Pedagogical and Professional Development of Graduate Student Instructors at Berkeley

Fully committed to promote excellence in teaching, UC Berkeley?s German Department emphasizes the thorough pedagogical and professional development of Graduate Student Instructors. All of our graduate students have ample opportunity to teach in a vibrant and innovative language program while receiving extensive training in teaching language and culture on the beginning, intermediate, and advanced levels. The pedagogical issues raised reach beyond the language classroom to students' future roles as professors of literature and linguistics. By reflecting on their own teaching practice and its relationship to current theory, our graduate students are prepared for a strong start on the job market and for continuous professional development throughout their teaching careers.

 

Distinguishing Features

Our core development sequence for professional development goes far beyond that offered by most graduate programs and includes the following components:

-         A three day, interactive pre-semester orientation and workshop for all new GSIs

-         One day refresher workshops for continuing GSIs at the beginning of each semester

-        Three weeks daily observation of "model" German 1 course

-         Two three-unit pedagogical seminars on Teaching College German: 350 and 351 focusing on the theory and practice of foreign language pedagogy:

-         Weekly practicum/coordination meetings in which issues related to syllabus development, lesson plans, assessment questions etc. are being discussed

-         Peer, coordinator, and faculty observations on a regular basis

-         A stimulating atmosphere of mentorship and collaboration through continuous professional development and innovation linked to a dynamic language program

-         Unique opportunities for funded research and further professional development through the Berkeley Language Center and the University?s GSI Teaching and Resource Center (see below)

 

Bridging Theory and Practice: The Seminars in Language Pedagogy

The first semester of the language pedagogy seminar (German 350, see sample syllabus) focuses on principles of teaching methodology, research in Second Language Acquisition, skill-specific techniques, assessment, roles and tasks in the classroom, teaching culture, and approaches to critical reflection. The second semester (German 351) looks toward the teaching of intermediate and advanced language/culture courses. Instructional technologies, teaching writing, teaching the literary text, and issues in curriculum design form the main topics, with a continued emphasis on current research and critical reflection. In addition, each course includes a practical component in which graduate student instructors relate the seminar principles to current classroom activities, receive guidance, exchange materials, and generally coordinate their teaching efforts.

Gaining Experience: Teaching Opportunities

In the course of their studies, graduate students have the opportunity to teach a broad range of courses. Generally, all of them will teach at least the first two years of German (German 1-4). This experience alone covers a range from communicative teaching of the basics to content-based instruction with an emphasis on critical inquiry into the nature of language and culture.

Other teaching opportunities include conversation courses, German for Reading Knowledge, a German Gender Perspectives course and the freshman composition courses, 5A and 5B. The latter are taught in English and include extensive readings of German literature in translation on a topic developed by the instructor.

Supporting the Professional Development: Courses and Centers

Besides the German Department's core pedagogy components and Professor Claire Kramsch's courses such as Language and Power, Language and Identity, and Literacy through Literature, the campus offers a rich and unique support system for the professional and intellectual development of teachers. The GSI Teaching and Resource Center? (director: Linda von Hoene) and the Berkeley Language Center (director: Claire Kramsch) offer a range of pedagogical workshops and lecture series which regularly feature world-renowned researchers in the fields of Second Language Acquisition and Applied Linguistics as well as stimulating panel discussions and seminars on issues directly relevant to language teaching and learning at Berkeley and in other institutional contexts. In addition, the BLC offers up to six graduate research fellowships each year to conduct research on ways to improve instruction in any of the languages taught on the Berkeley campus. Graduate students in German have greatly benefited from these fellowships that are awarded each spring for the following year on a competitive basis.

Research Program in Second Language Acquisition/Applied Linguistics

An increasing number of graduate students, who also teach German as a foreign language, have become interested in the process through which non-native speakers of a language acquire linguistic, social, literary and cultural competence in a foreign language. Because language as social semiotic system underlies everything we teach, study, and research in this department, the field of applied linguistics offers a metareflexion on the role that language plays in shaping, reflecting, and offering alternatives to the cultural realities we live by.

 

The association of the department with the Division of Language and Literacy, Society and Culture of the Graduate School of Education and with the Berkeley Language Center Research Fellowship program has enabled graduate students to pursue research in stylistics, psycho- and sociolinguistics,and sociocultural theory as they illuminate aspects of second language acquisition in institutional settings.

 

The field of SLA/Applied Linguistics strives to bridge the gap between second language acquisition theory and language teaching practice, between the study of language and the study of literature or cultural studies, between everyday language practices and academic and artistic language use. It serves to explore common issues of language as communicative and artistic practice in various language and literature departments and across departments on campus. Graduate students in the German department with an interest in Applied Linguistics typically take courses also in cognitive science and educational psychology, linguistics and linguistic anthropology, and rhetoric. Their research includes issues of language and identity in second language acquisition, the importance of genre in the acquisition of L2 literacy, notions of authorship and authenticity in computer-mediated communication. Ph.D. dissertations in Applied Linguistics have studied issues like the computer-mediated acquisition of a foreign language, the acquisition of writing skills by non-native speakers, the literary representation of the language learner in German literature, the discursive construction of literary interpretation in instructional settings, the acquisition of foreign language pragmatics.

For further questions, please contact Professor Claire Kramsch.

 

 

Teaching College German: A Seminar in Language Pedagogy (1)

German 350 Syllabus (Spring 2004)

 

 

 

 

 

 

Goals and Objectives:

In this course, we will focus on the theory and practice of foreign language pedagogy. It is designed to provide you with knowledge and tools for your career as a teacher in the language classroom and beyond, ultimately promoting continual professional growth. The critical reflection of pedagogical practices will be emphasized and you will be introduced to the relationship between the fields of Second Language Acquisition research and language pedagogy. This should provide you with a basis for staying theoretically informed as your career progresses and for participating in the professional discourse of a rapidly developing field. This course also includes a practical component (the 1-hr Praktikum which will deal with the daily challenges of planning and implementing the elementary German courses that you are simultaneously teaching).

 

Materials:

Most of the readings are selected from these major works:

Brown, H. Douglas. Principles of Language learning and Teaching.

4^th ed. Longman 2000.

Helbig, Gerhard,? Lutz G?tze, Gert Henrici und Hans-J?rgen Krumm (eds).

Handbuch Deutsch als Fremdsprache. De Gruyter 2001.

Huneke, Hans-Werner und Wolfgang Steinig.

Deutsch als Fremdsprache: Eine Einf?hrung. 3^rd ed. Schmidt 2002.

Kramsch, Claire. Context and Culture in Language Teaching. Oxford UP 1993.

Ommagio Hadley, Alice. Teaching language in Context. 3^rd ed. Heinle&Heinle 2001.

 

Assignments:

Each week, a master copy of articles and excerpts will be made available, with the expectation that these materials are shared and/or distributed as appropriate and thoroughly read in preparation for the following meeting. In addition, you will keep a teaching and learning journal (see below), give a presentation on one of the major language teaching methods, and prepare a written and oral research report to be presented at the end of the semester. Finally, you will document your growth as a foreign language professional by creating a course portfolio, which you will submit at the end of the semester (see below).

 

Teaching and Learning Journal:

The journal is to be kept in a loose-leaf format of your choice, so that pages may be handed in or exchanged with peers without disrupting your ability to make entries. Each of the two weekly entries (1 for teaching; 1 for learning) should be at least 1/2 page long, although length is far less important than the nature of the content. The journal serves as a vehicle for implementing one of the central objectives of this course: to further your development as a teacher through "reflective practice."? This means not simply recording what you did with your class this week (that should be noted on your lesson plans), but what types of "critical incidents" occurred, analysis of why you think certain things happened as they did, and any connections you may see to theoretical and research insights gained from the course readings and discussions. The "learning" component of the journal will take a similar stance on your experience as a learner -- of language(s) and/or other subjects, in the past and/or present -- so that your learning experiences may inform your approach to teaching.

 

Research Report:

The research report includes both a written component and an oral presentation. You will choose a specific area of second language acquisition and/or methodological research, read and critique about three recent articles in the subfield, present your findings to the class (15 min.), and contribute the written report (2-3 pp.) to a compilation to be published for the benefit of all class members. Alternatively, you may choose to work in groups of two or three on a common topic. The report should be submitted in a standard scholarly format, using either the MLA or APA style. You will have the freedom to choose your own topic, with approval.

Suggested topics include but are not limited to:

Cognitive theories of SLA; Sociocultural theory; Individual learner variation and SLA (or research on any single characteristic in this category: e.g. aptitude, age, learning styles, personality factors, etc.); Role of affect in SLA; Research on teaching pronunciation/ listening/ speaking/ vocabulary; Focus on form (research on grammar pedagogy and/or SLA processes); Language learning strategies - e.g. research on instructional strategies, effectiveness; Motivation; Assessment (single-skill [e.g. oral assessment] or comprehensive; alternative approaches); Task-based instruction; New definitions of/research on "communicative competence" or "proficiency"; Methodological comparison studies; Discourse-based approaches; Project-based approaches; Action research; Classroom culture and ethnographic inquiry; National Standards (implications, critique).

 

Course Portfolio:

The course portfolio will document your growth as a language teacher through practice, reflection, and familiarization with the research and principles of instructed second language acquisition, and includes the following items:

- teaching philosophy statement

- two peer observation reports

- samples of original activities, lesson plans, quizzes etc. authored by instructor

and including commentaries

- report on a specific area of SLA research

- teaching/learning journal extracts

It is to be submitted no later than 5/11/2004 and will also serve as documentation for having fulfilled the essential requirements of this course and qualifying for a satisfactory grade.

 

Acknowledgement:

Thanks to Lynne Frame for having created and shared substantial parts of this course and this syllabus.

 

Tentative Schedule (some dates may have to be rearranged):

Date	Seminar Topic
1/21	Introduction Classroom Testing (I)
1/28	Classroom Testing (II)
2/3	Communicative Competence, Proficiency, and the Standards for Foreign Language Learning Beliefs about Second Language Learning
2/10	The Learner (I): Age, Acquisition, Human Learning Presentation: Grammar Translation Method
2/17	The Learner (II): Personality Factors, Styles and Strategies Presentation: Gouin and Berlitz
2/24	Theories of Second Language Acquisition (1) Presentation: The Audiolingual Method
3/2	Theories of Second Language Acquisition (2) Beliefs about Second Language Learning revisited
3/9	Teaching the Skills (1): Listening and Reading Presentation: The ?Designer? Methods
3/16	Teaching the skills (2): Speaking and Writing Presentation: Communicative Language Teaching
3/30	Workshop I: Developing the Teaching Portfolio
4/6	Teaching the Literary Text: An Introduction
4/13	Context and Culture in Second Language Teaching and Learning
4/20	Workshop II: Assessing Oral Proficiency
4/27	Teaching Grammar/ Teaching Vocabulary
5/4	Workshop III: Textbook Selection and Evaluation
5/11	Presentations Wrap-up