1.  To prioritize oral proficiency and functional use of target language.  To develop listening and speaking skills.  (Please keep in mind that references to oral proficiency and speaking skills that occur throughout this document do not apply to the teaching of Latin.)

 

Oral proficiency constitutes a pivotal component of every student’s performance in the class and of their overall grade. We provide many opportunities for in-class oral participation and exercises focused on honing spoken fluency. These activities include role-playing (real-life encounters and problem-solving situations), brief and extended conversations in pairs or small groups, oral presentations, formal interviews, acting from scripts or written scenes, conversation-based testing, textbooks that emphasize oral proficiency (as opposed to a grammatical, textual or translation-based focus), and frequent all-class discussions, both with specific questions and with general thematic issues.

In addition, many of our teaching materials incorporate tapes, CDs, videos and websites that model the target language and require careful listening comprehension and follow-up exercises. Listening and speaking skills are also enhanced through listening to films, television programs, and radio programs, and having students respond to them both by answering specific point-by-point questions and by discussing more general relevant themes.

 

2. To teach students to read, interpret, and analyze different genres of foreign language texts. 

 

Through a gradual incremental process, students begin with

 

i.                    reading very short pieces of narrative prose and answering brief questions about them, both in writing and orally;

ii.                  they then move on to reading short stories, poems, articles and plays and responding to them with short written answers, creative writing, or role playing;

iii.                and finally, at the more advanced stages, students read full-length novels, plays and poems that provide greater challenge. They learn to maintain a discussion based on their interpretations, and to write more extensive analytical responses of several pages.

 

In addition to the regularity and variety of exposure to different kinds of written texts, our courses also use other materials to enhance reading comprehension, including historical and/or artistic context, biographical background, philosophical/critical framework, literary and visual analogies (art, photography), film versions, and other genres of background reading and relevant Internet sites.

 

3. To expose students to different cultures that use the target language.

 

Our textbooks present many opportunities to discuss and explore different countries around the world that use the target language. Topics for exploration include current affairs, political history, current social trends, day-to-day behavior, and cultural mores of different societies. The instructor provides multiple opportunities to make cultural comparisons between particular countries (e.g. China and the United States, France and Ivory Coast), and linguistic comparisons (e.g. pronunciation, accent, meaning) between countries that use the same language (e.g. Spain and Nicaragua).   

In our classes, we assign readings, compositions and research projects on countries around the world in which the target language is spoken. In order to do their research for projects, students use library materials, internet resources, authentic artifacts (e.g. music) and other cultural information. This research manifests itself in brochures, short stories, letters, essays, posters, web pages, oral presentations, or Power Point presentations.

Other diversifying strategies include bringing in guest speakers, going on field trips, hearing about teachers’ personal travel experiences, emailing pen pals in different countries, and using foreign language films as a way to address certain specific themes.

 

4. To diversify course material to include a variety of materials relevant to the target culture and language.

 

It is imperative to expose students to a broad range of manifestations of the language and culture under study. To help ensure this end, our curriculum supplements textbooks and grammar books with some or all of the following: novels, short stories, poetry, songs, proverbs and colloquial expressions, television shows, film, music, art, internet sites, historical documentaries, and many different kinds of cultural artifacts such as musical instruments, flags, food, posters, clothing, maps, and holiday decorations. We also create opportunities for students to meet native speakers and to go on field trips that can enrich their experience of the target culture.

 

5. To selectively use technology in the classroom.

 

Our language classes make very selective use of film, television programming, music, and the internet, all in the target language.

 

Video/DVD material includes foreign films, American films dubbed into foreign languages, cable channel programs, and excerpts from different kinds of foreign television shows (e.g. children’s programs, talk shows, game shows, news, and cooking shows).

Internet activities involve using websites in the target language as much as possible. Projects include

-         researching the life and work of particular artists;

-         preparing presentations on individual cities and regions;

-         finding out about specific festivals related to music, food, etc.;

-         sending students on treasure hunts in which they seek out specific kinds of information from a wide range of different kinds of  websites, from museums to ski resorts, from train stations to information about life in a small village;

-         planning vacations, including all the technical organizational details;

-         finding and furnishing an apartment, using maps to find and describe directions;

-         shopping on the internet;

-         looking up articles on current affairs, or researching current topics of interest;

-         seeking out weather reports;

-         viewing video clips (news, sports, etc.); and

-         listening to international radio stations.

 

Note: We also use textbooks accompanied by CD-ROMs, which feature activities that include listening comprehension, grammar exercises, and games.