In episode 6 of We Teach Languages, Stacey talks with Kaishan Kong, an assistant professor of Chinese at the University of Wisconsin- Eau Claire, about what excellent language teaching looks like, how to integrate language and culture instruction, and teaching Chinese as a foreign language in the United States.
Or listen on iTunes/the Apple podcast app, on the Google Podcast app, or on Stitcher!
_________
Show Notes
We welcome feedback, resources, and diverse perspectives on this topic! To contribute to the conversation started here, leave us a voicemail or send a text message to (629)888-3398. Or you can follow us on Twitter @weteachlang or use this contact form to send us an email.
Scholars and research mentioned on the show:
Kaishan Kong’s website http://kaishankong.weebly.com/ and faculty page http://www.uwec.edu/academics/college-arts-sciences/departments-programs/languages/about/faculty-staff/
ACTFL Standards and the 3 Ps of culture: https://www.actfl.org/publications/all/world-readiness-standards-learning-languages
CARLA http://carla.umn.edu/
Startalk https://startalk.umd.edu/public/
Another great show! I thought the comments about promoting diversity within language and culture was interesting; it is something I’d like to hear more about. I also enjoyed the information Dr Kong shared related to diverse student populations and feedback. I believe constructive feedback is an essential part of language acquisition and culture competence and spend a lot of time giving feedback to students in my own classroom. I found the resource hosted on CARLA: “Styles and strategies-based instruction: A teachers’ guide” had a lot of great practical information. I wondered, how much time should instructors spend evaluating their teaching methods and adapting them to meet the different types of learners they may have semester to semester? Also, I have also read some articles that refute the validity and applicability of learning styles (Glenn, 2010; Pashler, McDaniel, Rohrer, & Bjork, 2008), and wonder, how useful are learning styles for language and culture teaching, if at all?
It is so strange the way learning “styles” seems to have take on a life of its own. You ate absolutely right that the literature doesn’t support it.
I wonder if any listeners have feedback on your question about how much time we should spend adapting out teaching?