Abstract:

Overview:
The University at Albany has partnered with OneWorld Classrooms to launch "Student-to-Student Language Lab: Chinese," an online learning lab enabling Chinese and American students in middle and high school grades to work together to learn native languages. The new online tool is supported by a $600,000 grant from the U.S. Department of Education’s International Research and Studies Program.

The program was developed by faculty and staff at the University at Albany School of Education with assistance from WorldTeach-affiliated middle/high schools in Hunan Province, China and the Blue Luna Group, a private Web development firm.

The three-year project will develop and evaluate the effectiveness of an innovative Mandarin Chinese resource for K-12 schools, and involves working with schools in both the U.S. and China to develop text, images, digital video, and complementary instructional materials to facilitate student collaboration in support of language learning.

While most students in China learn English from an early age, relatively few American students learn Chinese. One goal of the project is that the Student-to-Student Language Lab will make a contribution in increasing understanding between American and Chinese students now and in the future.

Kicking Off the Program:
The first level contains 20 digital video modules for students with novice-nigh to intermediate-mid proficiency levels, with the theme ‘Inside China: My School, My Home, My Hometown.’ Each module in the lab is aligned with a grammatical element and a cultural theme and consists of Listen, Watch, Practice and Meet the Students sections, centering on dialog featuring students with a corresponding vocabulary list.

Lab content is aligned with the American Council on the Teaching of Foreign Languages’ Standards for Foreign Language and the 5 C’s of Foreign Language Learning (Communication, Culture, Connections, Comparisons and Communities). In 2012 the team will add sample performance objectives; a textbook alignment chart; and transcripts in Mandarin, Pinyin and English. Levels II (Getting Around in China) and III (Famous Places in China), with an additional 35 modules and 2,000+ videos, will be added next year.

Additional future plans for the grant program include developing a self-publishing interface for the lab, through which teachers in the U.S., China and elsewhere would produce new content following specific guidelines, a means for the Chinese and English content to continuously expand based on user submissions. Developers will also expand content to include a beginner version and produce materials for additional languages.

The lab is a unique and innovative resource because it allows students to learn a foreign language from their peers who speak it as a first language. We believe this dynamic makes learning more meaningful and powerful. Visit the password-protected online multimedia resource.

Keywords:

Language Learning, Chinese, On-line Lab.