Teaching World Languages in the High School Context:
Realities, Challenges and Aspirations
Don Doehla and Nancy Salsig, Berkeley World Language Project
Although the ideal model for world language courses is based on theory and research and is codified in state content standards and ACTFL documents, most secondary language teachers are overwhelmed by the challenges of large classes and very limited resources in implementing the model. Moreover, many school districts are now requiring that all students take one or two years of a language other than English to graduate from high school, increasing the challenges for teachers to differentiate their curriculum in order to meet the varied needs of all students. This presentation describes the experiences California high school students have with languages before they come to Berkeley.
Don Doehla and Nancy Salsig, Co-directors of the Berkeley World Language Project, provide professional development for K-12 language teachers to deepen their understanding of the state standards and learn strategies to implement them. They will share their own experiences of what it is like to teach language courses in secondary schools, outlining both the realities and challenges they face, and the aspirations they strive to realize. They will describe the consequences of the shift from more traditional teaching approaches to an emphasis on inquiry-based language learning and proficiency-based assessment of outcomes, using authentic texts and multimedia to address the Common Core Standards, and other professional documents.
https://blc.berkeley.edu/index.php/blc/pages/ebwlp/
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Friday, November 14, 2014
3 – 5 pm, B4 Dwinelle Hall