Foreign Language
Program Description
Why is our program different?
Lewis University’s Foreign Language Program was created in
response to today’s students’ increased interest in foreign
language study. In 2003 the Foreign Language Center Planning Group
headed by the Dean of
the Arts and Sciences College, Dr. Angela Durante was established with
a mandate
to explore the existing models of foreign language instruction and adopt
the one that would be most appropriate for Lewis University students. After
thorough
analysis and a series of deliberations, the Committee accepted the tutorial-based
model of instruction which in its opinion would fit best the needs of Lewis
University students.
What is a language tutorial?
In a language tutorial, the language class is seen as a team consisting
of a language supervisor, a language mentor, and a group of
no more than 4 or
5 students. The instructor of record is the language program supervisor
who develops the program, meets with language tutors on a regular
basis, receives
and analyses students’ weekly feedback about the way classes are going,
and grades students’ semester work in consultation with the language
mentors. The goal of the language tutorial is to provide students with immediate
practical skills in the target language that would enable them to effectively
function in another culture. In order to attain speaking proficiency in a foreign
language, students need to be able to actively interact with their classmates
and the language mentor – the native or near-native speaker of
the language studied
Who are language mentors?
The prime criterion for mentor selection is proficiency in the language
being taught and the mentor’s understanding of communicatively-oriented and
learner-centered approach in teaching foreign languages. In order to become
a language mentor, native or near-native speakers of foreign languages are
required to take a one or two day intensive workshop in foreign language pedagogy.
The language mentors are not teachers per se, rather they act as students’ conversational
or learning partners. The mentor’s main responsibility is creating
highly interactive activities and involving all students into these activities.
Classes
are conducted in a relaxed, non-threatening atmosphere. Very little English,
if any, is used in the classroom. Most of the activities encourage real
communication. Grammar is not the goal but is carefully incorporated into
the communication.
How does Language Tutorial Work?
At the beginning of the new semester or shortly before the semester
starts, the language mentors contact their students, either by
email or phone,
to arrange the first organizational meeting to discuss the course goals,
the
syllabus,
Course Policies. Class meeting times are set in the way so that it would
be convenient both for the students and the language mentor. During the
first meeting, the students carefully read and sign Student’s Contract.
The program coordinator assigns a classroom for language tutorials in
accordance
with the schedule developed by the whole group and the mentor. The language
mentor contacts his or her students to inform them about the location
of classes.
Classes usually start at the end of the first week or beginning of
the second week. Students meet with their language mentors two or three
times
a week.
At the beginning of each class period, the tutor states the goal of
the tutorial, or what the students will learn to do. The goal
of the class is expressed
in functional terms such as “ Greeting people”, “Indicating
one’s age”, or “Expressing possession” etc. The assumption
is that by the end of the class students will be able to perform the task indicated.
At the end of each week the tutor fills out the form Weekly Record of Attendance,
Assignments, and Tests in which he or she indicates if the student attended
all classes in the past week and grades the students’ work as satisfactory,
unsatisfactory or excellent. Likewise, students fill out the form Weekly
Progress Survey for the Student. These documents enable the program director
to follow
closely how instruction is conducted in each class. Both forms have to be
returned to the Program Coordinator by Friday each week.
What language should I study?
We encourage students to carefully select the language of study. Unlike
other more traditional university programs, Lewis University offers
its students freedom of selecting a language that would best meet
their future professional and career needs, including less commonly
taught, but critical languages such as Chinese, Portuguese, Japanese,
Russian, Arabic, Korean, Polish, German etc. We urge you to consider
studying one of the critical languages that would benefit you and
the society in general.
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