The teacher understands how to connect concepts and use differing perspectives to engage learners in critical thinking, creativity, and collaborative problem solving related to authentic local and global issues. 

 

ARTIFACT 1

Name of Artifact: Activities to develop student intercultural competence

Course: WL 665: Sociocultural and Sociolinguistic Perspectives in Language

Date: Spring, 2020

World-Readiness Standards Addressed: Interpersonal Communication, Relating Cultural Perspectives to Practices, Making Connections, Acquiring Information from Diverse Perspectives, Language Comparisons, Cultural Comparisons, School and Global Communities

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RATIONALE

The artifact I have selected to demonstrate my ability to connect concepts and to use differing perspectives that engage learners in critical thinking and problem-solving relating to real-world issues, is a series of activities designed to increase learner intercultural competence. Acquiring intercultural competence is one of the most significant challenges facing second language learners in their quest for true language proficiency. Knowing the rules of speaking in a different culture and how to adapt utterances to fit a specific situation is, in many respects, the ultimate goal of all language learning. Not only does it provide the speaker the ability to achieve genuine communication, but also to become a true global citizen with the skill set to form meaningful personal and professional relationships in diverse communities. In the absence of understanding the cultural rules of speaking, learners engage in pragmatic transfer, using one’s own cultural rules, which can lead to major misunderstandings (Gass et al., 2020).

 

Before a learner can reach this level of communicative competence, they need to develop intercultural competence. A traditional approach to teaching the culture of the target language often relies on exposing students to subjects such as foods, monuments, regions, customs and festivals. More advanced students may learn about and debate current societal and political issues in the target culture. While important and also useful, learning these cultural aspects do not help develop a learner’s intercultural competence. The work I conducted during my Sociolinguistics course had a significant impact on my growth as a language teacher, and helped me to understand that to reach this level of communicative and cultural competence, students must first develop cultural and identity self-awareness, as well as a respect and appreciation for diversity (Jackson, 2020).

 

The artifact I selected for this Standard is comprised of two activities that I designed to help learners do just that: to develop a greater awareness of their own identity and also to develop a greater appreciation and understanding of diversity. These elements are not just fundamental to developing intercultural competence, but are also the main reasons that some students, with otherwise extensive linguistic preparation, do not have successful Study Abroad experiences (Goldini, 2015).

 

I developed these activities to be conducted within a framework of a workshop that aims to prepare students prior to departing on a Study Abroad trip, but they could very easily be adapted for a high school or college second language classroom. The first activity works on developing self-awareness by exploring one’s multiple identities through discussing stereotypes and sharing personal stories that highlight values and beliefs. The second activity is a group project that uses prompts to describe one’s community, the obstacles to diversity, what a true diverse community would look like, and three concrete action items that would help bring that closer.

 

These activities demonstrate my understanding of how to help learners view real-world issues from multiple perspectives. They also highlight my ability to design meaningful learning experiences that engage students in project-based learning where they are asked to achieve a higher level of thinking, of collaborating and thinking creatively to solve local and global issues that impact them.

 

References

Gass, S. M., Behney, J., & Plonsky, L. (2020). Second language acquisition: An introductory course.  Routledge.

Goldoni, F. (2015). Preparing students for study abroad. Journal of the Scholarship of Teaching and

        Learning, 15(4), 1-20. https://scholarworks.iu.edu/journals/index.php/josotl/article/view/13640

Jackson, J. (2020). Introducing language and intercultural communication (2nd ed.). Routledge.

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ARTIFACT  2

Name of Artifact: Leçon sur l'écriture inclusive

Course: FRE 591: Advanced Studies in the French Language

Date: Summer, 2022

World-Readiness Standards Addressed: Interpersonal Communication, Interpretive Communication, Presentational Communication, Relating Cultural Perspectives to Practices, Making Connections, Acquiring Information from Diverse Perspectives, Language Comparisons, Cultural Comparisons, School and Global Communities

 

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RATIONALE

The second artifact I have selected for this Standard is a lesson plan on gender neutrality and l’écriture inclusive in the French language that I developed during the course FRE 591: Advanced Studies in the French Language. This course examined the vastness and richness of French from its evolutionary beginnings through modern times. In doing so, it looked at how the structures, forms and function have changed over time through sociolinguistic, political and cultural forces. It's very easy for students to view these processes as uniquely historical and conclude that the language they are learning today is static; that it has fully evolved. One of my goals in developing this lesson was to help students understand that the French language is not static; that societal and cultural influences are still creating changes on its structure and form. One such area, and the focus of my lesson, are the changes that are happening through the introduction and use of l'écriture inclusive.

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This lesson demonstrates by understanding of how to connect key concepts in a meaningful lesson in which learners engage in critical thinking. It also highlights my ability to develop a lesson plan that uses authentic material to help students develop a more sophisticated thinking about how language evolves, as well as the cultural, political and linguistic implications across the world. Finally, the lesson ensures that learning will be more meaningful since students learn better when authentic contexts are applied to real-life situations (Shrum & Glisan, 2010).

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The lesson begins with students watching a short interview of French linguist, Julie Neveux, explaining the history of gender-neutral vocabulary in French and its evolution to the recent introduction of le point médian, a grammatical device that integrates inclusivity when referring to the masculine and feminine elements of a group of people (Neveux, 2021).  Students then work in groups to discuss the grammatical and cultural implications of using gender-neutral language in both the French and English languages. The class provides students with an in-depth learning experience in which they are asked to achieve a high level of thinking about an authentic global issue. Not only are students asked to understand linguistic changes, but also to view the concept of inclusive language from multiple perspectives: linguistic, sociolinguistic, cultural and political. The class also provides students with the opportunity to think critically about the use of inclusive language in their native language.

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This experience had a positive impact on my development as a language teacher. First, the content of the lesson represents my initial introduction into the use of inclusive language in France, not just on a grammatical level, but also on a societal and cultural level. Second, designing this lesson made me realize the importance and value of applying authentic content to real-world situations in my language classes. It became clear to me that when I do this, the students have a much better learning experience and progress both linguistically and in their content knowledge. Third, it made me reflect on the nature of language and its power to unite or alienate, as well as on my own use of language in the classroom and how that might be affecting students.

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If I were to redesign this lesson plan, I would adopt a more sociolinguistic approach and provide students with authentic materials containing inclusive language such as a job announcement, an advertisement or a letter etc. I would then ask students to reflect on the contexts in which these materials are used and think about why inclusive language was used. Another activity I would integrate into this lesson would be to provide students with the opportunity to reflect on the nature of change and evolution in language and identify areas of their own language which, if changed, would create a positive influence within their community.

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References

Shrum, J.L., & Glisan, E.W. (2016). Teacher’s handbook: Contextualized language instruction (5th ed.). Cengage learning.

Neveux, J. (2021). C’est quoi l’écriture inclusive ? [video]. YouTube. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=clmOwRIVoaE