Defining Your Purpose for Taking the Language Course
I. Rationale
This activity is designed for high school students in the L2 classroom setting. The teacher has the students share their reasons for taking the L2 class in an online format that allows for all of the students to view each other’s responses. The hope is that doing this will encourage them to recognize their purpose for taking the course and see other people’s purposes as well.
This activity supports language development by a) being related to setting goals for learning and b) helping to develop a community of learners.
A) Setting and reporting on personal goals for learning.
Gillette (1994) writes that, “it is not primarily schooling but life goals that may influence the effort a learner makes in learning an L2 and the success he or she may enjoy as a result.” (p. 200) Griffiths (2008) writes about research done on good language learners and posits that the good language learners take are able to discern what resources are there for them and how to take advantage of those resources.
B) Developing a community of learners.
One of the standards for foreign language learning is that students use the language both within and beyond the school setting. According to Phillips and Draper (1999) “A community can be a community of learners of different ages or in different locations. The idea here is that the classroom provides the means so that students can interact beyond their classroom walls.” “The intent of the ‘lifelong learning’ standard is that students from the beginning develop the tools, the habits of mind, and the motivations that allow them to independently pursue activities using language throughout their lifetime.” (p. 68).
Lave (1991) studied apprenticeship communities of practice and discussed how the development of knowledge within that community also went hand in hand with a change in identity. I am working to help my students to identify themselves as learners of the language with important roles to play within a community of other learners.
Description
I set up a class page in Edmodo and asked the students to join the class by giving them the access code that Edmodo provided. Once I had accepted students to the class I asked them to post their reasons for taking the course. I explained that while they would be graded for posting the grade would simply be based on their participation and that there would be no right or wrong answers. I wanted their honest reasons. The question I posted for them to respond to was:
Why are you in Iñupiaq class? Is it because you need the credit, want to learn to speak Iñupiaq or because someone else wants you to learn to speak Iñupiaq?
I explained that it could be other reasons not listed as well as a combination of reasons. Students posted their reasons and we looked at the postings as a class to discuss them.
Reflection
I was very disheartened by the number of students that responded that the only reason they were taking the class was for the credit. The high school Iñupiaq classes have gotten a reputation over the years of being an easy class for elective credit. One of my biggest struggles is changing this perception. Students still remember the previous teacher and resent the fact that I require them to complete work and show progress in their learning. The problem with the credit reasoning is that students that don’t have any desire to learn the material will struggle the whole semester and possibly not even earn the credit. One student said that their mother wants them to learn and then half of the students gave inspiring reasons to be in the course that involved really wanting to learn to speak the language and what they hope to do with the language once they learn it.
I plan to do this activity at the beginning of each semester so that I know right up front which students are less enthusiastic about learning and hopefully encourage them see the benefits of learning the language.
This activity is designed for high school students in the L2 classroom setting. The teacher has the students share their reasons for taking the L2 class in an online format that allows for all of the students to view each other’s responses. The hope is that doing this will encourage them to recognize their purpose for taking the course and see other people’s purposes as well.
This activity supports language development by a) being related to setting goals for learning and b) helping to develop a community of learners.
A) Setting and reporting on personal goals for learning.
Gillette (1994) writes that, “it is not primarily schooling but life goals that may influence the effort a learner makes in learning an L2 and the success he or she may enjoy as a result.” (p. 200) Griffiths (2008) writes about research done on good language learners and posits that the good language learners take are able to discern what resources are there for them and how to take advantage of those resources.
B) Developing a community of learners.
One of the standards for foreign language learning is that students use the language both within and beyond the school setting. According to Phillips and Draper (1999) “A community can be a community of learners of different ages or in different locations. The idea here is that the classroom provides the means so that students can interact beyond their classroom walls.” “The intent of the ‘lifelong learning’ standard is that students from the beginning develop the tools, the habits of mind, and the motivations that allow them to independently pursue activities using language throughout their lifetime.” (p. 68).
Lave (1991) studied apprenticeship communities of practice and discussed how the development of knowledge within that community also went hand in hand with a change in identity. I am working to help my students to identify themselves as learners of the language with important roles to play within a community of other learners.
Description
I set up a class page in Edmodo and asked the students to join the class by giving them the access code that Edmodo provided. Once I had accepted students to the class I asked them to post their reasons for taking the course. I explained that while they would be graded for posting the grade would simply be based on their participation and that there would be no right or wrong answers. I wanted their honest reasons. The question I posted for them to respond to was:
Why are you in Iñupiaq class? Is it because you need the credit, want to learn to speak Iñupiaq or because someone else wants you to learn to speak Iñupiaq?
I explained that it could be other reasons not listed as well as a combination of reasons. Students posted their reasons and we looked at the postings as a class to discuss them.
Reflection
I was very disheartened by the number of students that responded that the only reason they were taking the class was for the credit. The high school Iñupiaq classes have gotten a reputation over the years of being an easy class for elective credit. One of my biggest struggles is changing this perception. Students still remember the previous teacher and resent the fact that I require them to complete work and show progress in their learning. The problem with the credit reasoning is that students that don’t have any desire to learn the material will struggle the whole semester and possibly not even earn the credit. One student said that their mother wants them to learn and then half of the students gave inspiring reasons to be in the course that involved really wanting to learn to speak the language and what they hope to do with the language once they learn it.
I plan to do this activity at the beginning of each semester so that I know right up front which students are less enthusiastic about learning and hopefully encourage them see the benefits of learning the language.