Dimension 2008 Languages for the Nation Dennis R. Miller, Jr. David Alley Denise Overfield Edwina Spodark Patricia Early Peter B. Swanson Marat Sanatullov Rosalie Cheatham Elvira Sanatullova-Allison Lisa F. Signori Editors C. Maurice Cherry Furman University Carol Wilkerson Western Kentucky University Selected Proceedings of the 2008 Joint Conference of the Southern Conference on Language Teaching and the South Carolina Foreign Language Teachers’ Association ii Dimension 2008: Lauguages for the Nation © 2008 Southern Conference on Language Teaching Lynne McClendon, Executive Director 165 Lazy Laurel Chase Roswell, GA 30076 Telephone 770-992-1256 Fax 770-992-3464 http://www.scolt.org [email protected] All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced, in any form or by any means, without written permission from the publisher. ISBN 1-883640-22-9 Carolyn L. Hansen DLLC-Spanish Program University of South Carolina Columbia, SC 29208 iii TABLE OF CONTENTS Review and Acceptance Procedures ............................................................ iv 2008 SCOLT Editorial Board ..........................................................................v Introduction ................................................................................................ vii Acknowledgments......................................................................................... x Drama in the Classroom 1 and Improved Academic Performance …………………....………………….....1 Dennis R. Miller, Jr. An Analysis of the Teaching Proficiency 2 Through Reading and Storytelling (TPRS) Method………………………......13 David Alley and Denise Overfield Technoconstructivism and the Millennial Generation: 3 Creative Writing in the Foreign Language Classroom ……………………27 Edwina Spodark Technology for Oral Assessment. ………………………………………….…39 4 Patricia Early and Peter B. Swanson The Teacher Work Sample 5 in Foreign Language Education …………………………………………….....49 Marat Sanatullov Connecting a Standards-Based Curriculum 6 with Student Performance and Assessment. ………………………………...63 Rosalie Cheatham The National Security Language Initiative 7 and Less Commonly Taught Languages. ……………………………………...81 Elvira Sanatullova-Allison The Belgian Connection …………………………………………………….…97 8 Lisa Signori SCOLT Board of Directors ......................................................................... 113 Advisory Board: Individual Sponsors, 2007 ............................................. 114 Advisory Board: Patrons Representing Institutions and Organizations .. 116 Previous Issues of Dimension: Ordering Information............................... 119 iv Dimension 2008: Lauguages for the Nation Review and Acceptance Procedures SCOLT Dimension The procedures through which articles are reviewed and accepted for publi- cation in the proceedings volume of the Southern Conference on Language Teaching (SCOLT) begin with the submission of a proposal to present a session at the SCOLT Annual Conference. Once the members of the Program Committee have made their selections, the editors invite each presenter to submit the abstract of an article that might be suitable for publication in Dimension, the annual volume of conference proceedings. Only those persons who present in person at the annual Joint Conference are eligible to have written versions of their presentations included in Dimension. Those whose abstracts are accepted receive copies of publication guidelines, which adhere almost entirely to the fifth edition of the Publication Manual of the American Psychological Association. The names and academic affiliations of the authors and information identifying schools and colleges cited in articles are re- moved from the manuscripts, and at least three members of the Editorial Board and the two editors review each of them. Reviewers, all of whom are professionals committed to second language education, make one of four recommendations: “publish as is,” “publish with minor revisions,” “publish with significant rewrit- ing,” or “do not publish.” The editors review the recommendations and notify all authors as to whether their articles will be printed. As a result of these review procedures, at least three individuals decide whether to include an oral presentation in the annual confer- ence, and at least five others read and evaluate each article that appears in Dimension. v 2008 SCOLT Editorial Board Theresa A. Antes Jean Marie Schultz University of Florida University of California Gainesville, FL at Santa Barbara Santa Barbara, CA Jean- Pierre Berwald University of Massachusetts, Louise Stanford emeritus South Carolina Governor’s School Amherst, MA for the Arts and Humanities, retired Lee Bradley Greenville, SC Valdosta State University, emeritus Valdosta, GA Toni Theisen Loveland High School Paula Heusinkveld Fort Collins, CO Clemson University Clemson, SC Helene Zimmer-Loew American Association of Norbert Hedderich Teachers of German University of Rhode Island Cherry Hill, NJ Kingston, RI Shawn Morrison College of Charleston Charleston, SC vii Introduction The Southern Conference on Language Teaching (SCOLT), held its annual conference, April 3-5, 2008, at the Springmaid Beach Resort and Conference Cen- ter, in Myrtle Beach, South Carolina, in collaboration with the South Carolina Foreign Language Teachers’ Association (SCFLTA). The SCOLT Board of Direc- tors chose as this year’s theme, “Languages for the Nation,” because it suggested opportunities for language professionals to develop presentations on a wide array of topics. Those whose presentations were approved were given the opportunity to submit an abstract for an article for possible inclusion in Dimension 2008. The articles selected for the present volume treat topics of interest to language teach- ers in a variety of ways. Some provide updates on timely issues of interest to the profession; others shed light on significant topics that are occasionally over- looked; and a few provide novel treatments of familiar subjects. In “Drama in the Classroom and Improved Academic Performance,” Dennis R. Miller discusses an unusual experience provided to three distinct groups of stu- dents in intermediate-level college Spanish courses. Students in a university setting with a fairly traditional student body, others at a historically African-American university, and a third group made up of inmates in a correctional institution all read, analyzed, and performed the same Nicaraguan one-act play. Miller shares with readers details of the classroom performance and the reactions of students in all three groups both before and after the performance. That the experience had a positive impact on the linguistic development of the participants is perhaps not surprising; however, Miller learned that the benefits of the performance were equally important through their impact on students’ self-esteem and their motivation for continuing their study of Spanish. “Total Physical Response,” or TPR, continues to be part of the repertoire of language teachers some 40 years after its introduction. Recently, educators have incorporated elements of storytelling into this approach, changing the name to “Teaching Proficiency Through Reading and Storytelling,” or TPRS. Although the name change is relatively new, David Alley and Denise Overfield find that the principles underlying TPRS have more in common with older, more traditional, grammar-based teaching strategies than with today’s learner-focused, communi- cative strategies. Their article, “An Analysis of the Teaching Proficiency Through Reading and Storytelling (TPRS) Method,” describes the basic tenets of TPRS and concludes that considerations of culture, comparisons, connections, commu- nities, and, to some degree, content are secondary to the development of listening comprehension and oral proficiency. Each generation of students seems to have unique characteristics and learn- ing styles. Today’s so-called “Millennials,” those born about the time the personal computer was introduced, prefer learning environments that simultaneously allow for individual creativity and peer collaboration; and they prefer to be taught by viii Dimension 2008: Lauguages for the Nation faculty who are highly adept in using information technology. Edwina Spodark finds that technoconstructivism best suits the personality and learning needs of Millennials. This approach to teaching combines the tenets of social constructivism with proficiency in technology. In her article, “Technoconstructivism and the Millennial Generation: Creative Writing in the Foreign Language Classroom,” Spodark shares a protocol she uses in a fifth-semester, university French course. Students collaborate to create stories and legends of francophone countries; they serve as peer reviewers and editors while the stories are written; and they become the audience during presentations of the stories. The strategies that Spodark describes may inspire other language instructors who seek to enhance the use of technology in their classrooms. The changing role of technology in language teaching is also the focus of “Technology for Oral Assessment.” The authors, Patricia Early and Peter Swanson, offer a review of different hardware, software, and Webware resources particularly suited to oral assessment. They also describe a study comparing traditional, in- class oral assessment with oral assessment using technology. Findings indicate that rehearsal time increased and speech was more authentic when students re- corded their answers outside of class. Additionally, faculty reported