Day 3: Focus on the subject matter

What do HL teachers need to know and be

able to do?

Recap

StudentLearner

AbilitiesBackground

AttitudesGoals for the HL

Significance:

HL instruction

•Cannot be one-size fits all but must be differentiated according to individual learner needs;

•Must attend to the affective needs of students;

•Must be responsive to students’ goals vis-à-vis the HL

Goals

In the USa. To communicate with friends and family; b. For professional reasons;

Abroada. To communicate with friends and family

b. To travel c. For professional reasons

In the US

HLcommunity

Demographics, historyFunctions of the HL in the community

Sociolinguistic characteristics

Linguistic properties

Abroad…

In relation to other languages…

The predicted hierarchy of languages in 2050 (Graddol 1997)

The big languages

Chinese, Hindi/Urdu, English,Spanish, Arabic

Regional lgs (trading blocs);

Arabic, Malay, Chinese, English, Russian, Spanish

National Languages:

French, German, and other 220 languages that serve nation-states.

Local languages:

1000+ languages with varying degrees of official recognition

Value of this approach

A• Provides another measurement by which to assess the strategic importance of the HL within language programs,the educational system, and the U.S.;

• Offers new perspectives on classroom practices and materials.

What do we learn from this approach?

The big languages

Chinese, Hindi/Urdu, English,Spanish, Arabic

Regional lgs (trading blocs);

Arabic, Malay, Chinese, English, Russian, Spanish

National Languages:

French, German, and other 220 languages that serve nation-states.

Local languages:

1000+ languages with varying degrees of official recognition

1.

2.

3.

What do we learn from this approach?

•Many foreign languages currently taught in the U.S. are predicted to decrease in importance among the world languages;

•Four HL’s are predicted to figure among the “big languages” of the future;

•Many HL’s are on their way to becoming trade languages within regional blocks (more English-like)

What is English like and what can we learn from it?

•Spoken by first, second, and foreign language speakers (second and foreign language speakers outnumber first language speakers);

•Has many different variants (local and international);

•Taught for general and specialized purposes

What is English like and what can we learn from it? (cont.)Spoken by first,second, and foreign language speakers (second and foreign language speakers outnumber first language speakers);

It is taught differently for each of these populations.

First language; U.S.,U.K.,Canada;

Second language:Malaysia, India, Nigeria, etc.;

Foreign language: France, Greece, Chile.

Significance for HL teaching:

Different categories of learners have different needs. Differentiate instruction by learner types (tracks).

What is English like and what can we learn from it? (cont.)

Has many different variants (local and international);

It is spoken differently in different places according to local needs;

It is not “owned” by any one country;

Significance for HL teaching:.

•Focus on developing inter-dialectal communication;

•Foster tolerance and respect of linguistic variants,including bilingual variants of the HL;

•Teach about dialectal variation, issues of language prejudice, bilingualism. etc.

What is English like and what can we learn from it? (cont.)

Taught for general and specialized purposes

•English for the professions;

•English as an intermediary language

(e.g. between Vietnamese and Korean speakers in Asia);

Significance for HL teaching:

Expand curricular offerings to include:

•HL in the professions and across academic disciplines;

•Specialized reading/speaking courses;

•Connections to other languages;

•Certification of competency

Practices of L1 and L2 instruction:Beyond FLT

•Course work:Beyond literature and linguistics

•Materials:Beyond the textbook

•Methods:Beyond one-size fits all

Practices of L1 and L2 instruction:Beyond FLT

•Beyond Literature and linguistics: Connect HL learning to what is happening in the community and to the professions, and other academic areas. Make HL learning personally relevant;

•Beyond the textbook;

•Beyond one-size-fits-all

Practices L1 and L2 instruction:Beyond FLT

•Beyond literature and linguistics;

•Beyond the textbook: Employ a wide range of learning materials - newspapers, movies,YouTube,math books;

•Beyond one-size-fits-all.

Practices L1 and L2 instruction:Beyond FLT

•Beyond literature and linguistics;

•Beyond the textbook;

•Beyond one-size-fits-all: Differentiate instruction according to abilities, interests, and backgrounds of students.