Document Type
Article
Publication Date
3-2023
Department
Classical and Modern Languages
Abstract
Teacher-scholars have called upon fellow language educators to redevelop curricula at all proficiency levels to portray the lived experiences of target language (TL) speakers. This article presents a semester-long project that contributes to developing diverse teaching materials for college-level learners at the novice level. Via an ePortfolio with 10 tasks (virtual and in-person), 20 learners of a second-semester German course explored connections with the TL locally and broadened their understanding of language-community membership beyond stereotypical notions of native speakers. Participants’ feedback demonstrated how this project positively impacted students’ learning experiences and reflected learners’ strong desire for similar assignments in future courses. The findings speak to strategies of how educators can help beginning learners find connections to the TL in local contexts and investigate the diverse lived experiences of TL speakers abroad. The project’s approaches, flexible format, and outcomes are easily implemented across various proficiency levels, world languages, and institutional contexts.
Original Publication Information
Rothe, L. (2023). Representations of diversity in a novice-level language classroom and beyond: An engaging semester project. NECTFL Review, 90, 11–30.
ThinkIR Citation
Rothe, Lucian, "Representations of Diversity in a Novice-Level Language Classroom and Beyond: An Engaging Semester Project" (2023). Faculty and Staff Scholarship. 973.
https://ir.library.louisville.edu/faculty/973
ORCID
0000-0002-4777-9467
Comments
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons CC BY 4.0 License.
© 2023 by Northeast Conference on the Teaching of Foreign Languages.