Eberly Center

Pittsburgh's Newest Bridges Are Being Built in the Language Classroom

Dolce, F.

I have been leveraging mobile technologies to get my students using Chinese language outside the confines of the classroom. This talk will describe how I use WeChat- as well as a new app I am developing- to transform foreign language learning by pairing authentic use with (in-class) critical reflection. It is important that students be allowed to practice using skills in real-world ways, and that they be exposed to the sort of variation that exist in real-world settings. Just as my use of WeChat and Banter allow my students to access diverse communities of practice, and in turn encounter diverse accents, vocabulary, sentence structures, and cultural practices, a whole host of social science courses could benefit from mobile tools that enable students to collect diverse real-world data. Through sharing their authentic usage with me, we create a classroom context where we practical use is married to formal features of language.  

Frank Dolce, Modern Languages DC