Language and Literacy Education Commons^™

The History Of Foreign Language Pedagogy: From Methodology To Psychology, Alyssa Pilli '12

Honor Scholar Theses

This thesis investigates the history of studies performed regarding foreign language pedagogy in an attempt to investigate how well the information gained from these studies influences the teaching practices that are in use. The first half looks at earlier studies which focused on the specific teaching methods employed in the language classroom. While the Immersion method is the only method displaying significant benefits in comparison to the others, this method is rarely used in the public school domain for political reasons such as funding and alternate agendas. With inconclusive evidence favoring any other method, research switched focus to the individual …

Twenty-Seven Authentically-Based Esl Grammar Supplements: Shifting From Form To Function, Kelly Phillip

Theses and Dissertations

The language teaching profession has seen many changes in how to teach grammar in the language classroom. The pendulum has swung widely from a grammar only approach to an almost complete omission of its teaching. In general, teaching grammar can be a very daunting endeavor even for the most skilled educator. In addition, some language teachers do not have authentic materials or are using books that have sentence-based grammar exercises. The focus of this thesis is to determine the importance of grammar and communicative activities in the language classroom and to design authentically-based grammar supplements that are grammar-based but still …

Let's Surf-The-Net! World-Wide Web (Www) Sites In Italy, Or: How/Why Include A Web-Browser Component In Culture And Civilization Classes, Ilona Klein

Faculty Publications

First, this essay details the technical elements required to set up a computer for Web-surfing, then it discusses the rationale for a Web-browser component in Culture and Civilization courses. The first part of this study (the technical portion) is geared specifically toward teachers with little or no familiarity with the Internet and the World-Wide Web. In the second part of the article, the applied-pedagogy aspects of Web-browsing are provided for all colleagues in the profession, proficient or not in cyberspace surfing. This article argues that the internet and the World-Wide Web are here to stay and that, within certain limitations, …

Presenting Italian Comparative And Superlative Forms Of Adjectives To College L2 Beginners, Ilona Klein

Faculty Publications

This study treats the necessity to de-emphasize the focus on grammar teaching alone in L2, and to introduce methods which are not teacher-centered, so as to enable students to interact more among each other.

By using comparative and superlative forms of adjectives – but in reality using a sequence of teaching techniques that could be applied to other grammatical situations – this article presents the use of sea shells as a visual and tactile aid which allows students to shift their L2 efforts from an abstract notion to a concrete usage.

This study offers a tool to attempt a balance …