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Scholarships for Teachers of Arabic and Chinese

Connecting Content and Language Learning
A Four-Credit Graduate-Level Course

JUNE 22 – JULY 2, 2008:  TEACHERS OF ARABIC
AUGUST 3 – 13, 2008:  TEACHERS OF CHINESE

Course Description:
The National Standards for Foreign Language Learning and principles of content-based instruction serves as the framework for this four-credit graduate level course.   Participants will examine the principles and characteristics of teaching language through content-based instruction, and how these principles can be applied to the world language classroom. The goal is to move language teachers away from teaching about the target language and towards teaching important content by using the target language as the means as well as the goal of instruction.  A continuum of program models ranging from content-driven to language-driven instruction will be discussed along with implications for curriculum and instruction.   Participants will observe a variety of activities at Concordia Language Villages, and then design and teach activities following the principles of content-based instruction.  The final project is a content-based unit of instruction that reflects the National Standards for Foreign Language Learning.  Specific course topics include: 

1. Content-based instruction:  theory and application to second-language instruction
2. Immersion instruction:  learning goals for language and content
3. Brain-based learning theory and practices as they relate  to content-based instruction
4. Teaching strategies in  a content-based classroom
5. Creating units of instruction from a content-based approach to teaching and learning.

Major Goals, Outcomes, and Assignments:

1. Participants will demonstrate knowledge of the principles of content-based instruction by creating a chart that contrasts characteristics of content-driven instruction to those of language-driven instruction.
2. Participants will demonstrate understanding of the continuum ranging from content-driven to language-driven instruction by sharing and discussing examples of lesson objectives and placing these objectives on the continuum.
3. Participants will demonstrate recognition of content-based teaching strategies by completing an observation log where participants identify these strategies in action at Concordia Language Villages.
4. Participants will reflect on and discuss how the learner processes language and content by becoming novice learners in a content-based lesson at the Norwegian Language Village.
5. Participants will demonstrate understanding of brain-based learning theory and practices by discussing and giving examples of content-based instructional strategies and explaining how theses strategies support brain-based learning theory and practices.
6. Participants will demonstrate understanding of the principles of content-based instruction and their application to the world language classroom by designing lesson plans that include objectives and activities that reflect content-based principles of instruction.
7. Participants will demonstrate understanding of the principles of content-based instruction and their application to the world language classroom by designing assessments where students use the target language to demonstrate knowledge and understanding of both content and language. 
8. Participants will demonstrate understanding of the principles of content-based instruction by teaching activities using content-based instructional strategies.
9.  Participants will demonstrate understanding of the principles of content-based instruction by designing a content-based unit of instruction for their classroom that includes appropriate assessments of learning and appropriate scoring guides and rubrics.