Professional Development for Language Teachers

An integral part of the Center's work is disseminating a model of language instruction that emphasizes, at all levels, the relationship between language proficiency, subject matter, and thought. Thinking is a critical dimension of language usage and without meaningful content, thought is impossible. Training in this pedagogy takes place in the Master of Arts in Teaching a Second Language (MATSL) program.

Summer 2007 Graduate Immersion Courses in French and Spanish

July 8-28, 2007
Bennington College
Bennington, Vermont

Course Descriptions:

Experience and Analysis: Experience and Analysis combines a Language and Culture course with a Pedagogy course. The courses are integrated with each other and taught in the target language. In the Language and Culture course, a content-based pedagogy is explicitly modeled, providing a basis for analysis in the Pedagogy course.

Spanish and French Language and Culture: The approach to teaching the target language is intensive, and the content of the language courses is cultural. In these courses, therefore, students deepen their knowledge not only of the target language but of the corresponding culture(s) as well. These courses incorporate the development of the four skills— reading, listening, writing, and speaking—while deepening and expanding cultural content.

Pedagogy in Spanish/French: This course, which is integrated with the Language and Culture course, provides an opportunity for analyzing the integrated approach to teaching language and culture. The foundation of the course is curricular design that targets grade-level expectations, national standards, and teaching the four skills. Based on their analyses, students build bridges to their teaching contexts. This course addresses human development, lesson planning, and curriculum development that is appropriate to students' linguistic and cognitive levels.

Credits: 6 graduate credits. Credits earned at Bennington College are transferable only at the discretion of the receiving school. These courses take place Monday–Friday from 8:30 am–3:00 pm. Enrollment is based on language level and availability.

2007 Fees:

Tuition (6 graduate credits): $2,700
Registration: $50
Room and Board (optional): $1,020
TOTAL: $3,770

For more information, contact Nancy Pearlman at 802-440-4710 or npearl@bennington.edu.