Guest speaker: Dr. Scott Sterling, Assistant Professor of TESL and Linguistics, Indiana State University ()

Purpose: Modern approaches to teaching English as a second language posit the need for high volumes of not only language input but also language interaction. Approaches such as communicative language teaching (CLT) and task-based language learning (TBLT) were founded on the principle that communicative interaction in the second language is critical. However, a well known problem for instructed second language acquisition is the overall lack of student talk time, resulting in learners spending copious amount of time and effort attempting to learn languages but struggling to achieve their desired proficiency goals.

In this workshop, I will present ideas for using computer-assisted language learning strategies in out-of-class learning opportunities. The goal is not to simply “show and tell” methods that students can use to become more autonomous but instead attempt to co-develop strategies that can be used with students of all ages, language abilities, and language goals to help language learners reconceptualize learning from strictly an in-class activity into a way of life.

Objective:

Attendees to the workshop will learn to:

• Develop language plans designed for their students’ learning context and needs
• Assist language learners in changing their conceptualizing of language learning into one that can fit into their daily lives
• Isolate tips and tricks for increasing the amount of interaction a learner receives in English

Outline: (60 minutes total)

• Welcome and ice-breaker (5 minutes)
• Brief lecture on computer assisted language learning, learner autonomy, and language plans (25 minutes)
• Group work: developing questions for a language learning plan (10 minutes)
• Sharing questions: developing a model language learning plan (10 minutes)
• Spot-light: finding solutions to fulfill a language learning plan (10 minutes)