STARTALK/NHLRC Heritage Language

High School Classes Summer 2012

July 19, 2012

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While Observing

TIME ACTIVITY (describe the activity and indicate the type: a drill, role-play, task or other)

Skills (speaking, reading, writing, listening) and sub-skills (phonetics, intonation, grammar, vocabulary) practiced

Comments

11-11:15

Example. Instructor shows street signs and students read and ask/answer questions/translate

Speaking, listening, vocabulary development

Most SS were eager to talk, but some didn’t participate…

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Discussion Questions

1. What are the lesson’s objectives? Are they specific to HLL’s needs?2. Which activities work best to meet the objectives? 3. How much English and HL is used in class (apprx. %): a) by the instructor; b) by the students?4. If multimedia is used in class (video, audio, power point), is it integrated well with the lesson?5. What elements of instruction are specifically designed or well suited to teaching HLLs? 6. How does the instructor deal with learner variation? 3

About STARTALK

• STARTALK is the newest of the component programs of the National Security Language Initiative (NSLI).

• It seeks to expand and improve the teaching and learning of strategically important world languages that are not widely taught in the US.

• STARTALK’s mission is to increase the number of Americans learning and teaching FLs by offering students and teachers of these languages creative and engaging summer experiences that strive to exemplify best practices in language education and in language teacher development…

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Funding

• Persian and Russian – funded by STARTALK

• The others – NHLRC/UCLA funding

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Languages and Instructors

• Armenian• Arabic• Hindi/Urdu• Persian• Russian

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Total Hours

• 5-week course• 52.5 hours (3 times a week; 3 hours

a day; outside-of-class activities)

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ACTFL/ILR Proficiency Ratings

American Council for the Teaching of Foreign Languages(ACTFL)

NoviceIntermediate

To Admit Students

Linguistic biographies:1. Where were you born?2. How often do you speak your HL?3. Whom do you speak it to?4. How do you rate yourself (the four

skills)?

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Rethinking the curriculum

• Stressing vocabulary development• Targeting certain grammatical areas• Focusing on pragmatics• Being cognizant of relearning effect• Keeping in mind HL specific motivations• Understanding the differences between - HL home language and Full L1

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Psycholinguistic Factors

Relearning even something that seems to have been completely forgotten takes much less time than learning for the first time.

If childhood heritage language speakers seem to have forgotten their childhood language … they may still be able to access it once again if they try to relearn the language.

T. Au Salvaging Heritage Language in D. Brinton, O. Kagan, S. Bauckus (ed.) Heritage Language Education: A new field emerging. Routledge, 2008

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The Five “FROM-TO” Principles

• aural > to reading• spoken > to written• home-based register >

general/academic• everyday activities > in-class

activities• motivation & identity >

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Russian: the goals

• 18 students total•To improve students’ literacy skills in

the heritage language;•to expand their vocabulary;•to introduce them into the world of

youth culture in Russia;•to teach them the basics of oral and

written etiquette.

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Russian: Today’s Class

“Rules of E-mail Etiquette”• develop their listening skills;• learn new vocabulary;• learn Dos & Don’ts of E-mail

communication;• practice writing emails in Russian in

different registers.

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Russian: Aspects of Teaching

Heritage specific:• different registers;• building up on their previous

knowledge.

Similar to L2 teaching:• Intermediate level (ACTFL guidelines)

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Hindi/Urdu: Goals of the Class

Students will…

• Develop their oral proficiency in Hindi-Urdu

• Develop verbal proficiency in Hindi-Urdu

• Gain literacy skills in both Hindi and Urdu

• Further develop understanding of their heritage South Asian and South Asian-American culture

Hindi/Urdu: Theme and Objectives of Today’s Lesson

Overall Theme:

You are cordially invited to a family wedding in South Asia! It’s time to travel there and immerse yourself in your Heritage language, culture, customs, and family as you explore South Asia. You will be able to read and write Devanagari and Nastaliq scripts as well as communicate colloquially in Hindi-Urdu.

Be prepared for an exciting trip! 

This Week’s Theme:

Celebrating the rituals and customs of a South Asian wedding

Hindi/Urdu: Theme and Objectives of Today’s Lesson

Students will be able to…

• Read and comprehend short narratives in Hindi script

• Demonstrate ability to use the “ne” construction appropriately with verbs in the past tense

• Use verbs appropriately in various tenses

• Demonstrate understanding of common verbs

• Further develop ability to read and write basic Urdu script (words and short sentences)

Hindi/Urdu: Heritage-Specific

• Build on knowledge students already have

• Focus on improving reading and writing skills, vocabulary, and speaking skills for more formal discussions

• Authentic texts rich in cultural content that is meaningful to students

– Support and boost intellectual curiosity

– Encourage enjoyment and true valuing of the language students been hearing/speaking since childhood

Persian

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Arabic: Goals

• Vocabulary: Unit 1: Greetings, likes/dislikes, favorites, adjectives, Unit 2: Food items, healthy eating, cooking, family, Unit 3: Names of countries, nationalities, games

• Grammar: Unit 1: Arabic alphabet, Hazma, Alif Maqsura, Diacritical marks, Tanween, Feminine marker, moon and sun letters Unit 2: Verbal conjugations, pronouns Unit 3: Nisba adjectives, numbers, superlative/comparative

• Culture: Unit 1: Text speak, Arabic naming practices; Unit 2: Eating/hosting, traditional foods, family size, Unit 3: Contemporary/ historical figures, clothing, tourist attractions, games

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Arabic: Today’s Lesson

• Theme: Traditional Games from the Arab World

• Objectives:– Interpret game instructions– Count in Arabic– Play traditional games– Teach others how to play traditional

games– Correctly use command verb form

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Arabic: Why is this suitable for HLL?

• Builds on what they know• Takes advantage of their elevated

listening comprehension skills• Pushes them to speak in the target

language for real world purposes• Enjoyable/ fun• Many students play/ have seen their

parents play/ have heard of these games

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Armenian

• Diversity of student body• Goals of the class– Literacy– Varying degrees of improvement– Raising awareness of the skills they

already have– Instill a sense of pride and joy in using

Armenian

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Armenian: Today’s Lesson

– Theme = Food– Objectives• Expand students' vocabulary on food items• Learn about culturally authentic ways of

hosting and preparing food

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Armenian: Heritage Specific

• Heritage specific class– Use of TL for instruction– High level comprehension and oral tasks– Use of differentiated instructions– Incorporation of complex cultural

components

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