Developing literacy in a language is more than just learning to write, speak, and understand, according to Rachel Dodson, a graduate instructor of German at the University of Minnesota. Using language texts to develop cultural knowledge is also key.

Dodson came to this realization after attending a summer institute, “Foreign Language Literacies: Using Target Language Texts to Improve Communication,” hosted by the Center for Advanced Research on Language Acquisition (CARLA) in 2021. 

“It was really interesting to see how students are able to discuss or work with more complicated topics and themes, even in introductory language courses,” Dodson said. “Even just from the beginning we can work with more complicated ideas in the classroom.”

Dodson created a lesson plan for her second semester class that uses a German poem to discuss ideas of identity and nationality. The poem focuses on German stereotypes and includes many adjectives to describe daily life in Germany. 

Dodson asks students to talk about stereotypes that they associate with the U.S. and Germany, comparing what they thought before they read the poem and what they found in the poem itself. In another activity, students use their dictionaries to come up with substitute words for some of the adjectives in the poem. As a class, they discuss whether these synonyms have the same connotation.

Daniel Haataja, a senior lecturer of Finnish, is also bringing more complicated ideas into his classroom. He attended a CARLA summer institute on “Content-Based Language Instruction and Curriculum Development.”

“Language and content are inseparable, like two sides of the same coin,” Haataja explained. “Language learning occurs best in the context of meaningful activity.”

In his advanced Finnish class, Haataja asks his students to consider the role of the government in providing assistance to its citizens. He begins by showing a video of the maternity package that every Finnish mother receives. The package includes 43 different items, from clothing and bibs to a book and a toothbrush, all packed in a small box with a mattress that the baby can sleep in.

His class discusses why a government would decide to provide such a package to mothers, as well as whether governments should provide this kind of support and what benefits such support could provide.

“Discussing these kinds of questions leads to a more academic discussion than might otherwise have been the case in a language classroom,” Haataja said.

Up to this point, Haataja’s classes have focused on reading newspaper articles and short stories, chosen because they use certain grammatical structures that the students are learning. 

“By redesigning the course around themes such as social welfare or, for example, renewable energy, the same grammatical topics can be explored via content that’s both interesting and meaningful for students and via questions that promote deep thinking and lively class discussion,” Haataja said.

About CARLA

The Center for Advanced Research on Language Acquisition (CARLA) is devoted to improving language teaching and learning at the University of Minnesota and beyond.

CARLA is hosting 16 summer institutes for language teachers, from “Transforming the Teaching of Language Online” and “Culture as the Core in the Second Language Classroom” to “Teaching Language Through the Lens of Social Justice.” Registration for the 2022 summer institute program is open now.