Fall 2018 BLC Fellows Instructional Development Research Projects
From a Face-to-Face to Hybrid Intermediate Korean Course
Minsook Kim, Lecturer, East Asian Languages & Cultures
The Korean program has had a high attrition rate from beginning (K1A) to intermediate levels (K10B) (AY 2017: 77%). In searching for a solution to this trend, my colleague, Dr. Junghee Park and I received a one-year joint BLC fellowship to develop a hybrid course for intermediate level Korean. As I report for the first half of this project, I will address the following questions: Why a hybrid course as a solution to an enrollment problem? What pedagogical advantages and limitations does a hybrid format present? What does a hybrid lesson look like? Are there any administrative obstacles in offering a hybrid course?
Download Kim’s presentation as a PDF
Download Kim’s handout as a PDF
Zapotec Language Revitalization: What can be accomplished with a two-week Summer School
Julia Nee, GSR, Linguistics
The number of speakers of Zapotec, an indigenous language of Southern Mexico, is rapidly decreasing. To address community desires to reverse this language shift, a Zapotec language camp for children has been hosted each summer for three years. This talk addresses four key questions I considered while designing and implementing the course. What is the place of an outsider in language revitalization? How can a classroom-based language program foster interaction with native speakers beyond the classroom? What issues arise as one attempts to create culturally authentic materials? How can we measure the effects of such small interventions on long-term development of language skills?
Download Nee’s presentation as a PDF
Towards the Greening of the L2 Classroom: An example from French
Vesna Rodic, Lecturer, French
What can one learn about an L2 culture through the study of environmental sustainability? In what ways can such a theme enhance students’ analytical and research skills and, at the same time, their engagement and creativity? Taking up an inquiry-based approach, this project explores ways in which distinctive features of the target culture—such as its relationship towards the environment—can be used in the language classroom to develop students’ familiarity with primary sources, engage students in experiential learning and develop their ability to think comparatively and even transculturally. Activities involving legal documents, documentary films, and visual images will be discussed.
Download Rodic’s presentation as a PDF
Download Rodic’s handout as a PDF
Friday, November 30, 2018
3 – 5 pm
B-4 Dwinelle Hall