the activi-

ties & use the target language

communicate in different modes

(interpersonal, interpretive &

presentational modes)

28

Appendix B

A Foreign Language Learning Journal

Purpose:

To document in writing, the thoughts, impressions, and ideas related to what you

experience as a language learner

to gain insight through writing, into your personal learning process (learning styles

and strategies), and to further discover who you are as a language learner

Guidance:

At least every other week, make notes in your learning journal based on your ex-

periences in the language class

Consider making some notes following a language class (or series of language)

Strongly

evidenced Some

evidence Limited

evi-

dence

No

evi-

dence

N/

A

Date

Facilitation of Learning

(Assessment …) provides broad range of appropri-

ate formative & summative as-

sessments

exemplifies standards-based per-

measures interpersonal, interpre-

tive & presentational communica-

tion (all 4 skills)

includes understanding & interpre-

tation of culture & authentic docu-

ments

assesses > evaluates > reflects >

reports results accurately and

clearly to the appropriate stake-

holders

Collaborative Professionalism

(The teacher …)

reflects upon & seeks to improve

classroom performance

promotes the study of a foreign

builds collaborative and respectful

displays professional (attendance,

punctuality, appearance, etc.) &

ethical behavior

29

classes); then returning to those notes at a later time, add related comments that

come to mind.

For example, the first round could be more informational, where you simply

list what happened in class, what you did, what you liked/disliked, etc.

Then, for the second round, you might reflect in writing upon the learn-ing experiences you have listed; for example, analyze what occurred,

identify patterns in your learning habits, etc.

Suggestions for what could be documented in your journal are:

What took place

What the lesson was about

What I observed

What I did

What the teacher did

What my classmates did

Ideas for how you could use the journaling as a reflective experience:

Connections or mismatches between ―theories‖ of teaching / learning a lan-

guage and the ―real-time experience‖ of teaching / learning a language

Possible links to your own teaching style

Reactions / thoughts / feelings to your experiences (as a learner, as a teacher)

Your interpretations / analyses of those experiences

Your response(s) in terms of new ideas

30

31

Abstract

This interview-based study examines a bilingual child‘s speech to determine if there has been any nega-

tive effect on the child‘s learned English caused by learning a second language (Spanish). For this pur-

pose the child‘s speech was compared to that expected of adult speech of a native speaker, and then ana-

lyzed with regards to morphology, syntax, and phonology. The results indicate that the child‘s English

language does approximate that of adult speech, and there were no apparent negative effects on the

child‘s English caused by interference from learning a second language. The study ends with a discussion

of practical implications for parents and educators and ideas for future research.

Between the years 2000 and 2006 the growth in Hispanic population of the United

States was 24.3%, and in 2006 documented Hispanics accounted for roughly 44.3

million inhabitants of the country‘s population (U.S. Census Bureau, 2006). As a

result of such growth there are an increasing number of children of immigrant par-

ents in the United States. Subsequently, an important issue for these children is their

linguistic development, both in English and in Spanish.

The primary objective of this study was to observe the speech of an individual child

to determine to what extent learning Spanish simultaneously has affected the devel-

opment of the child‘s English language. To accomplish this, the researcher compares

the child‘s spoken English with that expected of adult speech of a native speaker. To

accomplish these objectives the researcher implemented a qualitative research de-

sign by utilizing an interview session. In this session the child tells the story of

Goldilocks and the Three Bears.

In the remainder of this study I review several studies related to bilingualism. Then I

present the context of the current research project and the methodology implemented

in the study. The findings section contains a review of the child‘s speech, including

a discussion of morphology, syntax, and phonology. Last, I present several practical implications and ideas for conducting future research.

Literature Review

Research on the impact of bilingualism has been a popular theme since the 1960s.

Many of the initial research findings indicated that learning a second language as a

child caused added interference (Hakuta, 1986). However, Peal and Lambert

(1962), found distinct cognitive advantages from being bilingual. After this pivotal

research, there has been a gradual move towards an approach which identifies spe-

cific areas of concern and advantage for bilinguals.

Goldilocks and Child Language Acquisition: A Story and An Investigation of

the Effects of Bilingualism.

Joe Terantino, PhD

Kennesaw State University

32

For example, more recently a number of studies conducted with bilingual children

have found that younger children develop two distinct phonological systems

(Goldstein & Fabiano, 2007; Vihman, 2002). That is to say that as younger children

begin to learn multiple languages simultaneously, they form separate language sys-

tems for handling the new information. Based on these findings several researchers have attempted to investigate the speech patterns of bilingual children. Gildersleeve-

Neumann, Kester, Davis, and Peña (2008) investigated Spanish-English bilinguals

to determine if there was a difference in the amount of errors produced in English

according to the amount of exposure in the two languages. They found that equal

exposure to both languages caused the children to produce more errors than children

who were exposed predominantly to English. Likewise, regardless of the amount of

exposure bilingual children produced more errors in English than their monolingual

peers.

The study presented here models Paradis and Genesse (1996), which studied the

potential interference between the grammars of French-English bilingual children

beyond the age of 2 years. They attempted to determine how the children‘s dual lan-

guage learning affected each language respectively. Their research found that ―bilingual children show no evidence of transfer, acceleration, or delay in acquisi-

tion‖. The present study differs slightly in that it only examines the child‘s English

language. Based on this brief review of the literature, the current study aims to in-

vestigate the effects of a child‘s dual language learning to determine how that

child‘s speech in English approximates that of a native speaker adult.

Methods

Participant

The sole participant for this study was a bilingual 4 year, 8 month old girl. She has

been deemed bilingual, because she is able to comprehend and produce two lan-guages, and she has been exposed naturally to each language through social interac-

tion during early childhood (Garcia, 1986). The child examined for this research has

learned both Spanish and English starting from birth. She has been raised in a bilin-

gual household with a Spanish-speaking father who immigrated to the United States

in the 1980s and an English-speaking mother born in the United States. English has

dominated the child‘s daily life at preschool; however, since birth Spanish has domi-

nated the child‘s home life. The child has also been introduced to English and Span-

ish through books, videos, and parental speech. Because of this, she has developed

an extensive knowledge of both English and Spanish.

Data Collection and Analysis

The data for this study were collected primarily through a 45-minute interview with the child. The child telling the story of Goldilocks and the Three Bears by Jan Brett

accounts for the majority of the interview. In addition, the child used the book illus-

trations as a guide to the story. The child‘s speech was recorded with a mid-level

digital recorder, and then this recording was transcribed for specific analysis includ-

ing: analysis of morphemes, calculating a mean length utterance (MLU), analysis of

33

syntax, and analysis of phonology. Specific analysis procedures are described in the

findings section.

A major effort was made by the researcher to ensure that the child was not nega-

tively affected by participating in the study. To do this, the duration of the interview

was treated as a natural occurring event. Furthermore, the child agreed to participate in the study when explained in simple terms that she could help the researcher with a

homework assignment.

It is important to note that the child chose not to attempt to tell the story in Spanish.

When asked about this decision, she said ―I don‘t want to talk Spanish right now,

maybe later.‖ In addition, after telling the story of Goldilocks, the researcher did

attempt to have the child tell another story in Spanish, but the child again refused.

Rather than press the issue and make the child feel uncomfortable, the data collec-

tion process ended at that point.

Findings

Morphology

Morphology is the study of word formation with the morepheme being the minimal

unit of meaning (Gass & Selinker, 1994). It is the study of morphemes and how they

are combined to form larger words (Barret, 1999). Morphological development typi-

cally takes longer to develop than other aspects of language because it is related to

word learning, which is a lifelong process. This is evident in this study by the lim-

ited vocabulary and low complexity of the words used by the child. For example, the

child did not use any prefixes or suffixes. However, she did utilize several com-

pound words such as ―nobody‖ (line 2), ―somebody‖ (lines 7 and 10),

―upstairs‖ (line 9), and ―backpack‖ (line 16). This may indicate that the child is just

becoming familiar with larger words.

The average length of the child‘s sentences, as indicated in mean length of utterance,

was 5.68 (calculated over 50 utterances). Brown‘s (1973) conventions were used to

count morphemes. In addition, Brown warns against using the MLU as a measure of

language development for levels above 5.0. Other researchers advise not to use it for

levels above 3.0, because they state that the association between length and gram-

matical complexity is weaker beyond that point. This is further evidenced by the

variety of the length observed in the child‘s speech, ranging from 2 to 12 mor-

phemes per utterance. According to Brown‘s hierarchy of grammatical morphemes,

the child appeared to demonstrate proper usage of ―in‖, ―on‘, plural ―s‖, irregular

past, possessive ―s‖, articles, regular past, and 3rd person singular ―s‖, but she did

not demonstrate the ―-ing‖ or the uncontrollable copula. Although the child used

both regular and irregular past tense correctly, she did make repeated errors with the irregular past tense for drink, ―drinked‖ (lines 7 and 8). This is most likely due to an

overgeneralization of the regular past tense rules or a low occurrence of the correct

form in the child‘s input.

Syntax

34

Syntax is the knowledge of grammar and the order of elements in a sentence (Gass

& Selinker, 1994). It deals with word sequences and the rules that govern these se-

quences (Barrett, 1999). Studies seem ―to indicate that preschool children (ages 3-5)

show evidence of producing adult-like constructions‖ (Tomasello & Brooks, 1999). Thus, preschool children‘s speech is syntactically sound. This held true for the par-

ticipant of this study. The majority of the child‘s speech was syntactically legal or

correct. She adhered strictly to Subject-Verb-Object word order as is prevalent in

English. In regards to tense shifting, the child shifted from preterit tense to present

tense and vice versa, but she did not use the imperfect tense throughout the inter-

view. It is possible that she has not acquired this form yet, or that she did not feel it

was necessary in telling the story.

Recent studies of children‘s story telling have revealed several tendencies. The first

relates to children‘s use of transitional phrases. When speaking, 3 year olds prefer to

use no forms of transition, while 5 year olds prefer the use of ―and‖, ―then‖, and

―and then‖ (Berman, 2001). This is highly evident in the participant‘s speech pat-

terns. Of the total 277 words produced by the child, ―and‖ was used 26 times and ―and then‖ was used 16 times. ―Then‖ was not used unless in conjunction with

―and‖. To continue, these two phrases account for 15% of the total words produced

by the child in this interview.

The second trend in child speech related to telling stories pertains to background

information or scene-setting information. Studies of child story telling ―indicate a

clear age-related development in the ability to being a story with scene-setting infor-

mation.‖ Three year olds tend to explain the ―who‘ and ―where‖ of the story. Five

year olds tend to tell the ―who‖, ―where‖, and ―why‖. Last, 9 year olds through

adults will tell ―who‖, ―where‖, ―why‖, and ―when‖ (Berman, 2001). In other words,

in story telling whether children will refer to characters, place, relationships, time,

feelings, or other background information depends on the child‘s age. In the present study, the 4 year, 8 month old child appeared to offer the ―who‖, ―where‖, and

―why‖ of the story, but did not offer ―when‖. The following sentence, which appears

at the beginning of the story indicates this, ―she found one home and there was no-

body, so…she tasted the Papa‘s bear (porridge)‖ (lines 2-3). When this occurred

remains unanswered from the child‘s version of the story. Accordingly, the child

participant appears to fall within normal age limist in regards to providing back-

ground information in the process of story telling. Berman‘s hierarchy of children‘s

use of background information further supports this occurrence. The hierarchy

shows that children are most to least likely to offer background information when

they are: 1) relating a fictive story based on make-believe or fantasty 2) relating a

veridical story based on a personal experience or account 3) relating a fictive story

based on an illustrated story book 4) relating a fictive story based on a series of pic-tures (Berman, 2001).

Phonology

Phonology includes the knowledge of the sound system. It entails knowing what are

possible and what are not possible sounds in the language (Gass & Selinker, 1994).

35

It also examines how phonemes are combined, organized, and structured into sylla-

bles that form words (Barrett, 1999). There were only two minor variations from

adult speech in the child‘s pronunciation. The first occurred in the interview session,

but was not included in the transcribed portion. In four instances, the child varied

her pronunciation of the word ―little‖. Clark (2003) states that ―young children are often inconsistent in how they produce the same word on different occasions‖. This

may have occurred because the child was still formulating hypotheses as to which

sounds are correct for the word and it may continue until the child is able to learn or

acquire the proper pronunciation. The second variation produced from the child may

fall under vernacular speech, ―comfy‖ (line 6). Other than this word, it appears that

the majority of the child‘s speech was articulate and did not display any major forms

of vernacular speech.

In this study it is evident by the overall lack of errors in speech that the child has

already passed through the critical period where stages of phonological errors may

have occurred. This assumption is clearly supported by research, ―between age one

and age six children acquire extensive skills in using language and sound quite adult

like much of the time‖ (Clark, 2003).

Discussion

After reviewing the initial research questions and the child‘s speech it is fair to say

that this child has developed her English language extensively. She made few errors

in regards to morphology, syntax, and phonology. In the early stages of child lan-

guage acquisition some researchers indicate ―that the pronunciation of children‘s

words is not exactly identical to that of adult speech‖ (Gass & Selinker, 2001).

However, the sample of the child‘s speech taken for this research does appear to

resemble that of adult speech to a great extent. This finding supports Alba (2005)

which indicates:

English is almost universally accepted by the children and grandchildren of the immigrants who have come to the US in great numbers since the 1960s,

which means these children have high levels of linguistic assimilation.

Similarly, this research provides evidence supporting the child‘s ability to appropri-

ately develop her English language while simultaneously learning Spanish. No evi-

dence was found that dual language learning compromised the child‘s speech in

English, or that the child‘s speech differed greatly from that expected of an adult

native speaker.

The most prominent aspect of the child‘s speech was the repeated use of two, par-

ticular transitional phrases, ―and‖ and ―then‖. This study and others (Berman, 2001)

indicate that children at the age of five prefer to use ―and‖, ―then‖, and ―and then‖ as

transitional phrases. Perhaps parents and pre-school teacher could be instructed to

raise children‘s awareness of other transitions by modeling them correctly and fre-

quently at home and in classroom settings. Inherent to this implication, however, is

the idea that overuse of these transitions is a significantly negative occurrence in

children‘s speech. They are used as simple connectors that do not require perception

of time and causality, which may be beyond her level of cognitive development.

36

Based on the findings of this research there are several practical implications that

may apply to parents or educators of bilingual children. First, this bilingual child

was reluctant to use both languages during the interview. I feel it is important not to

force a child into an uncomfortable position with regard to bilingualism. Children should be encouraged to learn and use languages in a positive manner. Second,

based on this child‘s upbringing it was evident that her parents attempted to raise her

in the most natural way possible. In this manner the child did not perceive learning

either English or Spanish as being a unique or special experience. It is important that

language learning for bilingual children models a natural learning process, which

one would expect for native language learning. Third, also relating to the role of the

parents, it may be beneficial to allow each parent to utilize only one language re-

spectively. The child participant of this study learned to associate the respective lan-

guage with a particular parent, and it seemed to lessen her confusion.

Future Research

As indicated previously in the practical implications, the role of the parents through the language learning process for this child was integral. Further research should be

conducted with respect to the best practices associated with the individual and com-

bined efforts of parents in general. In addition, throughout this research process the

child displayed a repeated ability to self-correct in relation to pronunciation and

grammar. When observing the child during the interview, there was clear evidence

of the child stopping, rethinking, and self-correcting. It was as if the child‘s hy-

potheses pertaining to language were processing by the second, and she was instan-

taneously able to modify and adapt her speech accordingly. This observation would

lend itself nicely to a further investigation of self-correction in bilingual children‘s

speech.

References

Alba, R. (2005). Bilingualism persists, but English dominates. Migration informa-

tionsource: Fresh thought, authoritative data, global reach. Migration Policy Insti-

tute. Retrieved October 25, 2010 at http://www.migrationinformation.org/USfocus/

display.cfm?ID=282

Barrett, M. (1999). An introduction to the nature of language and to the central

themes and issues in the study of language development. In The Development of

Language Studies in Developmental Psychology (pp. 1-23). East Sussex, United

Kingdom: Psychology Press.

Berman, R. A. (2001). Setting the narrative scene: How children begin to tell a

story. In Children’s Language: Developing Narrative and Discourse Competence,

Vol. 10 (pp. 1-28). Mahwah, NJ: Lawrence Erlbaum Associates, Inc.

Brett, J. (1987). Goldilocks and the Three Bears. Dodd, Mead, & Company. New

York.

37

Brown, R. (1973). A first language: The early stages. Cambridge, MA: Harvard Uni-

versity Press.

Clark, E.V. (2003). First language acquisition. Cambridge, UK: Cambridge Univer-

sity Press.

Garcia, E. (1986). Bilingual development and the education of bilingual children

during early childhood. American Journal of Education, 95(1), 96-121.

Gass, S. M., & Selinker, L. (1994). Second Language Acquisition: An Introductory

Course. Hillsdale, NJ: Lawrence Erlbaum Associates, Inc.

Gass, S. M., & Selinker, L. (2001). Child language acquisition: First and second. In

Second Language Acquisition: An Introductory Course (2nd edition). Mahwah, NJ:

Lawrence Erlbaum Associates, Inc.

Gildersleeve-Neumann, C., Kester, E., Davis, B., & Peña, E. (2008). English speechsound development in preschool-aged children from bilingual English-

Spanish environments. Language, Speech, and Hearing Services in Schools, 39, 314

-328.

Goldstein, B., & Fabiano, L. (2007). Assessment and intervention for bilingual chil-

dren with phonological disorders. The ASHA Leader, 12(2).

Hakuta, K. (1986). Mirror of language: The debate on bilingualism. New York:

Basic Books.

Hispanics in the United States (2006). Retrieved October 25, 2010 from, http://www.census.gov/population/www/socdemo/hispanic/files/

Internet_Hispanic_in_US_2006.pdf.

Paradis, J., & Genesee, F. (1996). Syntactic acquisition in bilingual children:

Autonomous or interdependent? Studies in Second Language Acquisition, 18, 1-25.

Peal, E., & Lambert, W.E. (1962). The relation of bilingualism to intelli-

gence.Pyschological Monographs, 76(27), 1-23.

Pearson, B. (2007). Social factors in childhood bilingualism in the United States.

Applied Psycholinguistics, 28(3), 399-410.

Tomasello, M., & Brooks, P. (1999). Early syntactic development. In The Develop-

ment of Language Studies in Developmental Psychology (pp. 161-190). East Sus-

sex, United Kingdom Psychology Press.

Vihman, M. (2002). Getting started without a system: From phonetics to

phonology in bilingual development. International Journal of Bilingual-

ism, 6(3), 239- 254.

38

Appendix Transcript of Interview Sample

Child: This one is about Goldilocks…right here she‘s, when she was right there and then

right there and then right there, she found one home and there was nobody, so he, she

tasted the Papa‘s bear, it was too hot, she tasted the Mommy Bear and it was too hot, she

tasted the, the Baby bear, it was cool and then the and then she broke his little chair. She

(5) felt the Papa‘s bed and then the other and the Mommy‘s bed, and then that one was

the comfy one. So she slept in it. And the three little bears came home and somebody

drinked all of it, of their soup drinked that and that and then she drinked and then she

broke her little chair, his little chair. She slept, he slept, he looked at it in the..about and

then and then they went upstairs to go check and then somebody laid on it. And they are

(10) right there. She found her. And then that was it, she ran.

Researcher: That‘s the end. That‘s a good story. Want to try another one?

Child: This one‘s in Spanish.

Researcher: In Spanish?

Child: Yeah. This one‘s not in Spanish. (Inaudible) Dinosaur goes to school. And you

(15) can actually look in these things. In this backpack you pull these things out and then

this one‘s stuck and then and then this, this one…

Researcher: What are those books?

Child: This one‘s a book. This one‘s not a book. That‘s a stuff for him.

Researcher: And that is a turtle?

(20) Child: No, it isn‘t. Cause turtles don‘t have those long tails.

Researcher: Oh, you‘re right!

Child: And this is a jar, a box. And then this one is the one that he zippers for his pro-

jects.

Researcher: For school?

(25) Child: Yeah, for school. And then this is, um, and this is a book.

39

40

Integrating Culture in the Foreign Language

Classroom Using Constructivist Projects.

Ryan N. Boylan, M.A.

Gainesville State College

Abstract

The accepted tenets of language learning – reading, writing, listening and

speaking – omit an aspect that is just as important, that of culture. The inte-

gration of culture is difficult to achieve in the elementary Foreign Language

classroom, but it is arguably necessary. The question that must be answered

is: How do teachers go about this effectively? One way to do this is by get-

ting the students involved in the learning process through constructivist pro-

jects. Among the ultimate goals of using these projects, in addition to learn-

ing about the cultures of the peoples who speak the target language, is the

comparison between the culture being studied and the student‘s own culture

and the recognition that most cultures are more similar than they are differ-

ent.

“The world in which you were born is just one model of reality. Other cultures are

not failed attempts at being you; they are unique manifestations of the human

spirit.”

~Wade Davis

This quote is quite insightful and profound. Since the dawn of time, when one

has thought about other cultures, one compares them to his or her own culture,

which is tantamount to comparing cheetahs to giraffes. It just cannot be done. Sure

they are both animals, but what else do they have in common? The same can be

asked of the world‘s cultures – What do we all have in common? It was as an under-

graduate at The University of the South, that I first started really studying the history

and culture of the Spanish-speaking world and how they compared to those of the

United States. My love and passion for understanding these people and who they are

and where they came from continued to grow in graduate school. As a foreign lan-

guage instructor, I always wanted to incorporate this wealth of knowledge into my

class lectures so as to give my students, of all levels, a glimpse of the people we call

our neighbors.

41

It is not simply enough to teach nouns, verbs, adjectives and sentence structure

in the foreign language classroom. In order to give our students the full benefit of

their education, we must open their eyes to the cultural component of language

learning. In doing so, we can open the door for our students to see and experience

that these two seemingly different cultures are actually very similar and share more

than just borders and immigrants.

The question is how do we go about integrating culture into our foreign lan-

guage classrooms where curricula and instruction are heavily based on the produc-

tion of language in written or spoken form? It has always been said that the four

tenets of language learning are reading, writing, listening and speaking. I want to

challenge this notion and say that there is also a fifth – cultural competency. To that

end, I have always pondered the following questions regarding the place of culture

in the classroom and curriculum:

1. Where and what exactly is the exposure of our students to culture at the lower

levels, i.e. Middle and High School as well as the 1000 and 2000 classes at the col-

lege level?

It appears in the form of short paragraphs and small pictures in

most textbooks.

It becomes much more relevant in the upper levels, years four and

five of language study.

2. How can we as instructors integrate more cultural education and awareness in

our classrooms, especially in the first three years of language study?

We, as teachers, need to take what the text says one step further and facilitate dis-

cussion on what impact the Hispanic world has on our world with regard to certain

topics.

i. Family -How is their view of family different than ours?

ii. Celebrations/Religious Observances -What holidays do they celebrate

and for those that we celebrate as well, how do the celebrations

differ?

iii. Sports – What kinds are there? How are they organized? Is there

a deeper cultural and/or historical meaning behind sports, aside from

just two teams playing to win?

Ex: Ceremony surrounding Mayan ―wall ball‖; the historical,

economic and political meaning behind the rivalry of Real Madrid

and Barça in Spain; the history and meaning behind bull-fighting.

iv. Food - What foods that we enjoy today would not exist if it were

not for the Inca, Aztec or Maya (tomatos, potatos, corn,

chocolate, popcorn)?

v. Education - How is the education system – elementary, secondary and

university levels – similar and different from ours?

42

vi. Indigenous groups –Why/how were/are the indigenous people

of the Hispanic world important in the scheme of World History

How do we engage students in the learning process?

A. Facilitating a group project that is constructivist in nature and

centered around the countries and cultures of the Spanish-speaking

world . The goal of this project is to have students take an active role in

their foreign language education. They are to research their country

or region and bring in a finished product representing and depicting

that area (see sample guidelines included in packet).

i. This project can be altered to all levels of Spanish classes:

Middle Grades, Secondary, College/University

ii. This project can be centered around the countries of the Spanish-

Speaking World (to include, if desired, Equatorial Guinea) or the

autonomous regions of Spain.

iii. This project can be altered into a cross-curricular project, if

desired.

1. Foreign Language

2. History

3. Social Studies

4. English

5. Science

B. Facilitating an individual project that is constructivist in nature and

centered around famous people, events or places in the Hispanic

world (see sample guidelines in packet).

i. Students again get to choose a topic of their interest and research

it.

ii. The end product is similar to that of the above project, but not

quite as intensive.

What exactly is meant by ―constructivist‖ and why is this the best option? Kathryn

Alessandrini and Linda Larson quote the following about learning in general:

―People learn while doing.‖ (p. 127) The five basic tenets of constructivism under-

score this notion.

1. Learning results from exploration and discovery.

2. Learning is a community activity facilitated by shared inquiry.

3. Learning occurs during the constructivist process.

4. Learning results from participation in authentic activities.

5. Outcomes of constructivist activities are unique and varied. (p. 127-8)

Therefore, by giving our students the opportunity to take an active part in their edu-

cation, they will tend to learn more because they will tend to work in a way that in-

43

terests and suits them best. (The full list of Characteristics of Constructionism ap-

pears in Appendix A.) Again, the question must be asked, how exactly do we do

this? That is, how do we create and facilitate a constructivist project within the set

curricular parameters within which we must work?

During my first year as a 5-12 grade teacher, I attended a conference at

which I sat in on a presentation about a project that one school does every year

where the students are charged with the task of studying and learning about North

America – Canada, Mexico and the United States. From this presentation, an idea

popped into my head – why not develop a project which would allow students to

investigate countries of the Spanish-speaking world or autonomous regions of Spain,

so as to learn more about those peoples. What I developed is a project that is so mal-

leable that it can be adjusted and changed to fit the needs of whatever level you are

teaching. The basic idea is to have students pick a Spanish-speaking country of the

world (to include Equatorial Guinea in Africa) and research it in full - its history,

leader, geography, economics, education, language, etc. In keeping with the con-

structivist model, I give very few rigid requirements, opting instead for basic guide-

lines (See Appendix B).

1. Poster

Basic History

Timeline

2. Flag

3. 3-D map of country

4. Paper

5. Travel Brochure

The rest is up to the students to determine and put together. Essentially, they are

constructing their own projects. This includes the paper, the topic of which is up to

the students as long as they can tie it to the country or community they are studying.

This allows them to be creative and pick a topic that they enjoy or can relate to and

fully explore. My only roles in the process are as a guide, monitor, tutor and facili-

tator. I have assigned this as a semester project to be done out of class and have yet

to have two identical projects submitted. Students love this project and the work

they produce is most often above and beyond, very unique and beautifully done.

Generally, I assign this project to first-year classes, and generally it is all done in

English. This is to introduce the students to the part of the world which we are dis-

cussing. The project is almost exclusively done in English to take a little bit of the

fear factor out of the process for the students.

From this project came an additional project, that of investigating the sev-

enteen autonomous regions of Spain. The same requirements pertain, with adjust-

ments based on age level. This is usually assigned to second-year classes and is

done partially in Spanish to help students work toward the goals of speaking and

writing in Spanish, however, I have used it at all levels in slightly different formats.

If I teach an upper level class, year three and beyond, they will do a project

44

on an indigenous civilization, such as the Aztec, Inca, Maya, Olmec, Chichimec,

Toltec and Araucano Indian tribes. The requirements are below:

Civilizaciones Indígenas en Latinoamérica

Proyecto

Assignment: Investiga y crea un trabajo escrito sobre un grupo de indígenas en Lati-

noamérica.

II. Requirements:

A. Cartel/mapa

- Lista cronológica de eventos importantes del grupo.

- Mapa del imperio del grupo

- Mapa de como parece hoy el area dónde estaba el imperio.

B. Trabajo escrito

- Escribe un ensayo, en la forma MLA, describiendo la cultura, la

lengua y la historia del grupo.

-Debes tener tres recursos por lo mínimo; dos de os deben ser

libros no usados en clase; solo debe usar un recurso del internet.

Presentación – Va Ud. A hacer una presentación de lo que Ud. Ha hecho y de lo que

Ud. Supo en sus investigaciones.

This project allows students to research and become well-educated on the pre-

Colombian tribes of the Western World and how their history and culture both influ-

enced and had been influenced by the Europeans and how our culture is influenced

by the same even today.

One final project that I have found works well, especially with on-line

classes, is an investigation into a person, place or event that has had a great impact

on the history and culture of the Spanish-speaking world. The list I give, while thor-

ough, is by no means exhaustive.

Proyecto de investigación

Uds. deben elegir entre los temas abajo o pueden investigar su propio tema (con el

permiso del maestro).

45

Artistas Escritores

Diego Rivera Ruben Darío

Frida Kahlo Andres Bello

Diego Velazquez Federico Garcia Lorca

El Greco Miguel de Cervantes

Salvador Dali Gabriel García Márquez

Pablo Picasso Carlos Fuentes

Francisco Goya Mario Vargas Llosa

Jorge Luis Borges

Delmira Agustini

Alfonsina Storni

Eventos históricos Los indígenas

Spanish Civil War Los Inca

The Inquisition Los Maya

Spanish American War Los Aztec

Mexican American War

Mexican Revolution

Colonization

Spanish Armada

Personas políticas Exploradores/Revolucionarios

Juan Perón Francisco Pizarro

Eva Perón Hernán Cortéz

Padre Miguel Hidalgo José De San Martín

Francisco Franco Simón Bolívar

Hugo Chavez La Malinche

Fidel Castro Che Guevara

Carlos V / Carlos I

Ferdinand and Isabel

Agosto Pinochet

46

Me gustaría, si quieres, hablar de sus trabajos individualmente. Tienes que traer con-

tigo a una reunion así algo escrito sobre su tema para que yo tenga una idea de la

dirección en que vas. Los requisitos son así:

Un trabajo escrito en español de su tema de 3-5 páginas, de estilo MLA.

1. Debería ser en tus propias palabras.

2. Debería Ud usar por lo menos 3 recursos (solamente 1 puede ser del

internet; no WIKIPEDIA).

3. Por favor, cita todas sus referencias.

4. Debería ser escrito de 12 puntos.

5. Debería ser escrito en Times New Roman.

6. Si quieres usar las palabras de otra persona, hacer cuotaciones y cita

selección de manera apropiada dentro del trabajo.

7. Incluya, por favor, dibujos o fotos representantes de su tema en adición a

su trabajo escrito.

8. Tendrán Uds. que hacer una pequeña presentación en clase de su trabajo.

The idea is not to force a project topic or theme on the students, but rather to give

them ideas from which to choose, leaving room for personal selections as well. In

my experience teaching online, as well as in the classroom, students generally

choose a topic in their field of interest and therefore already engaged in the learning

process. Not only that, but the student also chooses a topic within the topic, such as

a certain work by an author or artists, a certain period in a political figure‘s life, or a

certain facet of an indigenous culture, be it religion, economics or politics.

In conclusion the beauty of the constructivist project is its ability to truly

engage the student in the learning process while also maintaining the stated curricula

of teaching reading, writing, speaking and listening. Students are given a chance to

look at the language and culture of the Spanish-speaking people in a way that is

unique and interesting to them. It is when the student is as engaged as possible with

these types of projects that they get excited about learning and ultimately learn the

most.

References

Alessandrini, K., & Larson, L. (2007). Teachers Bridge to Constructivism. Educa-

tional Psychology, 21,127-128.

Jonassen, D. (1994, April). Thinking technology. Educational Technology, 34-37.

Appendix A

Characteristics of Constructivism

1.Constructivist learning environments provide multiple representations of real-

ity.

47

2. Multiple representations avoid oversimplification and represent the complex-

ity of the real world.

3. Constructivist learning environments emphasize knowledge construction in-

stead of knowledge reproduction.

4. Constructivist learning environments emphasize authentic tasks in a mean-ingful context rather than abstract instruction out of context.

5. Constructivist learning environments provide learning environments such as

real-world settings or case-based learning instead of predetermined se-

quences of instruction.

6. Constructivist learning environments encourage thoughtful reflection on ex-

perience.

7. Constructivist learning environments "enable context- and content- depend-

ent knowledge construction."

8. Constructivist learning environments support "collaborative construction of

knowledge through social negotiation, not competition among learners for

recognition."

Appendix B

Instructions to Students

Poster

Your best option here is a tri-fold poster. You may assemble the pieces as you see

fit. Be creative! Make sure you title it with the country you are doing as well as the

names of all members of your group. You are to have the following:

A. a historical timeline of important events (e.g. founding discovery, independ-

ence, birth/death of famous people from country, etc.).

B. Your country‘s flag C. Basic Information: Official languages, Currency, Type of government,

leader.

3-D map of country

You must have a 3-D map of your country somewhere with your project

(on poster, separate). You must label the following:

Bodies of water

Capital city

Two other large cities

Mountains

All neighboring countries

Paper

You must turn in 1 paper per group detailing all of the information in your project.

This must be written MLA style and be at least 3-5 pages in Times New Roman

2pt. font. You must have a minimum of 3 resources/works cited in your paper.

Only 1 source can be from the internet. All others must be books, references, etc.

48

Travel Brochure

Create a travel brochure for visitors to your country. Include key information such

as currency, places to visit, etc. Your job is to sell the destination to the rest of us

as a great vacation spot.

Foreign Language Teacher Resources

The editors recommend the following websites for language teachers:

1. Center for Applied Linguistics (www.cal.org)

2. Center for Advanced Research on Language Acquisition (www.carla.umn.edu)

3. FL Teach (www.cortland.edu/flteach)

4. National Capital Language Resource Center (www.nclrc.org)

To learn more about language teaching, the editors also recommend the following

journals. Ask librarian for assistance if difficulties arise locating the journals.

1. Foreign Language Annals

2. NECTFL Review (http://www2.dickenson.edu/prorg/nectfl/review.html)

3. SCOLT Dimension

4. CSCTFL Report (http://www.csctfl.org/)

49

Holy Innocent‘s Episcopal School‘s Language

Honor Societies

This coming September, the upper school will see the addition of two new organi-

zations: the Societé Honoraire Française and the Sociedad Honoraría Hispánica.

These societies will recognize students for their hard work and success in the lan-

guage department. Qualifications for membership include: three or more semesters of the language, an average of at least a 90 across all three semesters, and a recom-

mendation from three teachers. Because only three semesters are required, students

will be able to join as soon as the second semester of their sophomore year, enabling

them to be more heavily involved in the organizations for a longer period of time.

Mrs. Christine Stafford, Head of the Foreign Language Department, says of the

honor societies, ―It‘ll be really wonderful. It‘s time to recognize the students who

have excelled.‖

Apart from honoring students for their achievements, the two societies will focus on

inspiring younger students and cultivating a love of languages. The Socieded Ho-

nonaría Hispánica will organize fun events on holidays like November 2, Día de los

Muertos, and Cinco de Mayo for preschool through middle school, giving Spanish students a break from work and a chance to use and enjoy the language while the

preschoolers learn their first few words in another language. In a similar vein, the

Societé Honoraire Française will introduce students to the French language at a

younger age. While French will continue to be offered starting in middle school,

lower school students will be exposed to the beauty and usefulness of French, mak-

ing them more comfortable to branch out to study different languages when they get

the chance. These organizations will also provide a glimpse into the unique culture

surrounding each language, exploring traditions and history.

However, membership in these societies is not all parties with kindergarteners.

Each member must complete five hours of community service, separate from the ten hours required by the high school. They will be encouraged to use their talents to

serve Sandy Springs and Atlanta by volunteering at English for Successful Living or

similar programs, or maybe creating an entirely different project. All members from

all three organizations will also create a tutoring system for all levels. Next year,

students struggling with preterit and imperfect will be able to email the president of

the Sociedad Honoraría Hispánica or the Société Honoraire Française or either of its

advisors, Mrs. Christine Stafford and Mr. Gerard Gatoux, and be matched up with a

student tutor.

The Sociedad Honoraría Hispánica and the Société Honoraire Française will be

great additions to HIES. They will boost interest in foreign languages across the

entire campus and make an impact in the general community. They will further en-courage students who love languages to continue their studies as well as honoring

students for their hard work and talents.

K. C. Crewdson , Student

50

SPI

51

Important Dates 2010-2011

November 20-22, 2010 ACTFL Conference (San Diego, CA)

March 4/5, 2011 FLAG Conference—Connecting Students to the World

Atlanta, GA . Westin Airport Hotel

March 10-12, 2011. SCOLT Conference, Baton Rouge, LA.

March 26 , 2011 Middle and High School Spoken Language Contest Saturday, * 8

a.m. until 12 noon - Tucker HS, Saturday, * 8 a.m. until 12 noon - Darton College (Albany)

April 1 - 4, 2011. NECTFL Conference. Baltimore Marriott Waterfront Hotel

Baltimore MD

111th Congress and Languages

Ashley Lenker and J. David Edwards, JNCL-NCLIS

As the 111th Congress enters its August recess, the press of legislative business

has even required the House to come back into session to pass a $26 billion bill to preserve teachers and government workers‘ jobs. When Congress officially returns

from recess after Labor Day, they will have a very full plate considering climate

change, national security, Afghanistan, the economy, omnibus and supplemental

spending bills, and reauthorization of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act

(ESEA), among other concerns. With partisanship greater than ever and mid-term

elections approaching, accomplishing anything may be difficult and a lame duck

session seems possible.

The first session of the 111th Congress was almost totally dominated by the econ-

omy. By the second session, other issues, such as the Race to the Top (RTT) and its

impact on education reform, began to come into play. In releasing the Department

of Education‘s budget, Secretary Duncan announced a number of changes tied to the

reform provisions in RTT. While not at the top of their concerns, one approach to accountability will impact languages. The budget and the Administration‘s Blue

Print for ESEA combines academic programs and forces them to compete for fund-

ing. For example, the new Effective Teaching and Learning for a Well-Rounded

Education will combine the $27 million Foreign Language Assistance Program

(FLAP) with seven other programs in economics, civics, arts, geography, and his-

tory.

In May, during the JNCL-NCLIS‘ annual meetings, the language community

engaged in advocacy to save FLAP from this proposed consolidation, to increase

funding for languages, and to garner support for Rep. Rush Holt‘s (D-NJ) Foreign

Language Education Partnership Program (H.R. 4065). FLEPP creates sequenced,

JNCL-NCLIS

52

articulated foreign language partnerships between schools and institutions of higher

education. JNCL/NCLIS members discussed provisions for a new language bill that

would include national, state, and local provisions. We are pleased that the JNCL-

NCLIS efforts and collaboration during the meeting have resulted in several positive

outcomes for languages, including appropriations, congressional briefings, Senate hearings, and new language legislation.

First, FLAP is likely to be funded at $26.9 million in FY2011. This figure was

reported by the Senate Appropriations Committee and would not consolidate FLAP

as proposed. Our collective efforts contacting Members of Congress, successful

Congressional visits in May, and JNCL/NCLIS‘ interaction with policymakers

proved to be a winning formula in saving FLAP in the short term. Other Senate ap-

propriations include: Title VI of the Higher Education Act is increased by $2 million

to $110.36 million, bringing the foreign language and international education ac-

count to $127.881 million; Civics Education, another program the Administration

would merge into a larger pot is funded at $35 million with $13,383,000 going to the

Cooperative Education Exchange Program; the Fund for the Improvement of Post-

secondary Education (FIPSE) is $105.6 million; and Graduate Assistance in Areas of National Need is at $31 million.

Second, Chairman Senator Daniel Akaka (D-HI) recently held a hearing entitled

―Closing the Language Gap: Improving the Federal Government's Language Capa-

bilities‖ to examine the need for languages and coordination across government

agencies. The July 29 hearing included testimony by JNCL-NCLIS President Dan E.

Davidson (ACTR/ACCELS) and Board Member Richard Brecht (CASL). The hear-

ing demonstrated that although certain agencies have made some progress in in-

creasing their language capabilities there is still much room for improvement at the

federal level. The hearing webcast is available on the Subcommittee on Oversight of

Government Management, the Federal Workforce and the District of Columbia web-

site. Third, as considered at the annual JNCL-NCLIS Delegate Assembly, provisions

for an omnibus language bill were finalized recently. JNCL-NCLIS worked closely

with the Coalition for International Education (CIE), ACTFL, the Asia Society,

NEA, and others to build consensus and collaborate with Rep. Holt‘s staff. After a

policy briefing on Capitol Hill, sponsored by these associations, Rep. Holt intro-

duced the Excellence and Innovation for Language Learning Act (H.R. 6036). It is a

$400 million initiative to create and expand language education infrastructure and

programs at the national, state, and local levels. The local piece of the legislation is

comprised of Rep. Holt‘s FLEPP bill (H.R. 4065). If passed, the entire omnibus bill

would increase language learning opportunities at all levels. Although this is

unlikely to occur during this session, it allows for language provisions to be consid-

ered in the reauthorization of the ESEA. Therefore, it is important to continue to raise awareness and advocate on behalf of H.R. 6036 H.R. 4065, and FLAP.

JNCL-NCLIS President Dan E. Davidson and staff have spent the second session

of the 111th Congress coordinating activities and reporting to members on new de-

velopments. We will continue to keep members alert to new information, congres-

sional actions, and the need for advocacy. JNCL-NLICS genuinely appreciates all

of our members‘ activities and your continued support for language initiatives and

policies.

53

A Summer Success: 1st Ever Georgia World Languages Summer Leadership

Institute

It is more important than event to build leadership among the World Languages pro-

fession. With that goal in mind, this past June, 35 world language professionals from across Georgia gathered for the first ever World Languages Summer Leadership

Institute. Participants came to North Georgia College and State University in Dahlo-

nega from all across Georgia, including Lowndes County, Barrow County, Liberty

County, Whitfield County, Early County, Hancock County and Newton County, to

name a few. North Georgia College and State University proved to be wonderful

hosts for this event, which promises to be an essential component of the world lan-

guage profession landscape in Georgia.

Metro Atlanta World Languages leaders including Greg Barfield (Cobb County),

Corinne Barnes (Douglas County), Terry Harness (Fulton County), David Jahner

(Gwinnett County), Chantal Normil (Clayton County), Rhonda Wells (DeKalb

County), and Jon Valentine from the Georgia Department of Education organized and planned the event as outreach to districts with no dedicated World Languages

coordinator and/or teacher leaders. Sponsors for the event included the Center for

the Advancement and Study of International Education (CASIE), Foreign Language

Association of Georgia (FLAG), North Georgia College and State University and

the Southern Conference on Language Teaching (SCOLT). Major financial support

for the event was provided by Stevens Learning Systems, a language lab company

headquartered in Norcross, GA. Jamie Hincemon, Regional Support Manager from

Stevens Learning Systems, attended the event from beginning to end.

The purpose of the 2.5 day event was to provide opportunities for district level coor-

dinators with little or no language background or teacher leaders in districts outside the metro Atlanta area to learn about the latest in the field as well as to focus on

what outstanding language instruction looks like. Participants spent the first day

exploring what a standards-based classroom looks like, how technology has changed

the face of language instruction, as well as how to develop common assessments and

quality instruction that is focused on the needs of the learner.

On the second day, Jon Valentine from the Georgia Department of Education pro-

vided a ―State of the State‖ overview as to the current state of K-12 language in-

struction as well as current and future initiatives. Participants also had an opportu-

nity to observe summer immersion courses at North Georgia College and State Uni-

versity in Chinese, Arabic, and Spanish.

SCOLT Regional Teacher of the Year and 2009 FLAG Teacher of the Year,

Clarissa Adams-Fletcher, shared insights about how the Standards for Foreign Lan-

guage Learning are seamlessly integrated into her classroom, as well as her profes-

sional journey as an educator.

Attendees experienced a variety of focused discussions on issues crucial to the pro-

fession and were able to be active participants throughout the Institute via the use of

web tools such as Today‘s Meet (http://www.todaysmeet.com) and a wikispace to

54

house essential thoughts from group discussions. (http://10gawlsli.wikispaces.com/)

Surveys administered at the end of the Institute indicated a tremendous success:

100% of participants said they would most definitely attend another Summer Insti-

tute in the future. The opportunity to network with colleagues from around the state and quality of the program also ranked extremely high. By the end of the Institute,

the organizing team referred to it as the ―1st Annual World Languages Summer

Leadership Institute‖.

Think you can’t afford to attend the

2011 Conference in Augusta?

THINK AGAIN!

Announcing the

Stimulus Package!

FLAG is rolling back the conference registration cost $10

to help make it possible for YOU to attend!

Check the FLAG Website NOW for registration details.

55

FLAG Journal Submission Guidelines and Requirements

Manuscripts must:

1. Appeal to the instructional, administrative, or research interests of foreign/second

language educators at P-16 levels of instruction.

2. Be substantive and present new ideas or new applications of information related

to current trends and teaching in the language field.

3. Be well written, clearly organized, and carefully proofread.

4. Include a complete reference list at the end.

5. Use the most recent APA [American Psychological Association] Guidelines, and

not those of the Modern Language Association (MLA) or the Chicago Manual of

Style. Please use the latest edition (5th ed., 2001) of the Publication Manual of the

American Psychological Association as your guide. 6. Be no longer than 12-15 double-spaced pages in 12 pt. Times New Roman type-

face, with 1 inch margins, black text on white paper. This does not mean that a

slightly longer article is out of the question.

7. Do not submit a diskette with article you are submitting. Instead, submit your

article electronically to pswanson@gsu.edu or scrooks@kennesaw.edu. Please fol-

low these guidelines carefully to expedite the review and publishing process:

a. Use a PC-compatible word-processing program, preferably Microsoft

Word 2000 or a later version.

b. Do not use the rich text format.

c. Use a font size of 12 points and use only one font throughout — we re-

quire Times New Roman. d. Use italics and boldface type when necessary, but do not use underlining.

8. Be submitted with no authors' names indicated on the manuscript (for review

purposes).

9. Include a cover letter with the name, postal and e-mail addresses, and phone

number of the first author (or other contact person) clearly noted.

10. Include an abstract of no more than 150 words.

11. Include a short biographical paragraph (this will appear at the bottom of the first

page of the article). Please include this paragraph on a separate page at the end of

your article. This paragraph should include the following information (no longer

than 4-5 lines)

12. Include any figures and tables in APA format. Photographs, graphics, figures

and tables must contribute to article content. Please be absolutely certain that all materials are complete with caption/credit information. Figures and Tables must be

appropriately labeled in the article.

13. Not have been published previously nor be currently under review for publica-

tion elsewhere.

Manuscripts submitted to FLAG Journal cannot be returned, so authors should keep a copy for themselves. Submissions will be acknowledged within one month of receipt. The editor of FLAG Journal reserves the right to make editorial changes in any manuscript accepted for

publication to enhance clarity or style. The author will be consulted only if the editing has been substantial, though the author will be able to review the article prior to publication.

56

Checklist for Manuscript Submissions

1. Please remember to use the ―spell check‖ and ―grammar check‖ on your

computer before you submit your

manuscript.

2. Remember that with the APA

guidelines, notes (footnotes or end-

notes) are discouraged — such infor-mation is considered to be either im-

portant enough to be included in the

article itself or not significant enough to be placed anywhere. If notes are

necessary, however, they should be

endnotes.

3. Please double-space everything in

your manuscript.

4. The required font throughout is

Times New Roman 12.

5. There should be only one space

after each period, according to APA

format.

6. All numbers above ―nine‖ must

appear as Arabic numerals [―nine

students‖ vs. ―10 teachers‖].

7. Please do not set up tabs at the be-

ginning of the article (i.e., automati-

cally); rather you should use the tab key on your computer each time you

begin a new

paragraph, which is to be indented only 1/4 inch.

8. Remember that according to APA guidelines, the References section

does not consist of a list of works

consulted, but rather of the list of works you actually use in your arti-

cle. Before you submit your manu-

script, please check to make certain

that each reference in the article has a matching citation in the Reference

section. Then be sure that all

items in the References section have been cited within the article itself.

Please double check all Internet ad-

dresses before you submit the manu-script.

9. Please makes certain that the com-

ponents you submit are in the follow-ing order:

a. First page — with the article

title, names and titles of authors, their preferred mailing ad

dresses, home and office phone

numbers, FAX numbers, E-mail addresses, and an indication as

to which of the joint authors will

serve as the primary contact per

son [also, times in the summer when regular and E-mail

addresses may be inactive];

b. First page of the manuscript — should have the title of the arti

cle and the abstract.

c. The text of the article, Notes,

References, Appendices — in this order

e. The short, biographical para

graph (no more than 4-5 lines).

57

FLAG dues are due by September 1 of each year and should be sent to FLAG

Treasurer, Mary Ellen Foye, P.O. Box 734, Griffin, GA 30224 (eyofme@aol.com).

[ ] $15.00 - Student/Retired Membership

(―student‖ means full-time, undergraduate student only; ―retired‖ means

retired and NOT teaching). Benefits: Subscription to The FLAG Journal,

―Fall Features‖, FLAG Conference at member rates, participation at the FLAG Contests.

[ ] $25.00 – Regular Membership

Benefits: Subscription to The FLAG Journal, ―Fall Features‖, FLAG

Conference at member rates, participation at the FLAG Contests

[ ] $40.00 Joint Spouses’ Membership

Benefits: Subscription to The FLAG Journal, ―Fall Features‖, FLAG

Conference at member rates, participation at the FLAG Contests

[ ] $50.00 Patron Membership

Available to individuals. Benefits: Subscription to The FLAG Journal,

―Fall Features‖, FLAG Conference at member rates, participation at the

FLAG Contests. Name will be listed on the FLAG web page, in The

FLAG Journal, and in the conference program. [ ] $50.00 Institutional Membership

Available to institutions only. Subscription to The FLAG Journal, ―Fall

Features‖. Name will be listed on the FLAG web page, in The FLAG Jour

nal, and in the conference program.

Did a colleague urge you to join FLAG? If so, please let us know who it was

(name, school, email), so that we can thank him or her for supporting our member-

ship drive. Thank you for your support!

Please print clearly.

Name:__________________________________________________________

School:_________________________________________________________

County: ________________Level of Instruction: _______________________

School Address: __________________________________________________

School Phone: _________________________ School FAX:

____________

Language taught: ______________________________________________

Home address: ________________________________________________

Home Phone: ______________________________

Email address: ______________________________________________________

FLAG Membership Form

58

Teaching Awards

Teaching Award Recognizes teachers who effectively strive to use vari-

ous strategies, techniques, and materials to enhance the students' interest

in, acquisition of, and proficiency in a second language. Two divisions will be recognized: P-12 and Post-Secondary.

Teacher of Promise Award Recognizes teachers in their first, second,

or third year of teaching who show the promise to be an outstanding

teacher and leader in foreign language education. Two divisions will be

recognized: P-12 and Post-Secondary.

Leadership & Support Awards

Administrative Support of Foreign Languages Recognizes a Georgia Dean, Superintendent, Principal, or other administrator who has evi-

denced strong and overt support for foreign languages.

Fostering Partnerships With Foreign Languages Recognizes teachers

who have sought to involve the community / business / colleges in for-

eign language activities, which may occur on or away from campus.

Leadership Award Recognizes those who have taken an active role in

promoting foreign language education through professional and/or aca-demic endeavors. Two divisions will be recognized: P-12 and Post-

Secondary.

On occasion and at the discretion of its board, FLAG may present additional

ad hoc and/or one-time awards as warranted (e.g. for noteworthy, special accomplishments etc.). See webpage for more information <<http://

www.flageorgia.org/awards.htm>>

Awards will be presented at the annual conference. Winners are requested to

attend the luncheon where they will receive the actual award.

To make a nomination (and/or complete an application), see FLAG

website.

FLAG Awards Information

59

French, German and Spanish

Scholarships for Teachers in

the SCOLT Region

Academia Latinoamericana, the Linguistic department of Equatori-

alis University: Available to: 6 – 12 (Secondary) Teachers of Spanish. The schol-

arship recipient may choose Ecuador, Peru or Bolivia, or combine two coun-

tries. Scholarship includes the following :two weeks of classes / 40 contact hours in

Spanish acquisition, curso de perfeccionamiento de Español para profesores, in-

digenous culture, Literature, History or Culture and Civilization course / lodging

with host family, accommodation in private room / airport transfer upon arrival to

destination / two meals per day (breakfast and dinner). Not included: Flight trans-

portation, airport taxes, tips, lunches or snacks, and side trips or weekend excur-

sions.

Estudio Sampere: This scholarship is available to teachers of Spanish K-16; it pro-

vides three weeks of study in Spain or Ecuador. It includes tuition, room, and board

in one of several locations in Spain or in Cuenca, Ecuador. The scholarship does not

include transportation to or transfer within Spain or Ecuador.

The Cemanahuac Educational Community: This scholarship, available to teach-

ers of Spanish in levels K-12, provides two weeks at Cemanahuac Educational Com-

munity in Cuernavaca, Mexico, including registration, tuition, housing with a Mexi-

can family (double room) for two weeks, all meals, a field-study trip, and a certifi-

cate of attendance. The scholarship does not include transportation to Mexico

City or transfers to Cuernavaca from Mexico City airport.

The Embassy of Spain: This scholarship, sponsored by the Embassy of Spain for

three weeks of study in Spain, is available to secondary teachers of Spanish. It in-

cludes registration, tuition, and housing in one of several locations in Spain. The

scholarship does not include transportation to Spain or transfers within the country

Centro MundoLingua: This scholarship is available to secondary school teachers

of Spanish who teach AP classes or indicate and can validate that they will do so in

the near future. It provides tuition for a 2-week course, room, board, and materi-

als. The course, an AP summer institute endorsed by the College Board (renewal

credits offered free and graduate credits available for an additional cost), is in

Sevilla. The scholarship does not include transportation to Spain or transfers to Sevilla.

The Goethe Institut and AATG: This scholarship for German teachers pre-K

through university includes registration and tuition at a Goethe Institut in Germany,

60

housing, with breakfast and one meal daily on seminar days for three or four weeks,

depending on the seminar chosen, and some specific field trips.

The Cultural Services of the French Embassy: These scholarships, available to

French teachers in levels K-12, provide three weeks of study during July in France. They include registration, tuition and a certificate of attendance, and an allotment

for lodging, meals, and expenses while in France, including transfer from the airport

to the study site. They do not include transportation to France.

The University of Quebec - Chicoutimi: This scholarship, available to French

teachers in levels K-12, provides three weeks at the Ecole de langue française et de

culture, including admission and tuition fees, materials, and meals, daily transporta-

tion to the University, cultural activities, and a 2-day excursion to Quebec

City. There may be a small fee for lodging with a French-speaking family or in a

university residence.

REQUIREMENTS

Reside in a SCOLT region state (AL, AR, FL, GA, KY, LA, MS, NC, SC, TN,

TX, VA, WV, US Virgin Islands).

Teach two or more classes of the specific language.

Register for and attend the 2010 SCOLT Conference (Winston-Salem, NC) to

accept the award in person as our guest at the Awards Luncheon.

Be able to take advantage of the schooling available in 2010.

Be a participant in professional organizations such as SCOLT, local state world

language association, ACTFL, specific language associations, etc.

Present a session relating to the travel study experience at the 2011 SCOLT confer-ence (registration fee waived).

More information and details available in the fall SCOLTalk or on the SCOLT web-

page (www.scolt.org) or from SCOLT Scholarship Director Susan Navey-Davis:

navey@chass.ncsu.edu.

APPLICATION POSTMARKED BY NOVEMBER 1, 2009: Application infor-

mation is available on-line and in the fall SCOLTalk. Completed applications

must include three copies of each of the following:

> The completed application form available in the fall SCOLTalk and on-

line http://www.scolt.org/ (click on SCOLT Scholarships) students/former students)

(Continued)

SCOLT Scholarships

61

> One-page biographical profile (education, memberships/activities include

ing SCOLT, honors)

> One-page statement in English detailing benefits of the award to the

applicant and students

> One-page statement in the target language describing teaching

philosophy

> Two one-page letters of recommendation (any combination of principal,

supervisor, department chair, colleagues, students/former students)

SCOLT

62

November

DEADLINE: Nominations

Due SCOLT Teacher of Ex-

cellence Award K-12 and Sec-

ondary

11/01/2010 SCOLT Teacher of Excellence

DEADLINE: SCOLT Teacher

Study/Travel Abroad Scholar-

ships French, German and Spanish

Teachers

11/01/2010 SCOLT Travel Scholarships

for Teachers

French: National French

Week 11/04 –

11/10/2010 National French Week

Chinese language Textbook/

Resources Exhibit 11/05/2010

Emory Confucius Institute

Emory University South Atlanta Modern Lan-

guage Association (SAMLA) Conference

11/06/2010 Atlanta, Georgia

SAMLA

French Immersion Day 10 am – 5 pm

Alliance Franciaise d’Atlanta 11/06/2010 AFATL

Chinese Speech and Perform-

ance Contest 11/10/2010

Emory Confucius Institute

Emory University DEADLINE: Submit Propos-

als for FLAG Awards 11/15/2010 FLAG

NADSFL / NCSSFL 11/16/2010

–

11/18/2010

Boston, MA NADSFL NCSSFL

ACTFL 11/19/2010 -

11/21/2010 ACTFL

Collins Hill 3rd Annual Certa-

men Tournament 11/20/2010 GJCL

French: AATF Fall Meeting 11/20/2010 Sandy Creek High School

8:30 a.m. – 3:00 p.m.

Calendar of Events

December Workshop: World Languages

Coastal Plains RESA 12/02/2010 Coastal Plains RESA

Webinar: German AP – New

Test Guidance 12/06/2010 Elluminate Live Session Link

63

Webinar: Technology Tips

and Tricks World Languages

Web 2.0 and Voicethread *Caroline O’Bannon WL Co-

ordinator and Tech Specialist

12/07/2010 Elluminate Live Session Link

DEADLINE: Istanbul Center

Essay Contest 12/20/2010 Istanbul Center

DEADLINE: Congress-

Bundestag Germany Scholar-

ship 12/21/2010

Congress Bundestag Scholar-

ship

January GJCL Winter Planning Meet-

ing 01/09/2011 GJCL

SCOLT Teacher of the Year

Portfolios Due 01/10/2011 SCOLT Teacher of the Year

DEADLINE: Istanbul Center

Art Contest 01/14/2011 Istanbul Center

State German Convention 01/28/11 –

01/29/2011

Camp Jackson Covington, GA

AATG February

Governor’s Honors Program

(GHP) Interviews 02/05/2011

GHP Information

Dutchtown High School DEADLINE: FLAG Confer-

ence Registration 02/04/2011 FLAG

Marist 4th Annual Certamen

Tournament 02/12/2011 GJCL

March

FLAG Conference 03/04/2011

–

03/05/2011

Westin Airport Hotel Atlanta, GA

SCOLT Conference 03/11/2011

–

03/12/2011 Baton Rouge, LA

FLAG Spoken Language Con-

test 03/26/2011

Tucker High School Tucker, GA

April

GJCL Final Convention Plan-

ning Meeting 04/10/2011 GJCL

GJCL Spring Convention 04/15 –

04/17/2011 GJCL

64

Ongoing Programs

French

Alliance Francaise Advanced French Classes for French Teachers

Alliance Francaise All Level Classes for Students

French Embassy Programs

The French Embassy offers the following resources. Due to changing links, Infor-

mation for these programs is available on their website listed above. Grants for Students 18-25 Years Old: Youth International Meetings

Teaching Assistant Program in France

French-American Commission for Educational Exchange

Chateaubriand Fellowships-Humanities and Social Sciences

Eifffel Scholarships and Eiffel PhD Scholarships

Educational and Cultural Audiovisual Resources for French Teachers

www.espacefrancophone.org or www.frenchmedia.org

The Tournees Festival – College Cinema Project

Le Bureau du Documentaire

Fiction Novel and Film Titles

Universcine‘ downloadable French Films with English Subtitles

Test de Connaissance de Francais

Francofil Newsletter

Campusfrance

Authors on Tour French Cultural Services in Atlanta

German

Language Affiliate Presidents:

Please submit State and Na-

tional Award Winners to the

GaDOE in preparation for

August Board Awards

04/30/2011 Jvalentine@doe.k12.ga.us

May

June

GJCL Officer Crossover Meet-

ing 05/03 –

05/05/2011 GJCL

July

NJCL Convention at the Uni-

versity of Kentucky 07/25 –

07/30/2011 GJCL

65

German Language Church Service

Church of the Redeemer in Midtown, Atlanta

Sundays, 5pm

The German School of Atlanta Saturday Classes 9:30am – 12:00pm

Levels Age 3 to Adult Advanced

Also offering Sprachdiplom I and II

German School of Atlanta Information

Bundesliga LIVE

Every Saturday, on the Big Screen at the German Cultural Center

Soccer Breakfast

9:30am

German Cultural Center

German Language Classes September 29 – December 13

Absolute beginner – Advanced Speaker

German Cultural Center

German Language Examinations

Call 404/892-2388x230

German Cultural Center

German Film Series

German Cultural Center

German Cultural Center on Facebook

Search: German Cultural Center Atlanta or Goethe-Zentrum Atlanta

Facebook

Chinese

HSK Chinese Proficiency Tests

FLAG, the Foreign Language Association of Georgia, is the official professional

organization for foreign language teachers in Georgia. FLAG is an association of

instructors, administrators, and others involved in foreign language teaching and

the promotion of cultural understanding.

Previous issues of the FLAG Journal and the FLAG Peer Review are available from

FLAG.