Key to accomplishing results are 1) the completion and functioning of a new online Lesson Plan Generator tied to national and state standards which will select and suggest online activities, media, etc. based on teacher and learner variables; and 2) the formation of language specific teams of researchers in Arabic, Italian, Persian, Chinese, and Dari/Pashto who have demonstrated commitment to the project and who possess complementary sets of expertise needed to produce high quality materials. In each case, LARC has access to ample, revolving student populations on which to pilot the materials, and to experienced, certified teacher trainers who can assure that standards are present and properly applied on the page and in the classroom. This rare confluence of resources contributes directly to the success of the proposed curriculum development activities.
The Lesson Plan Generator under development includes a team of computer science students working with LARC instructional designers and pedagogy experts. The template will incorporate ACTFL Standards and new California World Language Content Standards for California Public Schools, Kindergarten Through Grade Twelve (adopted Jan. 7, 2009 CA, State Board of Education) to lesson plans and curriculum development activities for a variety of language learner needs. Developing lessons based on state and national standards is an integral part of the teacher training supported by the California Foreign Language Project, so this is an area of joint collaboration benefitting both partners. Standards-based lesson development is also important for the success of intensive language courses in Arabic, Persian, Pashtu, and Russian offered through LARC’s Critical Languages Immersion Program.
The formation of teams of compatible content experts is key to achieving results within the time frame of the grant cycle:
Arabic: Dr. Taha-Thomure is working with Dr. Dany Doueiri, another CSU-based Arabic language instructor, on an online course for third and fourth year Arabic using modular approaches. These modules will assist others in the California State University and elsewhere in building complete Arabic programs, and the project received the support of the CSU Foreign Language Council in the March 2010 biannual meeting. Team members are also working with Flagship, STARTALK and/or ACTFL projects.
Italian: Dr. Steve Sacco, former CIBER Director at SDSU is teaming up with Italian professor Dr. Clarissa Clo to develop a fully online version of a Business Italian course which can be shared among the CIBERs, serving as a model for offering business language online courses in less commonly taught languages where enrollments might be low at any one given institution. This concept received enthusiastic support at the CIBER Business Language Conference, where Sacco presented results of his pilot program in Philadelphia (March 2010).
Persian: teamwork of STARTALK Persian teachers has extended well beyond the summer camps funded by the Department of Defense. Ms. Pooneh Paydar and Ms. Shahnaz Ahmadeian have published additional exemplary K-12 online and print materials in Persian. These lessons and materials will be field tested with children in summer Persian STARTALK-funded camps. They will be revised using the Lesson Plan Generator to adapt them to state and national standards and made available in online formats.
Chinese: The team of Dr. Lily Cheng and Dr. Minjuan Wang will adapt materials obtained from China through LARC’s collaboration with the Confucius Institute at San Diego State and ACCESS CHINA to state and national standards. LARC and the other LRCs have received a set of programs from China which will be pilot tested in Chinese immersion day camps held each summer and co-funded by SDSU’s Confucius Institute and LARC.
Pashto/Dari: Mr. Farid Saydee and a team of native Pashto and Dari speakers have received recognition for their excellent results in creating intensive curricula for adult courses in beginning to advanced levels of Pashto offered through LARC’s critical language immersion program focused on active duty military personnel. These materials will be aligned to specific standards, revised, and published online for those wishing to replicate the programs elsewhere. A Dari curriculum will be developed through a separate funding source, and this curriculum will be adapted to standards using the online Lesson Plan Generator. In these two languages, LARC joins forces with Indiana University’s LRC, who will review and adapt our materials to their context. We have agreed also to review their materials.
The curricular applications developed in this project area will have a multiplier effect and can be used by materials creators at multiple levels and for multiple purposes, which is the point of creating such diverse curricular applications as a 300/400-level “bridge” Arabic language course, an Italian Business language course, the K-12 materials in Persian and Chinese, and intensive, adult level Dari and Pashto curricula. Other applications will undoubtedly emerge as use of the standards-based template expands, and we will host teacher training events throughout the year at SAILN, in the summer at LARC, and in conjunction with teacher training activities through STARTALK. Lesson templates presented to summer workshop participants in each of the four years of the 2010-2014 cycle will provide new materials for critical languages, particularly where scant resources currently exist. Individual lessons will also be adapted to mobile devices, including phones, IPads, iPODS/MP3 players, etc.
More Information on Each Project Area
(1) Alternatives in Teacher Credentialing
(2) Standards Based Curriculum Development
(3) Developing Transcultural Competence
(4) Testing and Assessing Language Growth
