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Conversations on Open Education for Language Learning

Announcing a new textbook: Her Şey bir Merhaba ile Başlar!

Editor’s note: the below post is from the introduction by Jeannette Okur to the Her Şey Bir Merhaba ile Başlar textbook and supplementary materials that she recently published with COERLL. This introduction carries a CC BY-SA license.

Hoş geldiniz! This set of openly licensed curricular materials is meant to guide learners from the Intermediate to the Advanced proficiency level in Turkish communication skills, while increasing intercultural communicative competence. Her Şey Bir Merhaba ile Başlar’s four units encourage learners to use the Turkish language to investigate, explain and reflect on the relationship between contemporary Turks’ socio-cultural practices, products and their perspectives on family, love and marriage, the environment, social activism, art, film and politics.

Her Şey Bir Merhaba ile Başlar is aligned with the ACTFL standards for Intermediate- and Advanced-level communicative skills and intercultural proficiency descriptors, and also reflects the University of Texas at Austin’s Department of Middle Eastern Studies (and my personal) commitment to blended instruction and the Flipped Classroom model.

One main premise of Her Şey Bir Merhaba ile Başlar is that learning a foreign language should focus on learning language in use. Thus, all activities are guided by real-life, plausible language situations: How would native and non-native speakers use the vocabulary, grammar and sociolinguistic rules in everyday contexts to make sense of what others tell them and to make
meaning themselves?

Another important premise is that curricular materials designed to help college-age or adult learners progress from the Intermediate to the Advanced proficiency level must:

  • Move from the personal realm to the societal realm in terms of content, vocabulary, text forms and discourse.
  • Provide regular opportunities for practice of the language’s “building blocks” (new vocabulary and grammar structures) and for higher order thinking tasks.
  • Balance the four communicative skills.
  • Balance seriousness and fun!

A final premise is that culture and language are fundamentally intertwined, and that culture is not a separate skill set to acquire, but rather the foundation of all language use. My colleagues at COERLL and I also believe that there is no one “target” culture, but rather that communities have a variety of subcultures, with different life experiences, practices and preferences. Therefore, we expect that the process of “learning Turkish” involves discovery about ourselves, our own cultures and assumptions as well. In the Her Şey Bir Merhaba ile Başlar units, learners will find multiple opportunities to reflect on their own perspectives as they strive to understand the viewpoints reflected in the varied Turkish examples they encounter.

Each unit will:

  • Introduce learners to culturally and socially significant phenomena in Turkey today in order to hone their cultural analytical skills through tasks that foster reflection, comparison and articulation of findings.
  • Introduce learners to a variety of authentic print, audio and audio-visual materials aimed at native Turkish audiences, guiding them to use (and reflect on) the reading, listening and viewing comprehension strategies needed to understand these Advanced-level texts.
  • Engage learners in active recognition and repeated practice of new vocabulary and grammar items.
  • Guide learners through practice of oral and written discursive strategies specific to the Advanced proficiency level.

For more information:

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Dr. Jeannette Okur has coordinated the Turkish Studies program at the University of Texas at Austin since 2010. Drawing upon extensive experience teaching not only Turkish, but also German and ESL, she continues to develop new curricular materials for Turkish language instruction at the Novice, Intermediate and Advanced proficiency levels.

From MSA to CA: A Beginner’s Guide for Transitioning into Colloquial Arabic

Editors note: This is a guest blog post by Lina Gomaa, Arabic Instructor in the Department of World Languages and Literatures at Portland State University, about the Creative Commons-licensed textbook she wrote, From MSA to CA: A Beginner’s Guide for Transitioning into Colloquial Arabic. 

At Portland State University (PSU), the Arabic program is designed to teach Modern Standard Arabic ( MSA) for at least one year, after which the students can learn Colloquial Arabic (CA). Because of how the Arabic program at PSU is designed (similar to many programs in the USA), the importance of this book arises. This transition can be challenging for some students. The book targets students in NM (Novice Mid) who have studied Arabic for a year or more and aims to help them advance to IL (Intermediate Low) according to the Oral Proficiency Interview standards by ACTFL, the American Council on The Teaching of Foreign Languages.

This book documents answers to questions from students in CA classes. Its goal is to transition students smoothly from MSA to CA, giving them confidence to explore both varieties while reaching the NH (Novice High) or IL level, navigate predictable social situations in CA, and utilize their previous knowledge in MSA to learn CA. The content and structure are based on my teaching experience and as an ACTFL OPI interviewer to assist students in their quest to speak CA with native speakers with relative ease.

The material, organization, topics and translations are based on comments, suggestions and ideas which students shared with me during teaching colloquial Arabic and Modern Standard Arabic. While creating the book, I wanted it to be a reference for students to “get a feel” for MSA and CA similarities and differences. This book introduces the Cairene Egyptian dialect; however, it also explains commonly used expressions in the Levant (Jordan, Syria, Lebanon, Palestine, and Israel). The goal is to introduce students to more varieties, allowing them to choose which dialect to specialize in and still be able to communicate with Arabic speakers. Although this book does not introduce Gulf dialects, many of the expressions and terms are frequently used in most of the Arab world, and many are derived from MSA I aim that this book will benefit students of Arabic at PSU and elsewhere, reduce their textbook expenses, and help them improve their CA speaking.

I also hope that the dialogues (recorded by PSU students of Arabic) will be enjoyable for learners and provide successful examples for others to follow.

The book is published on the PSU library page and the website of the Center for Open Education at the University of Minnesota. It has been downloaded over 1,000 times and counting all over the world by different universities, institutions, business and governmental bodies.

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Professor Lina Gomaa is an Arabic instructor at Portland State University.

Creating OER makes sharing ideas, materials and methodology possible!

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Photo credit: flickr user Hansol Creative Commons License

Editors note: This post was written by COERLL partner Jeannette Okur, and originally published in Tex Libris, the blog from the libraries at the University of Texas at Austin, for a special Open Education Week series.

For a year and a half now, I have been designing and piloting an OER textbook and online curricular materials designed to bring adult learners of modern Turkish from the Intermediate-Mid/High to the Advanced Mid proficiency level. The textbook, titled Her Şey Bir Merhaba İle Başlar (Everything Begins With A Hello), will – hopefully – be available on the UT Center for Open Education Resources and Language Learning (COERLL) website in Fall 2019; and the complementary series of primarily auto-correct listening, viewing, reading and grammar exercises and quizzes will be made available on a public Canvas course site. This new set of OER materials is aligned with the ACTFL standards for Intermediate- and Advanced-level communicative skills and intercultural proficiency descriptors, and also reflects my department’s (and my personal) commitment to blended instruction and the flipped classroom model. I’ve now designed five thematic units that promote the following pedagogical goals:

  • Introduce the learner to culturally and socially significant phenomena in Turkey today.
  • Introduce the learner to various print, audio and audio-visual text types aimed at native Turkish audiences and guide them to use (and reflect on) the reading, listening and viewing comprehension strategies needed to understand these Advanced-level texts.
  • Engage the learner in active recognition and repeated practice of new vocabulary and grammar items.
  • Guide the learner through practice of oral and written discursive strategies specific to the Advanced proficiency level.
  • Balance the four communicative skills.
  • Balance seriousness and fun!

I’m excited about OER’s potential to transform students’ and teachers’ experiences with Less Commonly Taught Languages (LCTL) like Turkish. A readily accessible and modifiable OER for this level of Turkish language instruction, in particular, makes a whole lot of sense, because the for-profit textbook model is a non-starter! In other words, because no one can make a profit off of Turkish language teaching materials outside of Turkey; few of the teaching materials that U.S.-based Turkish language instructors design ever get published or shared. In fact, creating an OER for Turkish-language learning has made sharing my ideas, teaching materials and methodology possible!

I believe wholeheartedly that being able to share and modify OER teaching/learning materials via online platforms leads to collaboration among educators and eventually to better educational products and practices. I hope that other Turkish language educators, upon engaging with my OER materials, will learn a few small but important lessons from me, namely:

  • Adults learning Turkish need help practicing and learning vocabulary, not just grammar.
  • Identifying and discussing cultural differences/commonalities on the basis of actual socio-cultural phenomena captured in texts aimed at target culture audiences is key to increasing learners’ cultural proficiency, especially when those learners are not learning in the target culture.
  • The blended instruction/flipped classroom model really works because engagement with reading, listening and grammar materials at home gives learners more time to practice SPEAKING in class (or with a tutor).

I also look forward to learning from the colleagues and learners who engage with my materials in varied settings beyond the University of Texas at Austin.

Dr. Jeannette Okur has coordinated the Turkish Studies program at the University of Texas at Austin since 2010. Drawing upon extensive experience teaching not only Turkish, but also German and ESL, she continues to develop new curricular materials for Turkish language instruction at the Novice, Intermediate and Advanced proficiency levels.

Digital Badges Showcase Your Achievements

From the editor

ACTFL-digital-badgeAs part of our digital badge education series leading up to the ACTFL 2013 Convention, we’d like you to hear from teachers, administrators and other foreign language professionals about why badges matter.

First, a quick crash course on digital badges as a growing and effective means of showcasing your professional achievements …

411 On Digital Badges
  • Badge issuers include universities, professional organizations and language resource centers.
  • Badge earners can display these digital representations of professional development on personal websites, Facebook pages or wikispaces. Visit  openbadges.org to learn how to display your digital badges online.

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  •  Viewers (e.g. peers, employers) who click on the digital badge can see important information, including the badge issuer and a course description. Viewers also see what the badge represents, including achievements, skills, competencies, community involvement, CPE credits earned, evidence for formal or informal learning, links to portfolio work and other details reflecting the merit of the badge.

In COERLL’s Fall 2013 newsletter, Austin ISD World Languages Coordinator Tina Dong talked about how digital badges could make a difference for the teachers she evaluates:

COERLL_TDong_091613“I see potential for badges to be a reflection of a teacher’s language proficiency, their ability to differentiate instruction or to integrate 21st century skills and their knowledge of how to embed culture into instruction. In addition to teachers having an innovative way to visually display such attainments, it would help me determine which teachers can lead professional development workshops in certain areas.”

See the newsletter for the full text.

ACTFL 2013 attendees can go to actflbadges.org to earn a Convention Networker badge today! Connect with Tina Dong and other language professionals in the network.

Maximize Your ACTFL 2013 Convention Experience — Earn A Digital Badge

From the editor

If you’re attending the 2013 ACTFL convention in Orlando, we wanted to let you know about an exciting opportunity to earn a digital badge called the “Convention Networker.”

ACTFL-digital-badgeCOERLL and ACTFL have partnered together to develop this badge to showcase your efforts in connecting and networking with other convention attendees — f2f and through social media. Why is this important? Digital badges are fast becoming the means of showcasing professional experience and knowledge.

 

Watch this video for a quick ramp-up on badges:

 

ACTFL President and Loveland High School French teacher Toni Theisen recently shared her excitement about badges in COERLL’s Fall 2013 newsletter:

COERLL-Newsletter-Fall2#1B0“I want ACTFL members to learn about the badge concept and the potential of recognizing their skills and expertise at a more detailed level. This is why we are partnering with COERLL to present the first ever ACTFL badge. ACTFL can lead the way for developing ideas of using badges to recognize many possibilities of professional teaching and learning through multiple paths of credentialing.”

See COERLL’s Fall 2013 newsletter for the full text.

Then visit www.actflbadges.org to sign up and find out what you need to do to earn your ACTFL 2013 digital badge.

Leading up to the convention, stay tuned to learn more about the potential of digital badges for foreign language professionals.

The Rise of Badges

From the editor

Open Up will be taking a short break, but you can expect to hear about exciting events and new OER offerings from us in the fall. This year, our focus will be on the progress of digital badges for alternative credentials in foreign language education.

Digital badges allow language educators to earn credentials for the 21st century classroom and share them with the world. Here’s a quick intro:

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We’ll be creating a badge opportunity for you at this year’s ACTFL conference, so be sure to participate and see how you can get involved in this growing movement.

ACTFL Innovates: Think Outside the Book

By Tom Welch

What language educator has not had the uneasy feeling that despite following requisite lesson plans, district curriculum guides, or state frameworks, there must be a better way to facilitate world language learning?

What Is ACTFL Innovates?

Last summer, a small cadre of teachers and a few other critical friends, fueled by that very unease coupled with the desire for openness in collaboration and innovation, led to the beginning of a very informal ACTFL initiative known as ACTFL Innovates. The group has expanded to include a growing number of interested language teachers. Envisioned as an informal, collaborative group of professionals who would commit to sharing resources, ideas, failures, and success, the group has followed a path on a cycle that is common to many startups: namely, initial excitement and enthusiasm, early experimentation, outside pressures and distractions, and waning engagement by participants.

However, it’s essential to view this as part of a cycle, not a one-way trip. As language professionals from all levels, we need a wide variety of environments where we can feel free to question, share resources, engage, experiment, encourage, warn, analyze, and dream. ACTFL Innovates is not unique in that. Many of our colleagues have opened up other avenues for this as well, such as #langchat on Thursday evenings, and various other twitter streams.

Why Another Initiative?

The short answer is that ACTFL Innovates is an opportunity for those who feel like the current structure of “clearly articulated curricula” and the accompanying grades we assign students are false proxies for language learning.

It’s for those of us who ask:

  • Can students learn languages by reading foreign language transcripts of TED Talks about a subject they are interested in?
  • Can OER language resources be accessed and effectively used by students according to interest with little regard for appropriate “level”?
  • Would a math teacher be willing to accept evidence of learning from a student who mastered a concept by using non-English resources? (See How Khan Academy Is Going Global.)

Who knows? Would you, as a world languages teacher, be willing to accept a student-constructed evidence portfolio centered on skate-boarding, or rocket launching , or kite-flying in place of that Level I, Unit 5 lesson on “shopping in a foreign market”?

For those searching for a safe place to discuss innovative ideas like these, ACTFL Innovates may be one step in an important journey. I look forward to hearing from you.

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T WelchTom Welch is an independent consultant and has witnessed, participated in, and advocated for the explosion of opportunities for learning unbound by traditional limits of time or place. He is a founding member of ACTFL Innovates. He has been a high school French teacher and principal, and once designed an online Mandarin course for high schools in Kentucky.

 

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To read more about collaborating with other language educators, read Making Collaboration Easier by Carl Blyth.