Article - December 3, 2003
from the Washington State Coalition for International Education

The Department of Foreign Languages and Cultures at Washington State University is offering an online graduate level course on Foreign Language Pedagogy for the Spring 2004 semester.

As part of a proposed "Graduate Certificate in Contextualized Foreign Language Instruction" recently submitted for approval, we will begin offering graduate level courses in different aspects of FL pedagogy. The certificate, if approved, will require completion of three courses, all to be offered online:

  1. ForL 540 Research and Methods of Teaching Foreign Languages 3- Prereq graduate standing. Survey of current methodology and its research support with emphasis on practical application in the classroom.
    This course covers current pedagogical methodology and research on the teaching and learning of a second language, and is geared to a general audience of foreign language teachers, including those involved in ESL. This course will provide teachers with a review of methodology in use, research support, and in-depth exposure to new approaches and techniques that apply current standards for foreign language learning. The emphasis is on practical application in the classroom, with a focus on the learner. This course presupposes both an academic background and practical experience in the classroom; it is not a survey or introduction to the discipline.
     
  2. ForL 541 Research and Methods of Technology Enhanced Foreign Language Learning 3
    Prereq For L 540. The use of technology in the foreign language classroom; hands-on experience with equipment and multi-media materials.
    This course reviews research and methods of using technology to enhance foreign language teaching and learning, from the use of audiovisual aids, video, and supplementary courseware and CD-Rom to the use of web-based activities. It provides teachers of language with the skills and resources necessary for successful integration of available technology to enhance language teaching, and provide a valid context for that language. It also provides guidelines for the creation of additional resources, depending on need and interest.
     
  3. 542 Research and Methods in Teaching Foreign Culture Courses 3 Prereq graduate standing. Survey of current theory on teaching foreign culture courses with emphasis on practical application and design of activities.
    This course is designed to address the particular issues involved in the teaching of culture, with emphasis on research advances, how to access resources already available and how to create new tools that are culturally sensitive.

The certificate is being considered by several university committees right now, and if approved as expected, will be implemented in Fall 2004. However, we will begin offering Forl 540, the first of the online courses, in the Spring 2004 semester. If you are interested in taking it, the easiest way is to enroll in WSU's Graduate School as an Undecided Graduate Student. You can be in this category for a year (awaiting formal admission through the regular process) without all of the usual review of transcripts and other documents. The application form can be found on the Graduate School web site. A student in this category can use up to 6 credit hours earned toward a graduate degree (and the certificate). So, once the certificate is approved in the Spring semester for Fall 2004, you can solicit to change your status, and submit the necessary documentation to apply officially to the Graduate School.

We hope to offer at least one of these online courses per semester, with summer offerings being a strong possibility if sufficient enrollment is achieved. In that way, the certificate could be completed in a year or a year and a half, at the most.

The certificate is but the first step in our quest for the virtual MA. In fact, it is envisioned that the certificate courses will eventually be counted towards an MA earned entirely in a distance/Summer environment that we have been planning for some time now. This is our first step in that direction. However, after you complete the certificate requirements, you may choose to go on and complete any MA, at which time six to nine credits could be transferred as part of the graduate coursework program, following standard procedure at WSU and most universities. This could cut your on-site time commitment down to a year, including summer work, perhaps making the on-site MA program a more viable alternative.. Even if you do not chose to go on, the Certificate will provide you with a valid proof of your continuing development as a professional, with a solid, higher-level foundation for teaching foreign or second languages in context, and will count for tenure and promotion purposes.

For more information, contact Dr. Ana M. Rodríguez-Vivaldi at amrodriguez@wsu.edu or Dr. Diana Pulido at dpulido@wsu.edu.

Ana María Rodríguez-Vivaldi
Associate Professor of Spanish and
Graduate Studies Advisor
Foreign Languages and Literatures Dept.
Washington State University
Pullman, WA 99164-2610
(509) 335-6173
amrodriguez@wsu.edu

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Washington State Coalition for International Education
http://internationaledwa.org