Research & Programs

CARLA Begins New Grant
from the U.S. Department of Education

This fall CARLA  director Elaine Tarone received a grant to provide professional development support for teachers of four critical Asian languages: Chinese, Japanese, Korean and Farsi (Persian) from the U.S. Department of Education’s International Research and Studies Program. The Asian Learner Language: Tools for Teachers project builds on the work done by Professor Tarone and Dr. Bonnie Swierzbin using an innovative approach to language teacher education, which was recently published in a book and DVD set for English as a Second Language teachers entitled Exploring Learner Language.

Asian Learner Language: Tools for Teachers

While more and more materials are being developed to teach important critical languages, there has been very little investment in the skills and knowledge of those who teach these critical languages. Without appropriate preparation of and support for critical languages instructors, even the most brilliant materials will be underutilized or even misused. The Asian Learner Language: Tools for Teachers project uses the theoretical framework of Exploratory Practice in an innovative approach to critical foreign language teacher education. Using this approach, the proposed project will produce multimedia materials on learner language for teachers of Chinese, Japanese, Korean and Persian.

Why Focus on Learner Language?

Second language acquisition research has shown that no matter what materials are used, learners of all languages have their own “built-in syllabus,” a common cognitive sequence of learner language development. Well-prepared, successful language teachers know how to fine-tune their use of teaching materials to maximize the development of this evolving learner language, but teachers of the less-commonly-taught critical languages typically do not receive the same level of professional preparation as their counterparts who teach other languages. Without this preparation, beginning language teachers tend to just “teach the materials” without monitoring learning results.

Designed for use in self-study as well as in teacher development and second language acquisition courses, the Asian Learner Language: Tools for Teachers materials will include professionally-produced and edited video clips of eight learners performing a set of speaking tasks. Accompanying transcripts and activities will guide teachers through the process of identifying key elements of each learner’s language, and relating those insights to their pedagogical practice.

The Asian Learner Language: Tools for Teachers materials will help teachers of Chinese, Japanese, Korean and Persian understand the developmental processes and sequences of learner language likely to occur in their classrooms and develop the hands-on skills they need to monitor the growth of learner language in their own classrooms so they can tailor their instruction to the needs of their students.