AAUSC at ACTFL
AAUSC at MLA
“Hybrid Language Teaching and Learning: Exploring Pedagogical and Curricular Issues”
Lara Ducate, University of South Carolina
Lara Lomicka Anderson, University of South Carolina
Gillian Lord, University of Florida
In this session, presenters focus on the practical uses of alternative technological tools and the pedagogical and curricular issues surrounding them. The tools discussed may be used in face-to-face contexts or could be adapted in blended or hybrid courses (i.e., ‘hybrid” is defined as the combination of virtual work days with traditional face-to-face contact days in the classroom). The first presenter discusses blogs and wikis as tools for language development and student creation both within and beyond the classroom boundaries. The second presenter examines how Facebook can be used as a course organizer and community building tool, and also considers audio/video conferencing tools to enhance oral and aural learning. The third presenter presents the microblogging service Twitter as an ideal tool not only to engage lower-level language students in interaction and communication, but also to connect language teachers with their peers in order to create a community of practice and support. The panelists discuss how these tools enable the enrichment and extension of the classroom setting in both traditional and alternative settings. Following the panel, participants will have the opportunity to discuss and share ideas for their own courses and programs.
Diane Musumeci, Univ. of Illinois, Urbana
Meeting the Demand for Spanish in Demanding Times.
For over a decade, the Department of Spanish, Italian, and Portuguese at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign has steadily incorporated both instructional technology and diverse teaching models in order to meet the demand for Spanish within the undergraduate curriculum. The challenge has been to do so without increasing cost and still maintain or improve learning outcomes. The result is a curriculum that offers a wide variety of models for the effective delivery of instruction.
Since its inception as The Spanish Project in 1998, the implementation of a blended (face-to-face and online) format to deliver instruction in beginning and intermediate Spanish language courses has allowed the department to meet enrollment demand without increasing instructional cost while still maintaining or improving learning outcomes.
Robert Blake. Univ. of California, Davis
What CALL offers for the L2 Curriculum:
Robert Blake will summarize the best features of both tutorial CALL and social computing (i.e. synchronous CMC) with an eye to illustrating how technology can enhance the L2 curriculum. He will also analyze how language play and language games can embody sound learning principles that motivate students to learn. Games are “designed experiences,” where the participants enjoy the freedom to fail with low risks, to experiment, to fashion new identities, to exert varying degrees of effort, and to interpret. Language games let players be producers, not just consumers by promoting agency, control, and ownership. He will also give some idea of both the human and institutional difficulties implied by efforts to incorporate new technologies into a language program whether in enhanced, hybrid, or totally online learning environments.