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Full-Text Articles in Language and Literacy Education

Proficiency: Atl – All The Levels Mar 2018

Proficiency: Atl – All The Levels

Dimensions

SCOLT Dimensions Volume 53


Designing L2 Reading Lab Courseware At The Intermediate Level, Concepción B. Godev Mar 2017

Designing L2 Reading Lab Courseware At The Intermediate Level, Concepción B. Godev

Dimensions

Despite increasing attention on literacy-based approaches to foreign language instruction (e.g. Allen & Dupuy, 2013; Barrette, Paesani, & Vinall, 2010; Byrnes, 2005; Kern, 2004; Magnan, Murphy, & Sahakyan, 2014) the communicative approach’s emphasis on oral proficiency continues to shadow reading practices. Although research findings commonly report that extensive reading (pleasure reading) promotes L2 development (Al-Homoud & Schmitt 2009; Day, 2015; Mason & Krashen, 1997), instructors have reported that they do not include these reading practices in the curriculum due to budgetary constraints on reading resources, lack of instructional time, and concern over the complex coordination of reading resources (Macalister, 2010). …


Social Justice In The Language Classroom: A Call To Action, Linwood J. Randolph Jr., Stacey Margarita Johnson Mar 2017

Social Justice In The Language Classroom: A Call To Action, Linwood J. Randolph Jr., Stacey Margarita Johnson

Dimensions

The goals of language education in the United States have always been informed by the social, historical, and political contexts in which the instruction takes place. In this paper, we make the case for social justice education in all language classrooms, and we explore the different threads of scholarship that inform social justice in language education. We begin with the Communities and Cultures standards, and then discuss critical pedagogy and transformative learning. Avenues and opportunities are explored for effective social justice instruction at the lesson planning and course design level, and for professional development. This paper concludes with a call …


The Georgia Seal Of Biliteracy: Exploring The Nexus Of Politics And Language Education, Tim Jansa, Kristina Brezicha Mar 2017

The Georgia Seal Of Biliteracy: Exploring The Nexus Of Politics And Language Education, Tim Jansa, Kristina Brezicha

Dimensions

On May 3, 2016, House Bill (HB) 879—the Georgia Seal of Biliteracy—was signed into law by Governor Nathan Deal and went into effect on July 1, 2016. Outside of the language education sphere, many educators and policymakers may not fully understand the benefits of studying other languages. Yet, this policy hinges on the utility of simultaneously demonstrating proficiency in a foreign language and an advanced command of English, thus forming the foundation of biliteracy. This article provides an overview of the political landscape in Georgia as it pertains to language education and analyzes how lawmakers translated the issues at hand …


Integrating Leadership And Foreign Language Literary Studies, Sheri Spaine Long, James Rasmussen Mar 2017

Integrating Leadership And Foreign Language Literary Studies, Sheri Spaine Long, James Rasmussen

Dimensions

This article reports on the integration of leadership studies into upper-level foreign language literature classes in German and Spanish in two undergraduate programs—a military university (USAFA) and a civilian university (UNC Charlotte). Taking into account ACTFL’s 21st Century Skills Map (2011) that includes the goal of leadership and responsibility, the study describes strategies and texts for leadership integration and recommendations for implementation to broaden the curriculum. Instructors from both institutions noted the usefulness of this approach to support language programs that include leadership as course/program/institutional goals as well as stimulating cross-cultural analysis from their exploratory analysis of student responses in …


Learning Styles And Metacognitive Awareness: How They Affect The L2 Listening Process Of At-Risk Students In A Modified Foreign Language Program (Mflp), William Keith Corbitt Mar 2017

Learning Styles And Metacognitive Awareness: How They Affect The L2 Listening Process Of At-Risk Students In A Modified Foreign Language Program (Mflp), William Keith Corbitt

Dimensions

Research on the acquisition of foreign languages by at-risk students has primarily focused on the Linguistic Coding Deficit Hypothesis (Horwitz, 2000). Recently, there has been a growing discussion regarding the effects of learning style rigidity (Castro, 2006; Castro and Peck, 2005; Corbitt, 2011; Sparks, 2006) and metacognitive awareness (Corbitt, 2013) on the acquisition of Spanish by at-risk students in Modified Foreign Language Programs (MFLPs). This pilot study seeks to expand the conversation to include a discussion on foreign language listening. MFLP and non-MFLP participants completed the Metacognitive Awareness of Listening Questionnaire (Vandergrift, Goh, Mareschal, & Tafaghodtari; 2006) and the Learning …


Languages: Your Global Fast Pass Mar 2017

Languages: Your Global Fast Pass

Dimensions

SCOLT Dimensions Volume 52


The Effect Of Pronunciation Instruction On The Perception Of /S/ Aspiration, Christina Agostinelli-Fucile Mar 2017

The Effect Of Pronunciation Instruction On The Perception Of /S/ Aspiration, Christina Agostinelli-Fucile

Dimensions

This study examines whether pronunciation instruction can improve listening comprehension in a second language. At the most basic level, listening comprehension involves the perception of individual sounds and sound contrasts, a process that is known to be related to production, or pronunciation, within the L2 phonological system. As improving listening comprehension has been cited as a reason to teach pronunciation in the L2 classroom (Arteaga, 2000; Brown, 1992; Gilbert, 1995), this study tests whether the positive relationship between pronunciation instruction and perception can be born out empirically using the case of /s/ aspiration in Spanish with native English speaking students.


Spanish↔English Translation Studies: An Adaptable Curricular Model, Michael Scott Doyle, Anton Pujol, Concepción B. Godev Mar 2017

Spanish↔English Translation Studies: An Adaptable Curricular Model, Michael Scott Doyle, Anton Pujol, Concepción B. Godev

Dimensions

The University of North Carolina at Charlotte has long offered undergraduate and graduate programs in Spanish↔English Translating and Translation Studies (TTS). The curriculum is based on a systematic articulation of history, theory, and method for all course work in different translation modes and content domains, and on continuously relating this foundational knowledge to praxis and vice versa. History, theory, method, and praxis are intertwined with the learner outcome goals of developing research skills, resources, and technology-based tools upon which to continue building in order to become effective translators for the long term. The program and curriculum provide an adaptable model …


Teaching Pragmatics With The Mi Vida Loca Video Program, Immaculada Gómez Soler, Errol M. O'Neill Mar 2016

Teaching Pragmatics With The Mi Vida Loca Video Program, Immaculada Gómez Soler, Errol M. O'Neill

Dimensions

This exploratory study examines the potentially beneficial role of utilizing an interactive video program (BBC’s Mi Vida Loca) in aiding second language learners of Spanish to enhance intercultural competence via pragmatic training. The results of a discourse completion task shows that students who watched MVL significantly improved their performance in a series of tasks that are appropriate for a Spanish context such as ordering food, giving directions, etc., while the control group did not. Based on our findings, we believe that MVL is a tool that would lend itself readily towards fostering their intercultural and pragmatic competence to help students …


Introduction: Expanding Our Educational Goals: Exploring Intercultural Competence, Alvino E. Fantini, Paula Garrett-Rucks Mar 2016

Introduction: Expanding Our Educational Goals: Exploring Intercultural Competence, Alvino E. Fantini, Paula Garrett-Rucks

Dimensions

We are delighted to present this collection of manuscripts that focus on various aspects of Intercultural Competence in this Special Issue of Dimensions 2016. Our hope for this Special Issue is not only to bring attention to the innovative programmatic changes and best teaching practices presented in the following chapters, but also to stimulate discussion in the field on the convergence of the diverse terminology used for a common end goal of fostering learners’ intercultural competence. The development of language learners’ intercultural competence—or more completely stated, intercultural communicative competence—engages them in a most profound educational experience, one that will serve …


Preparing Students For The Global Workplace: The Relevance Of Languages For Specific Purposes (Lsp), Mary Risner, Carolina Egúsquiza Mar 2016

Preparing Students For The Global Workplace: The Relevance Of Languages For Specific Purposes (Lsp), Mary Risner, Carolina Egúsquiza

Dimensions

Acquiring second language and intercultural skills tied to real-world contexts is key to personal and professional success for students in today’s globally connected society. This paper defines and details the benefits of integrating a current Languages for Specific Purposes (LSP) approach, which connects language learning and intercultural skills across disciplines, particularly professional schools, and prepares students for the 21st century workplace. Additionally, the paper provides an overview of the current state of LSP alongside specific resources such as a professional learning network that brings together K-20 educators interested in developing innovative curriculum for language learning that prepares students for a …


Exploring Collaborative Work For The Creation Of Interdisciplinary Units Centered On Intercultural Citizenship, Manuela Wagner, Fabiana Cardetti, Michael Byram Mar 2016

Exploring Collaborative Work For The Creation Of Interdisciplinary Units Centered On Intercultural Citizenship, Manuela Wagner, Fabiana Cardetti, Michael Byram

Dimensions

In this work we report on a collaborative project at a large Northeastern University, in which we explored how to best collaborate to develop interdisciplinary teaching units, which integrate intercultural citizenship (Byram, 2008) into world languages, mathematics and social studies sixth grade curricula. We argue for the importance of addressing current critical areas in education. After introducing a framework that allows teachers to focus on the development of intercultural citizenship while at the same time fostering skills in the diverse content areas, we report on how we worked with a group of graduate students, teachers and administrators in order to …


Service-Learning: Overcoming Fears, Connecting With The Hispanic/Latino Community, Laura Guglani Mar 2016

Service-Learning: Overcoming Fears, Connecting With The Hispanic/Latino Community, Laura Guglani

Dimensions

This chapter explores the reasons why adult Spanish language students claimed to be hesitant to participate in the local Hispanic/Latino community in a recent study on 25 students enrolled in a 400/500-level Spanish class with a service-learning component at a Southeastern university. Data come from student reflection papers, written four times over the course of the semester, analyzed through thematic content analysis. Findings indicate that students held specific fears about participating in the local Hispanic/Latino community, including fear of interacting with the community and insecurity about their ability to communicate with native speakers. The analysis of the reflection papers revealed …


Investigating Products, Practices, Perspectives In A Simulated Moving Abroad Project, Sabine Smith Mar 2016

Investigating Products, Practices, Perspectives In A Simulated Moving Abroad Project, Sabine Smith

Dimensions

This classroom action research explores discipline-based inquiry and learner assessment of intercultural competence in a simulated “Moving Abroad” project that is part of an undergraduate English-language survey class required of all world language majors and minors at a large public university in the Southeast. The project tasks students to adapt the ACFTL Three Ps framework (Products, Practices, and Perspectives) through simulated intercultural encounters. The study seeks to assess the ways in which the project generates evidence of learners’ development of intercultural competence and how participants perceive the project as meaningful. Data in the form of 124 student documents were collected …


Developing And Evaluating Language Learners’ Intercultural Competence: Cultivating Perspective-Taking, Kristin Hoyt Mar 2016

Developing And Evaluating Language Learners’ Intercultural Competence: Cultivating Perspective-Taking, Kristin Hoyt

Dimensions

This study investigates the development of intercultural competence (IC) in a university French conversation class through a course module that features student ethnographic interviews with native French speakers. Data collected from 50 students across three semesters are examined through the lens of Byram’s (1997) five domains of IC and used as a framework to identify change in the development of students’ IC. This mixed-method study draws on quantitative and qualitative data from pre- and postquestionnaires along with data documenting instructional delivery. Quantitative results indicate significant change in the skills domains of IC (Skills of Interpreting and Relating and Critical Cultural …


Fostering Global Competence Among Pre-Service Language Teachers: A Comparison Of Teacher Beliefs And Practices Between Language Teachers From The U.S. And Spain, Victoria Russell, Sarah Allison, Ashley Jacobs, Kristina Wingate, Hilaria Taft Mar 2016

Fostering Global Competence Among Pre-Service Language Teachers: A Comparison Of Teacher Beliefs And Practices Between Language Teachers From The U.S. And Spain, Victoria Russell, Sarah Allison, Ashley Jacobs, Kristina Wingate, Hilaria Taft

Dimensions

This chapter describes an effort to internationalize a foreign language education initial teacher certification program through a Quality Enhancement Plan (QEP) grant project that was funded by Valdosta State University. The purpose of the QEP grant was to foster discipline-specific inquiry skills among undergraduate students and to promote the development of global competence. With the guidance of faculty, the teacher candidates who participated in the project conducted a research study that examined teacher beliefs and practices between 18 foreign language teachers from the U.S. and 15 foreign and second language teachers from Spain. The results revealed that both teacher groups …


Web 2.0 Use To Foster Learners’ Intercultural Sensitivity: An Exploratory Study, Claire Mitchell Mar 2016

Web 2.0 Use To Foster Learners’ Intercultural Sensitivity: An Exploratory Study, Claire Mitchell

Dimensions

This chapter reports on a qualitative investigation on the development of adult Spanish language learners’ intercultural sensitivity while using Web 2.0 technologies to explore living abroad. Comments provided by 33 participants on wikis, Pinterest, and journal entries were analyzed using a line-by-line interpretative approach (Charmaz, 2006). Data analysis revealed that while investigating studying and living abroad using Web 2.0 technologies, learners often remained in an ethnocentric stage of intercultural sensitivity (Bennett, 1993). However, upon the completion of reflective activities, many learners began to progress in their intercultural sensitivity, demonstrating a shift away from ethnocentric thinking.


New Levels, No Limits. Special Issue: Focus On Intercultural Competence Mar 2016

New Levels, No Limits. Special Issue: Focus On Intercultural Competence

Dimensions

SCOLT Dimensions Volume 51


Leadership Development And Language Learning: A Foundational Framework, Sheri Spaine Long, Leanne Derby, Lauren Scharff, Jean W. Leloup, Daniel Uribe Mar 2015

Leadership Development And Language Learning: A Foundational Framework, Sheri Spaine Long, Leanne Derby, Lauren Scharff, Jean W. Leloup, Daniel Uribe

Dimensions

The ACTFL 21st Century Skills Map (2011) proposes incorporating “leadership and responsibility” into language learning (LL). This study offers a foundational framework for combined LL and leadership development (LD) and contains a snapshot of the presence of LD in the language curriculum and observations and attitudes regarding LD in LL courses (using feedback forms and focus groups) at the United States Air Force Academy (USAFA) in 2012. Results suggest a two dimension structure to inform LL (a) generic vs. discipline-specific LD, and (b) implicit vs. explicit incorporation of LD. Lower frequency of explicit, discipline-specific types of LD led to a …


Scolt History 1990s–2012, Lynne Mcclendon Mar 2015

Scolt History 1990s–2012, Lynne Mcclendon

Dimensions

SCOLT History 1990s–2012


Using Goal Setting And Task Analysis To Enhance Task-Based Language Learning And Teaching, Joan Rubin Mar 2015

Using Goal Setting And Task Analysis To Enhance Task-Based Language Learning And Teaching, Joan Rubin

Dimensions

This paper will focus on the contributions Goal Setting and Task Analysis can make to more effective Task-Based language learning and teaching. Task-Based Language Learning and Teaching has received sustained attention from teachers and researchers for over thirty years (Ellis, 2003; Leaver & Willis, 2004; Long, 1985; Loschky & Bley-Vroman, 1993; Nunan, 2006; Willis & Willis, 2007). It is a well-established pedagogy that includes the following characteristics: major focus on authentic and real-world tasks, choice of linguistic resources by learners, and a clearly defined non-linguistic outcome (Ellis, 2003). Important as a focus on real life tasks and authentic language is, …


Culture And Sustainability: Lessons From The Oyster And Other Metaphors, Vicki Galloway Mar 2015

Culture And Sustainability: Lessons From The Oyster And Other Metaphors, Vicki Galloway

Dimensions

The world is your oyster! proclaims a promotional poster for a study-abroad program, confirming that the oyster-as-world, like all good metaphors, has done some morphing since the days of Shakespeare’s Merry Wives of Windsor. Newer bands of shell material have repainted the mollusk metaphor, transforming it from ostracism, opportunism and exploitation to openness, opportunity and exploration, and thus an apt symbol for the intercultural experience. Indeed, Robinson’s (1988) definition of culture as “a system of symbols and meanings” seems to evoke the very image of the oyster’s constant production of shell layers: “past experience influences meaning, which in turn affects …


Study Abroad As Professional Development: Voices Of In-Service Spanish Teachers, Christopher J. Jochum, Jared R. Rawlings, Ana María Tejada Mar 2015

Study Abroad As Professional Development: Voices Of In-Service Spanish Teachers, Christopher J. Jochum, Jared R. Rawlings, Ana María Tejada

Dimensions

The purpose of this qualitative inquiry was to understand how four in-service Spanish teachers interpreted their participation in a summer study abroad program and how the experience contributed to their ongoing professional development and language proficiency. Using a multiple case design (Simons, 2009; Stake, 2005; Yin, 2009), the researchers conducted interviews, recorded field observations and collected participant journals. By analyzing these teachers’ voices, it was found that the experience revealed a newfound realization of their language proficiency and its impact on their professional practice. A salient finding of the study abroad experience was that these teachers expressed a commitment to …


Changes In Beliefs About Language Learning And Teaching By Foreign Language Teachers In An Applied Linguistics Course, Laurel Abreu Mar 2015

Changes In Beliefs About Language Learning And Teaching By Foreign Language Teachers In An Applied Linguistics Course, Laurel Abreu

Dimensions

This article presents the results of a study on the language learning and teaching beliefs of graduate students enrolled in an applied linguistics course in a language teaching program. Ten participants completed a questionnaire at the start of the course and another at the end; their responses were analyzed both quantitatively and qualitatively. Following the course, changes were identified in the participants’ beliefs about the difficulty of learning a second language and their goals for their future students.


All That Glitters Is Scolt: 50 Years Of Language Teaching And Learning Mar 2015

All That Glitters Is Scolt: 50 Years Of Language Teaching And Learning

Dimensions

SCOLT Dimensions Volume 50


Those Were Some Of The Hottest Days Of My Life: The Genesis Of Scolt, Pete Swanson Mar 2015

Those Were Some Of The Hottest Days Of My Life: The Genesis Of Scolt, Pete Swanson

Dimensions

The following article recounts the creation and development of the Southern Conference on Language Teaching (SCOLT) through the words of one of its founders, Dr. Herman Bostick. The article is not intended to tell the entire history of the founding of the organization, nor the full story of Dr. Bostick’s contributions to the civil rights movement in the SCOLT region. Instead, readers will be privy to specific moments and thoughts surrounding a man and a movement that touch Southern language teachers and students to this day. Pieced together from interviews with Dr. Bostick, it shows the world house that he …


Ncssfl-Actfl Can-Do Statements: An Effective Tool For Improving Language Learning Within And Outside The Classroom, Aleidine J. Moeller, Fei Yu Mar 2015

Ncssfl-Actfl Can-Do Statements: An Effective Tool For Improving Language Learning Within And Outside The Classroom, Aleidine J. Moeller, Fei Yu

Dimensions

This article explores the theoretical foundation of the NCSSFL-ACTFL Can-Do Statements, developed by the National Council of State Supervisors for Languages (NCSSFL) and the American Council on the Teaching of Foreign Languages (ACTFL), describes why and how to use these progress indicators in language education and reveals the value and impact on student learning when effectively integrated in the language classroom. These Can-Do statements serve as learning targets to document what learners “can do” with languages and can provide teachers and language programs with learning objectives for curriculum and unit design that are userfriendly, learner-centered and promote reflection and self-regulation …


Exploring Homework Completion And Noncompletion In Post-Secondary Language Study, Carolyn Gascoigne Mar 2015

Exploring Homework Completion And Noncompletion In Post-Secondary Language Study, Carolyn Gascoigne

Dimensions

While homework is something that language professionals often assign, based on the paucity of research on the topic, it is clearly not something to which much attention is given in terms of professional discourse or research. In the following pages, the author reviews the limited available research and describes a case study that seeks to examine what students are doing, as well as not doing, in terms of written and online homework in beginning post-secondary foreign language courses. Results are examined through the lens of self-efficacy theory. Implications include allowing for student choice in homework options, particularly for those students …


Fusing Language Learning And Leadership Development: Initial Approaches And Strategies, Sheri Spaine Long, Jean W. Leloup, Leann Derby, Ramsamooj J. Reyes Mar 2014

Fusing Language Learning And Leadership Development: Initial Approaches And Strategies, Sheri Spaine Long, Jean W. Leloup, Leann Derby, Ramsamooj J. Reyes

Dimensions

During a recent visiting professorship at the United States Air Force Academy (USAFA), it became clear that language faculty— both military and civilians— stated that they included leadership while teaching foreign languages and cultures.2 However, many of the same educators could not explicitly spell out their approach to doing so. This gap launched a line of inquiry about the relationship between teaching languages and leadership development. Subsequently, it sparked a grassroots effort by the faculty of the USAFA Department of Foreign Languages (DFF), including the Office of International Programs (DFIP), to form a Faculty Learning Community (FLC) to focus explicitly …