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Teaching Foreign Languages K-12: Workshop
Meaningful Interpretation Before you Watch
To begin this workshop session, you will tap your prior knowledge and experience and then read current research on interpretive communication.
Reflect on Your Experience
Consider the types of interpretive tasks that you have done with your students, then answer the following questions. You may want to save your answers in order to reflect on them again at the end of the session. You can use the Reflect on Your Experience (PDF, 55 K) form for Question 1.
- Select two or three authentic written, oral, or visual texts that you have used with your students. For each text, answer the following questions:
- Why did you choose this text?
- What strategies did you use to help students interpret this text?
- Describe any challenges that you encountered.
- What is the difference between comprehending a text and interpreting a text? If possible, use concrete examples from Question 1 above.
Examine the Research
Read each of the articles listed below, then answer the following questions.
Articles
“Practical Implications of Recent Research in Reading”
Part 1 (PDF, 530 K) | Part 2 (PDF, 509 K)
This article discusses the reading process and suggests reading strategies for foreign language classrooms.
Phillips, June K. “Practical Implications of Recent Research in Reading.” Foreign Language Annals17, no. 4 (1984): 285-296.
“The Gordian Knot: Language, Literature, and Critical Thinking”
Part 1 (PDF, 692 K) | Part 2 (PDF, 722 K) | Part 3 (PDF, 601 K)
This article discusses the changing role of literature in the language classroom.
Schultz, Jean Marie. “The Gordian Knot: Language, Literature, and Critical Thinking.” In SLA and the Literature Classroom: Fostering Dialogues, edited by Virginia M. Scott and Holly Tucker, 3-31. Boston: Heinle & Heinle, 2001.
Read each of the articles listed below, then answer the following questions.
Articles
“Practical Implications of Recent Research in Reading”
Part 1 (PDF, 530 K) | Part 2 (PDF, 509 K)
This article discusses the reading process and suggests reading strategies for foreign language classrooms.
Phillips, June K. “Practical Implications of Recent Research in Reading.” Foreign Language Annals17, no. 4 (1984): 285-296.
“The Gordian Knot: Language, Literature, and Critical Thinking”
Part 1 (PDF, 692 K) | Part 2 (PDF, 722 K) | Part 3 (PDF, 601 K)
This article discusses the changing role of literature in the language classroom.
Schultz, Jean Marie. “The Gordian Knot: Language, Literature, and Critical Thinking.” In SLA and the Literature Classroom: Fostering Dialogues, edited by Virginia M. Scott and Holly Tucker, 3-31. Boston: Heinle & Heinle, 2001.
Assignment
Submit your written responses to the Reading Questions.
