 |
21st Century technology challenges language instructors and students to work
together in new ways. The following examples of technology-enhanced
instruction explore some ways Rice Center for the Study of
Languages is working in the forefront of this field. |
Chinese2004 CHIN 101 ePortfolio Project - 2005 CHIN 102 ePortfolio Project
Watch, read and listen for students' progress in language skills as they learn.
2004 CHIN 102 Exploring Chinatown Project
...a project for the second-semester Chinese classes in the spring of 2004 and 2005. The project is designed with two goals in mind. First, students gain an understanding of the Chinese culture and community through visiting Houston’s Chinatown and through interviewing people at the Chinese organizations. Second, this project provides students with the opportunities to use and improve their Chinese through writing and discussing their experiences exploring Chinatown. Although Culture and Community are two of the National Standards (1996) set for foreign language learning, not much implementation of these two standards can be found in the literature. The current project demonstrates an effective approach for integrating Culture and Community in a language class. This project also creates an online space, using SMIL and Wiki, in which students can easily present and share their experiences.
The tutorial is designed to help students review the set of sounds, zh/ch/sh/r, in Mandarin. This set of sounds is particularly challenging for students since English does not have these sounds. The online tutorial, different from the notes in textbooks, provides images, audio, animation and immediate feedback that are effective in assisting students to practice pronunciation. The lesson includes explanation, demonstration as well as exercises, which are designed using Dreamweaver, CourseBuilder, Flash, Fireworks, and Audacity software. Online Chinese Tutorials is an ongoing project. I plan to establish a website containing a list of tutorials on various topics. These tutorials will offer students a quick review or help them prepare for a new lesson.
Online Listening Exercises on TV Play "Bad Experience with Working Part-time"
DVD Cultural Documentary Lijian
Student Blogs from CHIN411 Fall 2005
http://blogs.rice.edu/dwang2
http://blogs.rice.edu/dwu
http://blogs.rice.edu/jeanlee
http://blogs.rice.edu/jokent
http://blogs.rice.edu/minmin
http://blogs.rice.edu/yyeh
French
GermanOf Readers and Directors: Making Sense (and Films) of Texts
For some time now we have been more or less comfortable with the notions that reading is a process of negotiating meaning and, consequently, that meaning isn't simply some external object to be defined, but is rather "an effect to be experienced" (Wolfgang Iser, The Act of Reading). In the fall semester 2002, I tried to apply this postulate to a reading task in German 201. The project involved a series of specific steps over several weeks that took students through an imaginative engagement with the text and the possibilities of its adaptation as a film. I'll describe the phases of this project: from summaries, concept papers and letters to imaginary producers, to detailed storyboards and and video shoots. The presentation will includes examples of student work (the best part of the whole thing!).
German Web Biographies
German Web Biographies combine cultural learning with the acquisition of the four language skills. The use of technology in this project enhances cultural and linguistic learning by integrating internet research and the creation of a web page in the target language as well as the use of Wimba for recording interviews in German. Students choose a personality from German/Austrian/Swiss history or current affairs—fields have included literature, music, philosophy, politics, and mathematics. In the research phase, which emphasizes reading, students explore web pages and texts in the target language. In the presentation stage, students write their own short biography about the person and post it as a web page to be shared with all their fellow students on the same level. The focus shifts to speaking and listening in the final stage when students take on the role of the person they chose. They first record a self-description by using Wimba and then answer questions from a colleague in a recorded interview. The project was developed by Rick Spuler and Christa Gaug for German 102.
HebrewMost textbooks at the novice level lack texts due to the fact that the students know very little. This is especially the case among the less commonly taught languages which require the learning of a new alphabet limiting the possibilities of expression and performance even more so. Texts, mainly dialogue, are typically short, uninspiring, awkward and boring at times. In order to overcome these shortcomings, I created an e-Book that supplements the textbook we use in class. I use the vocabulary in context in order to demonstrate the use of the individual words and to enhance sentence structures and patterns. Cultural elements are presented and woven into these text as well. I post them on the course web page, and they are accompanied by exercises and audio files. Audio files are a way in which I overcame the problem that students have with an un-pointed text in the Hebrew Language at the novice level. The purpose of this pilot study is to create an e-Book that can be accessed on the net and provide additional texts for teachers and students to use and benefit from.
Hebrew students’ eTerm Projects, 101 and 201 students wrote an essay which they posted on the Internet. In addition, they included recordings of their impressions and pictures...
HindiSongs are an important tool for language instruction.
In particular, Hindi film songs are ideally suited for classroom use
since they usually involve extensive yet relatively simple lyrics.
Furthermore, their popular and catchy tunes provide an additional
mechanism for students to memorize vocabulary.
Student Blogs
Japa 101
http://jeeyunlim.blogspot.com
http://watashiwajeremy.blogspot.comJapa 201
Proficiency-based Student Portfolios
Students of Japanese language at Rice University can utilize their language skills while incorporating Japanese cultural components depending on their proficiency level. Students can better their proficiency level both in language acquisition and their proper use in Japanese culture by taking courses in Japanese. With reference to a wide range of methods on how to teach cultural components incorporating with language skills at all levels, I present two projects conducted by students in the first and third year, namely JAPA102 & JAPA302 on the Internet. With this project, students are provided opportunities to show their products of Japanese in their e-portfolio at each level in their Japanese language acquisition.
Many of us know the tremendous possibilities offered by computer technology in creating virtual "real life" situations in which students can be immersed to learn and use the "real language" along with studying the culture. In my "Virtual Tour of Warsaw and Cracow", a series of interactive, Web-based exercises, students learn to give and receive directions, use public transportation, and get around the two major historical cities of Poland through image, text, and embedded audio clips.
Students shot the video of themselves and placed them on the internet for their peers in Argentina.
Commercial and Scientific Spanish are two courses closely connected to the professional aspirations of our students. In these courses, a series of progressive steps throughout the semester lead to the creation of a personal digital portfolio. This process allows the students to present relevant work created for both courses to prospective employers, arranged in a professional way on a webpage format. Some examples of the material presented include PowerPoint presentations, commercial letters, business reports, papers, resumes or news summaries. Additionally, the exercise integrates a variety of skills in the target language (technology, writing, design) and motivates the students to make the transition from traditional classroom tasks to marketable skills.
DVD Cultural Documentary - Almería
Blog & Podcasting for First Year Spanish
Películas
Rice Intercultural Community WIKI
funded by CSL
Faculty Summer Workshop
Above projects are created with cooperative efforts of CSL faculty members and Language Resource Center.