Intercultural Profiling of the Teacher

Phase 1 teacher participant example

French Year 8

Robert Doxey

Australian Capital Territory

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Acknowledgment This work was funded by the Australian Government Department of Education, Science and Training under the Australian Government Quality Teacher Programme (AGQTP). Attention! TEACHERS AT WORK! Welcome to an example of teachers’ programmes drawn from their work during Phase 1 of the ILTLP. Teachers were asked to plan, document, teach (at least in part) and share, either a long term teaching programme (e.g. a semester long programme or longer) or a short term teaching programme (e.g. a unit or term long programme). Their work is provided for you to examine, consider and make use of, in expanding your own understanding of intercultural language learning in practice. Not all programmes provided by Phase 1 teachers have been posted on this website. Some teachers did not feel comfortable with sharing their and their students work at this time, others did not manage to obtain the various permissions to include student work and photographs and others did not create programmes that fulfilled the ILTLP requirements. What kinds of materials can you expect?  You will not find models of programming that you can instantly adopt and teach among the work posted here. That was never the intention. You will find ideas about programming that you can use, however, working in your own context.  You will not find ‘best practice’ or exemplars of definitive programmes for intercultural languages teaching and learning. You will find some outstanding approaches to programming that advance our understanding of how to make intercultural languages teaching and learning a rich and effective learning experience for students.  You may find what you regard as some errors of language use or some hints of pedagogies of which you may be critical. However, you will also find professional educators striving to make sense of their work with students, interculturality and language learning. You will find a great deal to learn from. What this and other teachers’ programmes show are ‘teachers at work’. The Phase 1 teachers responded to their particular contexts, the curriculum and assessment frameworks they must work within, the particular demands they and their students face in languages education and their own ‘learning-by-doing’ in relation to intercultural language teaching and learning. You will see how a teacher and a group of students working together, taking account of their own identities and cultural understandings, make learning happen. The teacher profiles and reflections generously provided by these teachers provide professional insights into the interaction of programming and ‘what happened’. One teacher asks at one stage during her teaching ‘Do I know what I am looking for here?’ It’s a highly professional question about what learning looks like. It’s a question for all of us. You will also get glimpses of pedagogies at work to bring the structure, sequence and assessment aspects of teaching into life. One teacher scratches her head and asks her children how we might categorise the groups they belong to, here in Australia and if they lived in Japan, and the words they would use. Others introduce ICT at crucial moments or involve parents and other teachers. Reading across these programmes, you will get a sense of the dynamic that teaching from an intercultural language teaching and learning stance creates, for teachers, for students, for whole schools in some cases, and for communities in others. You will learn a great deal!

UNDERSTANDING THE LAYOUT

Teacher participants in Phase 1 of the Intercultural Language Teaching and Learning in Practice project were asked to develop a number of sections in their programmes or units of work. These sections are explained below. Teachers prepared their programmes on an individual basis, and may not have followed these sections in the same sequence.

Teacher profile

In this section teacher participants profile their socio-cultural and linguistic enculturation, consider how this shapes teaching and learning in their programmes and how they apply this in their interactions with students.

School context

In the following section teacher participants describe the context of the school and its language programmes. They may describe the demographics of the school, the languages offered, the levels at which it is taught, the number of students taking a language, the number of teachers, resources and facilities, the assessment requirements and the place of languages in the curriculum.

Programme

The programmes provided by the teacher participants in this section may be a unit of work all of which was taught in the classroom or a long term programme of which a part was taught. The module content and assessment procedures follow the teaching policies, instruments and assessment requirements of the state and territory education system.

Reflection

Here teacher participants reflect on what they learned through their programme preparation, identifying the changes that the intercultural focus necessitated in their programme planning, teaching and assessment and the impact this had on their students’ learning. Teacher profile

Rob Doxey

In the paper below, I shall attempt to outline what I consider to be my distinct version of interculturality and how this affected my decision and motivation to become involved in the ILTLP project. I shall also comment on how my own interculturality has inspired my choice of career path as a foreign language teacher.

Born of working class parents in a small coastal town in Victoria, my first introduction to different cultural domains was my family’s move to Canberra when I was eight years of age, due to my father’s appointment as a Commonwealth public servant. The move to Canberra forced me to consider differences mainly of socio-economic class, where my new friends were children of public servants and other white collar professionals, as opposed to those of fishermen and labourers.

The other cultural difference that I became aware of early on in my life was the obvious disparity in socio-economic class between my mother’s and father’s families. My father having grown up in suburban Melbourne of middle class bankers, postal workers and school teachers, and my mother having grown up in working class Broken Hill, NSW and Mildura, Victoria, of labourers, shearers and housewives. Visiting these two very different extended family settings promoted two very different cultural experiences. The more typical family function with my mother’s extended family would be a barbecue lunch in the backyard of a relative’s house, with the men sipping away at their stubbies of beer. Whereas, the more typical family function with my father’s extended family would be a roast lunch with all the trimmings around the antique dining table at my grandmother’s more than adequate suburban Melbourne home. My deduction from this is that I have been exposed to interculturality from a very early age.

I began studying French in Year 7 at Telopea Park High School in Canberra and took to the study of foreign language quite quickly. In Year 9 I participated in an exchange program between my school and French speaking Réunion Island. For a period of three months I bore witness to a melting pot of French, Créole, African, Indian and Chinese cultures located within this Indian Ocean island. In Year 10 I took part in another exchange program to the Département of Les Yvelines, near Versailles in France. This six month stay with a French family allowed me to refine my French language skills and gain an invaluable understanding of daily French life. The two exchanges also encouraged me to reflect on the differences and similarities between my experiences of French and Australian cultures.

I then spent Years 11 and 12 studying at Narrabundah College in Canberra, where I continued my studies of French and started a beginners course in Spanish. Narrabundah College was also where I began dating my wife, an Indonesian girl who had been living in Australia since the age of twelve.

The next stage in my interculturality brings me to my university studies at ANU in Canberra, where I studied one year of a Bachelor of Commerce/Arts degree. After feeling totally uninspired by the study of Accounting and Statistics, I chose to study a new foreign language – Indonesian. What better way, I thought, to understand my wife and her family on a deeper level? I ended up with a Bachelor of Asian Studies with majors in Indonesian, French and Modern Asian Societies. All three majors providing me with exactly the right amount of stimulus to successfully complete an undergraduate degree in areas that I found both very interesting and very fitting with my personality and world view. An event of significance to my interculturality that occurred during my university study was a twelve month stay in Jakarta, Indonesia in 2000/2001. During this time I stayed with my wife and her family and taught English at ‘English First’ language school in central Jakarta.

After my Bachelor’s degree I decided that having a Dip. Ed. in LOTE/ESL would be a good ‘backup plan’ during my career, especially considering I had already established my enjoyment of and connection to, the study and teaching of language and culture. Then, towards the end of my Dip. Ed. at the University of Canberra, I noticed an advertisement for a Teacher of French at Canberra Grammar School. I applied, was accepted and that was four years ago.

My teaching of French is without doubt heavily affected by my own interculturality. Within the teaching of French I naturally and eagerly focus my lessons at any opportunity on the diverse cultures and peoples of the French speaking world. I feel it is just as important for the students to learn about communities of Morocco, Québec, Réunion Island and New Caledonia, as it is for them to learn about 21st Century Paris. I am also drawn to focussing on the plight of migrant communities in France, their expressions of identity and what it means to be ‘French’. For me, the most passionate lessons I teach involve the use of films such as ‘La Haine’ and modern French rap music.

I also feel my interculturality is heavily influenced my wife’s PhD research on intercultural families living in Australia. Being an informal editor and critic of her work, I am again made to focus on and the issues of identity and citizenship that this entails.

Because of the experiences outlined above, I have relished the opportunity to partake in the ILTLP project. I do indeed feel that I already employ much of the intercultural approach in my teaching, but I can see the benefit in applying a more formalised theoretical framework and including this crucial part of foreign language learning into the assessment of a student’s progress. As it would certainly be possible for a student to study a foreign language and not consider the intercultural elements. I certainly feel the intercultural method has the power to increase harmony and understanding between the cultures of the world, especially with its focus on comparison between the native and non-native cultures. School context a) School Purpose and Values

The school is an Anglican school for boys. The School seeks to live as a Christian school which values: 1. the encouragement of an understanding and acceptance of the spiritual and moral basis of life;

2. the pursuit of excellence by students and staff;

3. the attainment of each student's potential;

4. the balanced development of the intellectual, emotional, physical, cultural and spiritual element of each student's life;

5. the development of responsible citizens with a willingness to serve both their fellow students and the wider community;

6. the provision of an educational environment that promotes the spirit of enquiry and the skills for life-long learning.

The school provides for its students:  A continuity of education for boys from Pre-school to Year 12  The option to board in Years 7 to 12  An educational experience that aims to prepare young men for their contribution to contemporary Australian society  A liberal academic program that caters for average to above average ability  A system of pastoral care with a focus on the individual  A committed and professional staff  A commitment to education with an emphasis on values and ethics  A well-balanced and broad co-curricular program  An insistence on both academic and behavioural standards  External accountability through the NSW Higher School Certificate  A physical environment which maintains its heritage and tradition while offering up-to- date facilities b) Profile of student group ILTLP Unit of work taught to

Home languages (other than English): Greek 2 Italian 1 Bengali (India) 1 Hindi 1 Gujarati 1 German 1

Languages being studied at CGS: French 27 German 6 Latin 9 Chinese (Mandarin) 3

Number born and brought up in Australia: 24

Number not born and brought up in Australia: England 1

Number lived overseas: lived in Bali 1 lived in Vanuatu 1 lived in England 2 lived in Scotland 1 lived in Belgium 1 Speaks another language at home: 1 understands Italian when speaking with grandparents 1 speaks French and German with grandparents who had previously studies these languages 1 speaks Bengali with parents, grandparents and other family members 1 speaks Greek with parents, brothers & sisters, grandparents and other family members 1 speaks limited Spanish on rare occasions with his father 1 uses some French with mother and sibling who had previously studied this language 1 speaks Hindi at home & with all family members 1 speaks a little Sanskrit with his mother and father 1 speaks Gujarati at home with his mother and father 1 speaks a little Polish with extended family members 1 speaks a little German with mother 1 speaks some French with sister as they both learn it at school

Study of other languages spoken at home: 1 studied Italian for approx 2 years 1 has been studying Greek since pre-school years 1 studied German for 6 months

Other languages studied previously: 1 studied Hebrew 1 studied Greek 1 studied German 5 studied Japanese 1 studied Spanish 27 studied Latin for 1 term at the school in Year 7 2 studied Indonesian 1 studied Italian

* 1 student absent on day of survey.

Programme

ILTLP Draft Project Proposal

Focus: the use of ‘tu’ and ‘vous’ (vouvoyer & tutoyer) in French as opposed to the use of only one word in the 2nd person singular in English.

 Does this mean there is more respect within French society for elders and people in positions of authority, than in Australian/Anglo-Saxon societies?

Motivation for Possibility 1: Why, when having explained the differences between ‘tu’ and ‘vous’ in French several times over several years of schooling (most since Year 7), do some of my HSC (Year 12) students continue to make mistakes in their usage?

Upon reflection, how did I, as a learner of French as a foreign language, really came to understand the concept of the use of ‘tu’ and ‘vous’? Very clearly in my mind, I think back to when I was on a student exchange in France and was attending a local collège (High School). One of the very first classes I attended was an Histoire/Géographie lesson. The teacher attempted to involve me in the lesson and asked me a question, to which I responded, addressing the teacher using ‘tu’. The whole room was still, the teacher and all students were indeed shocked. … From that day forward, this memory has been etched in my brain, and so has the correct and considered use of ‘tu’ and ‘vous’.

Potential way of teaching this concept through an intercultural approach:

- Task 1. Use visual stimulus (cartoons and video) of a few situations of people using ‘tu’ and ‘vous’ and invite students to point out differences in the situations and differences in use of language in the ways the people address each other. (Noticing). This task will not assessed. Do this in lesson 1, the 2nd ½ of which, teacher presents and explains what students will need to do for Task 2, with examples. Gap of at least 3-4 days between Task 1 and the presentation of Task 2 – weekend would be good or give time in class to write role plays. Video record this and all sessions.

- Task 2. In pairs, students present two separate role play situations (2-3 mins max each), the dialogues for which they write themselves in French, relating to one of the topics or themes covered throughout the year – Unités 9-14 Tapis Volant 1. In the first role play, the students must use ‘tu’ several times in an appropriate situation and context. In the second role play, the students must use ‘vous’ several times in an appropriate situation and context. Props encouraged. Some may wish to use narrator to set the scene at start. (Engagement with content / Experimenting). Cumulative assessment task.

- Task 3. The students must write a ‘Cultural Reflection Paper’ in English where they outline why they used ‘tu’ and why they used ‘vous’ in the role play situations – ½ page. They are also to comment on any different feelings generated through the use of ‘tu’ or ‘vous’. This is to happen after all role plays presented. (Reflection). Cumulative assessment task.

- Task 4. Then, they must consider the type of language they would have used in the same situation in Australia i.e. use of formal versus informal language. This would take the form of a translation of the script of their role plays. I would leave it up to students to decide on what their version of the same situation in Australia is, i.e. students of different cultural backgrounds will inevitably come up with vastly different situations and different use of language. (Comparing). Cumulative assessment task. - Task 5. Towards the end of the process, the students produce a ‘Cultural Comparison Paper’ (English, ½ page) where they consider why there are two different ways of saying the second person singular ‘you’ in French, and not in English. The aim of this is not to gain a precise answer to this question, but to have the students contemplate in a deeper way on the differences. (Comparing) Summative assessment task.

- Task 6. Feedback Session. A video recorded lesson where I invite discussion and feedback from the students about the process, how it made them feel etc. This would be an opportunity for the students to present to the class (somewhat informally) what they wrote in their ‘Cultural Reflection Paper’ and their ‘Cultural Comparison Paper’ and any other thoughts on the process as a whole. (Reflecting/Sharing). Task not assessed .

Assessment

Task 1: Will not be assessed.

Task 2: Role Plays. A mark /20 following the grid below for each role play:

Criteria Marks - Communicates confidently and fluently with correct intonation and 17-20 pronunciation - Demonstrates in the role play a sophisticated understanding of the use of ‘tu’ or ‘vous’ in French - Demonstrates through the role play a sophisticated knowledge of the appropriate vocabulary and sentence structures required in this situation.

- Communicates confidently and fluently during most of the role play, 13-16 with only slight mistakes with intonation and pronunciation - Demonstrates in the role play a good understanding of the use of ‘tu’ or ‘vous’ in French - Demonstrates through the role play good knowledge of the appropriate vocabulary and sentence structures required in this situation, with a few negligible mistakes

- Maintains satisfactory levels of communication, with some recurring 9-12 mistakes with intonation and pronunciation - Demonstrates through the role play some understanding of the use of ‘tu’ or ‘vous’ in French - Demonstrates through the role play a satisfactory knowledge of the appropriate vocabulary and sentence structures required in this situation, with some important and recurring mistakes

- Maintains basic levels of communication, with many recurring 0-8 mistakes with intonation and pronunciation - Demonstrates through the role play limited understanding of the use of ‘tu’ or ‘vous’ in French - Demonstrates through the role play a limited knowledge of the appropriate vocabulary and sentence structures required in this situation, with many important and recurring mistakes

*I realise that some of these criteria may seem a little too general, but I am confident that it is workable when given the chance to compare the work of a class of about 25 students, and assuming that the top students would fit into the top bracket and spread them downwards accordingly. I agree that there is some reliance on what I term ‘impression marking’. The bottom students don’t necessarily have to fit into the bottom bracket. I expect the criteria to become clearer once I have samples of work to compare. This relates directly to a conundrum faced by foreign language teachers, whereby it is almost impossible to specifically itemise all marking, but as experienced professionals, we are able to contextualise, compare and sense in order to assess students.

Task 3: Cultural Reflection Paper

Criteria Marks - Demonstrates through the paper, a sophisticated and detailed 17-20 understanding of why they used ‘tu’ and ‘vous’ in the role play situations - Demonstrates through the paper a good understanding of why they 13-16 used ‘tu’ and ‘vous’ in the role play situations, with a good level of detail - Demonstrates through the paper, a satisfactory understanding of why 9-12 they used ‘tu’ and ‘vous’ in the role play situations, with some detail - Demonstrates through the paper, a limited understanding of why 0-8 they used ‘tu’ and ‘vous’ in the role play situations, with a lack of detail

Task 4: Translation of the scripts of the role plays into English

Criteria Marks - Produces sophisticated and highly accurate translations, with 17-20 comparable use in English of formal versus informal language, to the use of ‘tu’ and ‘vous’ in French - Very few mistranslations of the vocabulary and structures required for the role play situation

- Produces very good translations, with comparable use in English 13-16 of formal versus informal language, to the use of ‘tu’ and ‘vous’ in French - Few mistranslations of the vocabulary and structures required for the role play situation

- Produces satisfactory translations, with some comparable use in 9-12 English of formal versus informal language, to the use of ‘tu’ and ‘vous’ in French - Some mistranslations of the vocabulary and structures required for the role play situation

- Produces a limited translation, without much comparable use in 0-8 English of formal versus informal language, to the use of ‘tu’ and ‘vous’ in French - Frequent mistranslations of the vocabulary and structures required for the role play situation Task 5: Cultural Comparison Paper

Criteria Marks - Demonstrates through the paper a sophisticated and detailed 17-20 consideration of why there are two different ways of saying the second person singular ‘you’ in French, and not in English - Many accurate examples given

- Demonstrates through the paper a careful and reasonably detailed 13-16 consideration of why there are two different ways of saying the second person singular ‘you’ in French, and not in English - Some accurate examples given

- Demonstrates through the paper a satisfactory consideration of why 9-12 there are two different ways of saying the second person singular ‘you’ in French, and not in English - Some examples given, but not all accurate - Demonstrates through the paper a limited consideration of why there 0-8 are two different ways of saying the second person singular ‘you’ in French, and not in English - Limited or no examples given

Task 6 – Task not assessed. ILTLP Project The use of ‘tu’ and ‘vous’ in French, by Rob Doxey 25/10/06

Lessons Main ILT/other Students task Teacher’s input Specific new Assessment Resources Other aspects pedagogical (description of all (description) language (cumulative and used Eg. use of existing principles at work stages) Learning items summative) Textbook (your own informed involved Specify exact kind pedagogical steps) of ILT learning Connection with aspect you are ACT Essential targeting Learning Framework Etc… Lesson 1 Noticing a) Task 1: View Show them visual The use of ‘tu’ and Task 1 : Not “Astérix” visual stimulus stimulus, read ‘vous’ in appropriate assessed comics, bu (cartoons and video) through with them, situations, mainly in Goscinny and of a few situations of explain any present tense and Uderzo. people using ‘tu’ and unknown imperative. (Both Comic strips ‘vous’ and students vocabulary. covered this year in from “Oxford are invited to point Encourage class). Use of formal French out differences in the students to point and informal terms of cartoon strip situations and out differences in address: Monsieur, vocab differences in use of use of language Madame, builder” by C. language in the ways and address. Mademoiselle, mon Bretécher. the people address Teacher films Chef “Les profs” each other process. Present all comics by b) Explanation of stimulus as ‘Group Pica and Task 2 requirements 1’ and then ‘Group Eroc. (2 role plays) 2’. Group 1 will be use of ‘tu’, group 2 will be use of ‘vous’, but students will not be told this. Both groups 1 and 2 will come from same comic book. I will tell students that all stimulus from group 1 have something in common, same with all stimulus from group 2 Lesson 2 Engagement with Task 2: In pairs, Reinforcement of Will assess: Tapis Volant content / students present two topics and language a) Ability to 1 Student Experimenting separate role play from Tapis Volant 1 communicate Book and situations (2-3 mins Unités 9-14 confidently and Workbook, max each), the fluently with correct Dialogues dialogues for which intonation and written in they write pronunciation French by themselves in b) Demonstration in students. French, relating to the role play an one of the topics or understanding of themes covered the use of ‘tu’ or throughout the year ‘vous’ in French – Unités 9-14 Tapis c) Demonstration Volant 1. In the first through the role role play, the play a sophisticated students must use knowledge of the ‘tu’ several times in appropriate an appropriate vocabulary and situation and context. sentence structures In the second role required in this play, the students situation. See Task must use ‘vous’ 2 assessment grid. several times in an appropriate situation Cumulative and context. Props encouraged. Some may wish to use narrator to set the scene at start. Lesson 3 Engagement with Continued Teacher films role Reinforcement of Will assess: Tapis Volant content / presenting of Task 2 plays and topics and language a) Ability to 1 Student Experimenting by students organises their from Tapis Volant 1 communicate Book and presentation Unités 9-14 confidently and Workbook, fluently with correct Dialogues intonation and written in pronunciation French by b) Demonstration in students. the role play an understanding of the use of ‘tu’ or ‘vous’ in French c) Demonstration through the role play a sophisticated knowledge of the appropriate vocabulary and sentence structures required in this situation. See Task 2 assessment grid. Cumulative Lesson 4 Engagement with Continued Teacher films role Reinforcement of Will assess: Tapis Volant content / presenting of Task 2 plays and topics and language a) Ability to 1 Student Experimenting by students organises their from Tapis Volant 1 communicate Book and presentation Unités 9-14 confidently and Workbook, fluently with correct Dialogues intonation and written in pronunciation French by b) Demonstration in students. the role play an understanding of the use of ‘tu’ or ‘vous’ in French c) Demonstration through the role play a sophisticated knowledge of the appropriate vocabulary and sentence structures required in this situation. See Task 2 assessment grid. Lesson 5 Reflection Task 3: The students Teacher Explains Will assess must write a ‘Cultural requirements of students Reflection Paper’ in Task 3, gives some demonstration, English where they examples, through the paper, outline why they encourages of their used ‘tu’ and why students to write. understanding of they used ‘vous’ in why they used ‘tu’ the role play and ‘vous’ in the situations – ½ page. role play situations. They are also to See Task 3 comment on any assessment grid. different feelings generated through Cumulative the use of ‘tu’ or ‘vous’. This is to happen after all role plays presented. Students to be given 1 lesson to work on, then 1-2 nights before due in a specified lesson.

Lesson 6 (Two Comparing Task 4: Translation Teacher Explains Reinforcement of Will assess: tasks) of the scripts of their requirements of topics and language a) Student’s ability role plays. Making Task 4, gives some from Tapis Volant 1 to produce students consider examples, Unités 9-14 accurate the type of language encourages translations of their they would have students to write. role plays, with used in the same comparable use in situation in Australia English of formal i.e. use of formal versus informal versus informal language, to the language. I would use of ‘tu’ and leave it up to ‘vous’ in French students to decide b) Students use of on what their version vocabulary and of the same situation structures in Australia is, i.e. appropriate to the students of different role play situations. cultural backgrounds See Task 4 will inevitably come assessment grid up with vastly Cumulative different situations and different use of language.

Noticing Task 5: a ‘Cultural Teacher Explains Will assess: Comparison Paper’ requirements of a) Student’s (English, ½ page) Task 4, gives some demonstration, where they consider examples, through the paper, why there are two encourages of a detailed different ways of students to write. consideration of saying the second why there are two person singular ‘you’ different ways of in French, and not in saying the second English. The aim of person singular this is not to gain a ‘you’ in French, and precise answer to not in English this question, but to b) Ability to present have the students at least 3 accurate contemplate in a examples. deeper way on the differences. Summative

Lesson 7 Reflecting/Sharing Task 6: ‘Feedback A video recorded Task not assessed. Session’. A video lesson where recorded lesson teacher invites where teacher discussion and invites/facilitates feedback from the discussion and students about the feedback from the process as a whole students about the process, how it made them feel etc. This would be an opportunity for the students to present to the class (somewhat informally) what they wrote in their ‘Cultural Reflection Paper’ and their ‘Cultural Comparison Paper’ and any other thoughts on the process as a whole. Year 8 Continuers French Intercultural Assignment

Your task: in pairs, present two short role play situations (1-2 mins each) to the class, the dialogues for which you are to write yourselves, in French.  The two dialogues must relate to one of the topics or themes covered throughout the year – Unités 9-14 of Tapis Volant 1.  In the first role play, you must use ‘tu’ several times in an appropriate situation and context.  In the second role play, you must use ‘vous’ several times in an appropriate situation and context.  Props are encouraged, you may wish to use a narrator to set the scene at the start of the role play.  You will be assessed on: a) How well you communicate; using correct intonation and pronunciation b) How well you show your understanding of the use of ‘tu’ and ‘vous’ in French c) Your use of appropriate vocabulary and sentence structures for the situation You will be given a score /20 that will count towards your semester two assessment.  You will need to negotiate with your teacher about whether you present on the following dates: - This Friday, 3rd November, Period 1 - Next Monday, 6th November, Period 4 - Next Tuesday, 6th November, Period 1

After you have presented, you will be required to produce the following: a) A ½ page approx, written in English, “Cultural Reflection Paper” b) A translation into English of your role plays c) A ½ page approx, written in English, “Cultural Comparison Paper”

More details about these shortly, but you will be given time to work on these in class and as prep.

Mr Doxey would sincerely appreciate it if he could film your role play presentations, to be used only for the sake of research and to look for ways to better present the work to students in the future. If you genuinely have a problem with the filming of your role play, please talk to Mr Doxey about it and an agreement will be reached. Year 8 Continuers French Intercultural Assignment

In order to have you genuinely reflect on the cultural aspects of the use of ‘Tu’ and ‘Vous’ in French, you will be required to produce the following:

A. Write a ‘Cultural Reflection Paper’ in English (½ A4 page approx.) where you explain:  why you used ‘Tu’ in the first role play situation i.e. who the characters were, their relationship to each other etc.  why you used ‘Vous’ in the second role play situation i.e. as above  comment on any different feelings you felt or thoughts you had about the use of ‘Tu’ or ‘Vous’ in French while preparing and performing your role plays

B. Translation of the script of your role plays into English. Make sure you consider the type of language you would have used in the same situation in Australia i.e. use of formal versus informal language. Please include the original copy of your scripts in French of your role plays.

C. Write a ‘Cultural Comparison Paper’ in English (½ A4 page approx.) where you consider why there are two different ways of saying the second person singular ‘you’ in French, and not in English. If you speak or know of another language/culture that uses a similar concept to ‘Tu’ and ‘Vous’, please mention it here. Reflection

1. What did you learn through participating in this project?

Through participating in the ILTLP project, I learnt about a new focus and some new considerations to take into account when teaching a foreign language. While these considerations have been present informally in my work already, I now know that these can take a much more significant role in the teaching and learning process, to the point that they can become part of the formal assessment of the students’ progress. I have been able to re- state and re-consider my motivation behind being a foreign language teacher.

2. What changes did the intercultural focus necessitate in your program planning, teaching and assessment?

First of all it required a gap in the current program. Fortunately I found that, as I was teaching two classes of Year 8 Continuers French, one of them managed to fall approximately one unit of work behind the other while I was absent for one month taking a Study Tour of France earlier this year. This meant that I had the opportunity to fit the ILTLP unit of work into the program of the first set of Year Continuers French, while the second set caught up. Therefore, in the context of my school and probably many other schools, the timing of the teaching of the unit of work needs to be worked out before the start of the academic year and not during. As the assessment is fairly flexible for this Year level at my school, I was able to count the ‘Intercultural Assignment’ as 10% of the class’ second semester assessment without any problematic issues arising.

3. What impact does the intercultural focus have on student learning?

Its impact is to force students to formally consider a different aspect of foreign language learning that they may not have previously considered formally, or at all. It also has a noticeable motivating impact on most students of diverse cultural backgrounds. I noticed distinct participation, questioning and interest from certain students that may not normally display such behaviour in the French classroom. I think many of the students of different cultural backgrounds enjoyed the opportunity to share about their cultures. I also feel that the intercultural approach gave an extra legitimacy to their diverse cultural backgrounds and even empowered them with confidence and pride within the social and academic contexts of the language classroom.

4. What recommendations would you make to others about implementing intercultural language learning?

Planning out your intercultural unit of work and its implementation is important. However, given the current nature of teaching in 2006, including workloads and time constraints, don’t let the idea of ‘even more work’ overwhelm your ability to actually implement the approach. My experience is that the process has given me energy and re-validated my purpose for being a foreign language teacher in the first place. This includes a reinvigoration of the distinct personal attachment I have to this profession. I have also found that the teacher release days offered were enough (just) to fit the work on this project into my already charged schedule. While I do feel the current Phase 1 of the project was not given enough time to really fine tune the reflection, documentation and planning, I think the organisers are well aware of this fact and will have more time and hindsight to deal with this problem in Phase 2. REVISION OF ORIGINAL DESCRIPTION OF UNIT OF WORK ILTLP Draft Project Proposal

Task 1. Here I ended up using cartoons instead of video, as outlined in the tabled document below. The reason for this was that it seemed like it would take far too long for me to look through and get access to the film/video materials and find the exact situation I needed. The benefit of the cartoons was also that the students were able actually see the written version of the language that was being used. NEXT TIME: I would pursue trying to find film/video of the situations needed, as long as enough time was available, as the students mentioned in the feedback session that they would have preferred working with this format rather than the comics. Time was a major factor here. I think I would also prefer a DVD that could show the subtitles in French of the language being used, thus having a similar benefit to the cartoons.

Task 2. Here I ended up allowing the formation of groups of three for the role plays, but NEXT TIME: I would be strict on only allowing groups of two so that it would be easier to assess the students together and so I could avoid as happened with one group; two very lazy students grouping with one very capable student who does all the work. I know this would not be unavoidable with groups of two, but it does minimise the chances of this happening.

Task 3. I found this task went mostly to plan and would do it again much the same.

Task 6. Task not assessed.

Assessment Task 2: Role Plays. A mark /20 following the grid in the programme section above.

I found the assessment criteria to be a reasonable guideline on how to assess their materials. As I was marking the tasks using these criteria, I felt similar to the way I feel when marking HSC Written work, where you study the criteria very carefully, but much is still based on professional judgement. It certainly did help to have a large range of abilities and work produced in order to assess. One thing I would do with all of these next time, is to make sure I go through the marking criteria exactly as I have it in this document. I thought it was enough to describe the marking criteria in the handout, but I now feel it is fairer and probably clearer if I show them the marking tables in this document.

Lesson 1: The main thing I would do next time with the planning out of lessons, is not to expect to adhere too stringently to fitting each task/step into each lesson as I have recorded on this document. This document is certainly useful and I would use it much the same as it currently is, but I would allow for maybe one or two lessons either side of this prediction as much would depend on the dynamics of the individual class.