Pre-Conference Workshop Leader: Maria Carreira, California State University, Long Beach
Time: Thursday, February 15, 2018 from 4-7 p.m.
Location: Hotel Angeleno (Rodeo Room)
Workshop Handout
Activities Handout
Project-based Learning for HLLs
This workshop will present a model of Project-based Learning (PBL) that supports the best practices of heritage language (HL) teaching and learning, including facilitating the development of oral and written skills in the HL, increasing linguistic and cultural awareness, fostering involvement with the heritage community, and responding to the needs of learners at different levels of readiness and with different goals.
PBL is a learner-centered teaching approach in which students work over a period of time on a multi-faceted task that involves engaging with complex issues, solving problems, or meeting particular challenges from the real world (Buck Institute for Education, n.d.). To communicate their learning, students develop a product such as timelines, blogs, brochures, reports, public-service announcements, etc. Presenters will discuss the guiding principles and strategies involved in using PBL when teaching HL learners and illustrate them through sample projects. Adaptations of these projects for a range of languages, levels, and teaching contexts will be discussed, along with teaching practices and tools for managing PBL in diverse HL-only and mixed classes. Working in small groups, participants will discuss how to apply the proposed principles and strategies in their own teaching and subsequently share their ideas with the group at large.