Webinar: A Russian Bridge Course: Navigating the Transition from Language-Driven to Content-Driven Courses

Event Date: November 19, 2019

Led by Lynne deBenedette
November 19 at 5:30pm EST

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In this webinar, Lynne deBenedette will discuss how to create a course for learners who are roughly at the ACTFL Intermediate Mid proficiency level that focuses both on content learning and language learning in a balanced way.  In the more commonly taught languages these courses are sometimes referred to as “bridge courses” –when students transition from lower-level language courses (organized around a textbook) to upper-level courses that primarily focus on content materials (films and / or readings). deBenedette will consider how much content material is practical at this level, how to choose it, and how to assess student learning of that content.  Drawing on the content materials selected, she will discuss how to choose language forms to focus on. The webinar will examine in detail examples of classroom materials to see how the content-learning is counterbalanced with focused work on language form, and how classroom tasks are sequenced to guide learners from input to output.  The webinar will conclude with a list of principles for implementing this approach with a range of content topics.

Lynne deBenedette is Senior Lecturer in Russian at Brown University, where she has taught since 1995. She is a co-author, with William J. Comer, Alla Smyslova and Jonathan Perkins, of the first-year Russian language textbook Между нами (http://www.mezhdunami.org). At Brown she coordinates the Russian language program and teaches Russian and (occasionally) Czech.

https://actr.wildapricot.org/event-3624560

  • The webinar is free for current ACTR members ($15 fee for non-members)
  • All registered participants will receive access to the webinar recording. Register even if you cannot attend the webinar live. 
  • Certificate of participation will be emailed upon request