Multi-Level Language Learning Program

John W. Tigue, US

John Tigue is Dean of Liberal Arts at Baton Rouge Community College in Louisiana, United States. He was chair of philosophy at the Universidad San Francisco de Quito, Ecuador and a faculty member in the graduate school of education and coordinator of English at Chulalongkorn University, Thailand. E-mail: tiguej@mybrcc.edu

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Background
Program activities
Results
Recommendations

Background

Some years ago I was teaching English as a Second Language (ESL) for adult learners at a high school continuing education program. One evening as I was beginning work with my advanced class, the entire beginner’s ESL class walked into the room to inform me that they had no instructor. I did not want to ask the students to go home early or ask them to wait (some of their family members were in the advanced class). So, I invited them to join us. I improvised and came up with a plan to engage this “new” class of beginner and advanced students. As I left that evening, the students departed saying how much they liked the activities and interaction. That event triggered an “Aha” moment from which I was later inspired to adapt to a foreign language program at Baton Rouge Community College.

Baton Rouge Community College provides the opportunity for its citizens to be involved in an integral study of two languages that have been instrumental in the development of the region. French and Spanish are made available for comprehensive study through BRCC’s Multi-level Language Learning Program (MLLP) which is offered during the Maymester, a three-week mini-semester. In-course attrition has been a challenge for students completing language courses. It is with this in mind, as well as in recognizing the importance of French and Spanish in Louisiana’s heritage and their importance as world languages, that the MLLP was established.

The MLLP is designed for multi-level language learning. Two full-time Spanish instructors (Esperanza Simien and Ana Boone) teach four levels of Spanish classes within the same classroom, and one French instructor (Ikanga Tchomba) facilitates three to four levels of French classes. Classes meet three hours a day, five days a week so that students can engage in a variety of concentrated language learning and cultural activities. This language instruction also includes an increased knowledge and understanding of the Hispanic or Francophone cultures. Additional time for personal study is provided at either the Foreign Language Lab or Academic Learning Center, where special software is available to complete language exercises.

Program activities

Unlike intensive English language courses common throughout the United States, and various foreign language study abroad programs where students have substantial expenses, the MLLP immerses students in both grammar and culture for the modest cost of tuition and fees. The multi-level, foreign language classroom is a mix of proficiencies and student motivations. Customarily, students completing a first-semester foreign language course do so to fulfill a degree requirement. Students who are in their third or fourth semester are celebrating a deep interest in a language. Integrating these students of diverse interests and proficiencies makes the Maymester session both a challenge and an opportunity. During the MLLP, students learn grammar and vocabulary through lectures, literary readings, games, dialogues, skits, presentations, pen-pal exercises, native speaker presentations, movies, music, and cooking activities. In addition to the multiple graded activities in the classroom such as workbook assignments, online quizzes, oral presentations, written activities, online research activities, and cultural presentations, the program includes chapter quizzes and a final exam. Students also bring pictures, artifacts, and other representations of the Hispanic or Francophone world to use for class presentations, collages, or poster board exhibits. Students who continue their foreign language learning can include such materials in the college’s International Education Week Festival in November or at the parish’s International Heritage Celebration. A number of students also join the French or Spanish conversational groups which meet weekly in the college cafeteria.

Faculty members act as facilitators who deliberately structure lessons that are learner-centered, providing ongoing opportunities for student dialogue through partners, small groups, and class activities. Faculty also build a peer support network through collaboration and planning to meet the needs of students at different proficiency levels, working to keep student interest in learning at a premium. Classes typically begin with a theme directed to the whole group and, after a number of exchanges, (which consists of closed and, for the more advanced learners, open-ended prompts) students move to smaller group work and peer-to-peer dialogue. This learning environment permits students to work collaboratively in groups, challenging the more novice students to become aware of the next language level while providing the more veteran students an opportunity to serve as mentors and tutors. This can increase students’ language confidence. Students also complete in-class work at computers using a variety of language software, permitting them to work independently—a great self-motivator. This variation in learning provides the faculty with tools to work with students at their own level and pace. Faculty are consistently challenged to find new teaching resources (reading materials, computer-guided exercises, and games) to keep the students challenged and engaged.

Results

The MLLP has been offered for three years, from May 2007 to May 2009. During May 2007, 25 students enrolled in Spanish courses and 14 in French courses. In May 2008, there were 35 students in Spanish and 12 in French. A total of 33 students took Spanish courses in May 2009 and 16 took French. (Students auditing courses were not included in the data.) The data show the retention rate for the course was greater than that of full, 15-week semesters. Since the start of the program, only two students in Spanish and two in French withdrew. Comments from course evaluations reveal that students feel a strong sense of accomplishment by finishing a course in just three weeks.

The grade point average (GPA) for the May 2007 cohort of students was 3.26 in Spanish and 3.75 in French; in May 2008 it was 3.21 in Spanish and 3.25 in French; and in May 2009 it was 2.82 and 3.82, respectively. The average GPA for all three Maymesters is 3.10 (Spanish) and 3.61 (French). This is particularly significant as the GPAs of students completing the Spanish and French courses during the fall or spring full semester are approximately .8 percentage point lower than those who complete Maymester courses. One reason for the difference in GPA is the large number of students who stop attending class and do not withdraw; as a result, they earn a failing grade. However, even when the “F” grades are removed from the full semester calculations, the Maymester cohort still earned higher grades. The number of students who complete Maymester is 15% higher in Spanish and 13% higher in French than during full semester courses.

Maymester Data 2007-2009

Recommendations

The MLLP may be offered during BRCC’s two fall and two spring seven-week sessions or in four consecutive three-week sessions over the regular full or summer semester. Whether one is teaching a foreign language to a native English speaker or English to a non-native speaker, this format could motivate students to stay in language courses, improving retention. Studying these languages in an intensive and multi-level format has permitted the language and culture of the region to be passed on to those who are seeking an enrichment of two prominent world heritages.

The Teaching Advanced Students course can be viewed here
The Methodology and Language for Secondary Teachers course can be viewed here