Walking in Cyberspace Integrating Customized On-line Activities, & Authentic Audio/Visual Materials into the Language Classroom

Presentation for the NMC Conference, June 2005A Carlson-Lombardi, Ph.D.

University of Minnesota, Twin Cities

“Language is more than endless series of verb conjugations; it

is the gateway into the lives of a different group of people” -Armstrong and Yetter-Vassot

The language classroom tries to create relationships between language learners and authentic speakers in their cultural context

This aspect drew me into the study of the language when I was young

This has not always been the case. For years the Audio Lingual Method was used to impart language skills

My experience with ALM, a stimulus-response approach ( I was a “drill sergeant”)

This worked to some degree. I still recall the sentence I drilled into students’ mind “Pablo pasó toda la mañana en la cabaña”

Nonetheless, students learned sentences out of any real context.

Speakers without proficiency

One learns language in order to create meaning, and formulate meaning in a creative manner. People do not learn a language just to be able to produce a stream of correctly formulated sentences in the wrong context

This is seen in the example of students who memorize sentences for an oral exam

The classroom is also supposed to create situations for “motivated interaction” between students

Even the use of technology in the classroom presented

challenges In the past, computers were used in the language labs for listening practice.

While these did offer students listening and speaking practice, many times, they had difficulties

•Students still practiced alone

•They didn’t know when instructor would

listen in

•In grade school, there was a fear others would

hear them speak or sing!

At the University of MN,

We feel it would be far better to integrate technology in a meaningful way into the curriculum to create situations where students can engage in “motivated interaction” face to face and online

This produces a more effective output rather than just simple online fill in the blank activities or grammar drills

We base this emphasis on the paradigm shift in language instruction in the past decades

Opportunities must be provided for students to practice using language in a range of contexts likely to be encountered in the target culture

Alice Omaggio-Hadley

Omaggio Hadley’s textbook Teaching Language in Context, which combines theory and practical examples, is the cornerstone for language learning methodology

She affirms that authentic situations and communicative contexts must be central to the language classroom

Even up until the 1980s this was not the case in the majority of classrooms (even in my Italian classroom as a graduate student!)

There has been a shift from teacher centered classrooms and attention to “correct” language production (no errors please!) to proficiency-based teaching

What was previously de-contextualized is now contextualized

Classrooms are now more energized by the call to a way of teaching that encourages the use of authentic language and materials, and by the interactive communication taking place amongst students

Combining life experiences with local contexts

Theory and practice in Second Language Acquisition recognize and encourage the personal qualities, intellectual abilities and life experiences that students bring to learning a new language (emphasis mine)

Carla Meskill

Walking together & working together

Taking into account one’s life experiences is key to connecting students with individuals outside the classroom.

First inroads into integrating technology into language classes:

Creating web based activities to combine culture and grammar practice

Introduce students to local customs happening in the Twin Cities Latino/Chicano community (Days of the Dead)

http://spanport.cla.umn.edu/langprog/courses/1003/traicion_ejercicio.htm

We would like to amplify this site so students can engage in additional activities. We have a worksheet that accompanies this site for use in class.

Taking advantage of a local (on campus) exhibition of art at the Weisman and Museum of Art in Saint Paul, all students could attend “Chicano Visions”.

This opened the door to speak of issues related to the Chicano community here and around the US and the history behind the Chicano movement.

For one activity, students are asked to surmise what is going on in the life of the girl in the yellow dress. This brings up many elements of the life of someone in a culture which may be different from that of the students

http://www.chicano-art-life.com/visions.html

Vamos a andar: Let’s walk together

Provides students online interviews of activists, artists, and scholars, engages students with real-life issues and introduces them to Spanish speakers in their community.

This perspective on teaching and our desire to give all students a chance to encounter Spanish speaking individuals from the University and local community brought together key members in our department:

Fernando Ordóñez, College of Liberal Arts IT Fellow for Spanish Language Courses

Susan McMillen Villar, Director of Language

A. Carlson-Lombardi, Supervisor Spanish 1003

Funding and time

The IT Fellow was granted time off of teaching from the Office of Instructional Technology at the UMN for two years to dedicate that time to assisting the language program

The Supervisor of Spanish 1003 received a grant from the University’s Digital Media Center which provided course release time and access to DMC instructional staff

The IT Fellow then contracted student workers to:

Compile a listing of major Chicano/Latino organizations in the Twin Cities area

Gather information about these services to see how they would fit with the themes in the second year textbook

Film interviews

Transcribe interviews

Assist with uploading information on the web

Accessibility for all Spanish students is facilitated online

Materials are accessible online for all 30 sections (per semester)

It is impossible to take 650 students per semester off campus to meet Spanish speaking individuals in the community

Working with the Technology Fellow, we determined we wanted to engage students with real-life issues and introduce them to Spanish speakers in their community via the Internet.

"Vamos a andar,” web enhanced materials for the classroom, introduces students to these individuals whose interviews are accessible online.

Provides authentic listening practice

Contextualized activities enrich the classroom experience, providing students listening and reading practice,

online interviews & activities to complement second year language courses at the university level,

We emphasized customizing materials to relate to issues facing the local Chicano/Latino community in the Twin Cities (Minneapolis, Saint Paul, MN). All chapters have pre-listening activities; listening activities; follow up activities; and a quiz

http://spanport.cla.umn.edu/vaa

Themes in Vamos a andar: Spanish 1003

• Environmental Issues, especially those pertaining to Minnesota

• Human Rights: This has been a way to introduce human rights scholars at the UMN to students and to

incorporate doctoral research with language classes

• The World of Entertainment: Students meet Latin American musicians and artists living and working in the Twin Cities

Themes in Vamos a andar: Spanish 1004

• Human Diversity, especially as it relates to the changes in population in Minnesota

• Culinary Arts: Instead of just a food chapter, here we relate the creation of authentic dishes in a fine dining establishment to issues of history, migration and cultural confluences

• Employment and the Economy: Students here impressions of the effects of NAFTA in the words of someone who works with those who have felt the effects first hand

Vamos a andar, Chapter 2: El medio ambiente y el progreso

We start with a local focus (Sierra Club on Franklin Ave)Interview with local Sierra Club activistNon-native speakerSomeone who has lived and worked in Central AmericaA person with expertise on issues facing some Spanish speaking countries and Minnesota

http://spanport.cla.umn.edu/vaa/1003/leccion2/CAPITULO-2.htm

Vamos a andar, Chapter 3: Los derechos humanos

Interview with prominent human rights scholar in Political Science at the University of MN

Non-native speaker who has lived in South America

Research focus dealing with international human rights

Puts human rights into an international and national perspective (bringing up the questions surrounding human rights regarding the US detainees)

Also lets students see the perspective of a photographer returning to his country after 20 years in exile (Buena Memoria)

http://spanport.cla.umn.edu/vaa/1003/leccion3/CAPITULO-3.htm

Student response chapter 3

Reflecting on a quote from Kofi Annan:

“The more we know about our own rights, the more we respect the rights of others”

“ I never thought about rights in that way before, but it is probably true. It is possible that if we don’t value our own rights, we don’t value those of others.”

Regarding the quiz on Buena Memoria:“I am sad when seeing the pictures of the children/ youth, especially knowing the abuses were not necessary. The innocence of childhood represents the contrary to the corrupt dictatorship. The essay and the photos could be about all wars, not just about the dictatorship in Argentina.”

Vamos a andar, Chapter 6: El mundo del entretenimiento

Interview with Latin American artist and musician

Native speaker who is from Buenos Aires

Music style combines Argentine rhythms and global beats

Opens up student awareness to diversity in Latin American music

Plays and describes instruments from that region of the Spanish speaking world

Plays an excerpt of his own music

http://spanport.cla.umn.edu/vaa/1003/leccion6/CAPITULO-6.htm

Keep on walking! Seguimos caminando…

All chapters have a listing of websites for students to explore

These range from local organizations to international sites mentioned in the interviews and in the text

This project is something we would like to expand to include all of the 12 chapters in the text

“Caminante no hay camino, se hace camino al andar”

Antonio Machado