learning world languages
TRANSCRIPT
Learning World Languages
Through Discovery and Exploration
Chris Livaccari
Associate Director, Education and Chinese Language Initiatives
All learning is language learning
Let’s Tell Our Language Stories
Wittgenstein’s Lion
“The limits of my language are the limits of my
world.”
“If a lion could speak, we could not
understand what he/she was saying.”
National Standards, ACTFL Standards,
State Standards, Local Standards,
Global Competence, 21st Century Skills…
Where Do We Begin?????
Perhaps not here!
Noble Ancestors:
Montessori and RassiasMaria Montessori:
“The secret of good
teaching is to regard
the child’s
intelligence as a
fertile field in which
seeds may be sown,
to grow under the
heat of flaming
imagination.”
John Rassias:
“Language is a living,
kicking, growing, flitting,
evolving reality, and the
teacher should
spontaneously reflect
its vibrant and protean
qualities.”
Rassias on languages
This is what happens if your
language program is not situated
in the proper context
The Daily Show
Schools with Global Visions
CSI High School for International Studies
Herricks Middle School
Medgar Evers College Preparatory School
So how do we begin linking our
world language programs with a
larger vision for developing
globally competent students?
First Day of Chinese Class:
Top Ten Images of China
THIS IS CHINA
THIS IS CHINA
THIS IS CHINA
THIS IS CHINA
THIS IS CHINA
THIS IS CHINESE
I am your teaching robot.
I only respond to the following commands
in Chinese:
UP – DOWN
RIGHT – LEFT
FORWARD – BACK
Achieve every student’s dream: Get me out
of the room using these commands!
Daniel Pink’s “A Whole New Mind”
Design Symphony
StoryPlay
Empathy Meaning
THE SIX SENSES In and Beyond the Classroom
Using IMPROVISATION, INQUIRY , and INSIGHT
IMPROVISATION Using the target language with minimal English
Creating authentic environments for language learning Deemphasizing straight memorization and recall
INQUIRY “Student as Linguist” Project Based Learning
INSIGHT Culture, Society, and Perspectives Reflection and Making Comparisons
THE SIX SENSES In and Beyond the Classroom
1: DESIGN
Do Your Homework Design a Product
THE SIX SENSES In and Beyond the Classroom
2: SYMPHONY
FOCUS! Put it all together
THE SIX SENSES In and Beyond the Classroom
3: PLAY
Be Serious! Let Your Imagination Run Wild
THE SIX SENSES In and Beyond the Classroom
4: STORY
Memorize the Grammar Student as Linguist
THE SIX SENSES In and Beyond the Classroom
5: EMPATHY
Language Lessons
THE SIX SENSES In and Beyond the Classroom
Disputers of the DAO
Wittgenstein’s Lion:Domesticated!
Wittgenstein’s Lion:Domesticated!
And, finally, a bit of fun…
•Use target language and native language
strategically
•Help students develop cognitive, academic, and
professional skills necessary for success
•Motivate and challenge students to make
meaning for themselves and with their classmates
•Make language class about much more than
linguistic proficiency
•Think about culture beyond the minutiae of food
and festivals
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