Transcript Slide 1

STARTALK/NHLRC Heritage
Language High School Classes
Summer 2012
July 19, 2012
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While Observing
TIME
ACTIVITY (describe the activity and
indicate the type: a drill, role-play, task
or other)
Skills (speaking, reading,
writing, listening) and
sub-skills (phonetics,
intonation, grammar,
vocabulary) practiced
Comments
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Example. Instructor shows street signs
and students read and ask/answer
questions/translate
Speaking, listening,
vocabulary development
Most SS were
eager to talk, but
some didn’t
participate…
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Discussion Questions
1. What are the lesson’s objectives? Are they specific to HLL’s needs?
2. Which activities work best to meet the objectives?
3. How much English and HL is used in class (apprx. %):
a) by the instructor; b) by the students?
4. If multimedia is used in class (video, audio, power point), is it integrated well with the
lesson?
5. What elements of instruction are specifically designed or well suited to teaching HLLs?
6. How does the instructor deal with learner variation?
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About STARTALK
• STARTALK is the newest of the component programs of the National Security
Language Initiative (NSLI).
• It seeks to expand and improve the teaching and learning of strategically important
world languages that are not widely taught in the US.
• STARTALK’s mission is to increase the number of Americans learning and teaching
FLs by offering students and teachers of these languages creative and engaging summer
experiences that strive to exemplify best practices in language education and in
language teacher development…
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Funding
• Persian and Russian – funded by STARTALK
• The others – NHLRC/UCLA funding
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Languages and Instructors
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Armenian
Arabic
Hindi/Urdu
Persian
Russian
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Total Hours
• 5-week course
• 52.5 hours (3 times a week; 3 hours a day; outside-of-class
activities)
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ACTFL/ILR Proficiency Ratings
American Council for the Teaching of Foreign Languages
(ACTFL)
Novice
Intermediate
To Admit Students
Linguistic biographies:
1. Where were you born?
2. How often do you speak your HL?
3. Whom do you speak it to?
4. How do you rate yourself (the four skills)?
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Rethinking the curriculum
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Stressing vocabulary development
Targeting certain grammatical areas
Focusing on pragmatics
Being cognizant of relearning effect
Keeping in mind HL specific motivations
Understanding the differences between
- HL home language and Full L1
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Psycholinguistic Factors
Relearning even something that seems to have been completely forgotten
takes much less time than learning for the first time.
If childhood heritage language speakers seem to have forgotten their
childhood language … they may still be able to access it once again if they try
to relearn the language.
T. Au Salvaging Heritage Language in D. Brinton, O. Kagan, S. Bauckus (ed.) Heritage Language Education:
A new field emerging. Routledge, 2008
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The Five “FROM-TO” Principles
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aural > to reading
spoken > to written
home-based register > general/academic
everyday activities > in-class activities
motivation & identity > content
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Russian: the goals
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18 students total
To improve students’ literacy skills in the heritage language;
to expand their vocabulary;
to introduce them into the world of youth culture in Russia;
to teach them the basics of oral and written etiquette.
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Russian: Today’s Class
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“Rules of E-mail Etiquette”
develop their listening skills;
learn new vocabulary;
learn Dos & Don’ts of E-mail communication;
practice writing emails in Russian in different registers.
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Russian: Aspects of Teaching
Heritage specific:
• different registers;
• building up on their previous knowledge.
Similar to L2 teaching:
• Intermediate level (ACTFL guidelines)
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Hindi/Urdu: Goals of the Class
Students will…
• Develop their oral proficiency in Hindi-Urdu
• Develop verbal proficiency in Hindi-Urdu
• Gain literacy skills in both Hindi and Urdu
• Further develop understanding of their heritage South Asian and South
Asian-American culture
Hindi/Urdu: Theme and
Objectives of Today’s Lesson
Overall Theme:
You are cordially invited to a family wedding in South Asia! It’s time to travel there
and immerse yourself in your Heritage language, culture, customs, and family as you
explore South Asia. You will be able to read and write Devanagari and Nastaliq scripts
as well as communicate colloquially in Hindi-Urdu.
Be prepared for an exciting trip!
This Week’s Theme:
Celebrating the rituals and customs
of a South Asian wedding
Hindi/Urdu: Theme and
Objectives of Today’s Lesson
Students will be able to…
• Read and comprehend short narratives in Hindi script
• Demonstrate ability to use the “ne” construction appropriately with verbs in the past
tense
• Use verbs appropriately in various tenses
• Demonstrate understanding of common verbs
• Further develop ability to read and write basic Urdu script (words and short sentences)
Hindi/Urdu: Heritage-Specific
• Build on knowledge students already have
• Focus on improving reading and writing skills, vocabulary, and speaking
skills for more formal discussions
• Authentic texts rich in cultural content that is meaningful to students
– Support and boost intellectual curiosity
– Encourage enjoyment and true valuing of the language students been
hearing/speaking since childhood
Persian
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Arabic: Goals
• Vocabulary: Unit 1: Greetings, likes/dislikes, favorites, adjectives, Unit 2: Food items,
healthy eating, cooking, family, Unit 3: Names of countries, nationalities, games
• Grammar: Unit 1: Arabic alphabet, Hazma, Alif Maqsura, Diacritical marks, Tanween,
Feminine marker, moon and sun letters Unit 2: Verbal conjugations, pronouns Unit 3:
Nisba adjectives, numbers, superlative/comparative
• Culture: Unit 1: Text speak, Arabic naming practices; Unit 2: Eating/hosting,
traditional foods, family size, Unit 3: Contemporary/ historical figures, clothing, tourist
attractions, games
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Arabic: Today’s Lesson
• Theme: Traditional Games from the Arab World
• Objectives:
– Interpret game instructions
– Count in Arabic
– Play traditional games
– Teach others how to play traditional games
– Correctly use command verb form
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Arabic: Why is this
suitable for HLL?
• Builds on what they know
• Takes advantage of their elevated listening comprehension skills
• Pushes them to speak in the target language for real world
purposes
• Enjoyable/ fun
• Many students play/ have seen their parents play/ have heard
of these games
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Armenian
• Diversity of student body
• Goals of the class
– Literacy
– Varying degrees of improvement
– Raising awareness of the skills they already have
– Instill a sense of pride and joy in using Armenian
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Armenian: Today’s Lesson
– Theme = Food
– Objectives
• Expand students' vocabulary on food items
• Learn about culturally authentic ways of hosting and preparing food
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Armenian: Heritage Specific
• Heritage specific class
– Use of TL for instruction
– High level comprehension and oral tasks
– Use of differentiated instructions
– Incorporation of complex cultural components
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