Synopses & Reviews
Includes bibliographical references (p. 280-295) and indexes.
Review
"This book is a particularly welcome addition to the professional language education literature (with) fascinating contributions." G. Richard Tucker, Carnegie Mellon University, Journal of Multilingual and Multicultural Development"Leaver and Shekhtman's volume is a groundbreaking collection of 13 articles that explore important issues and set a research agenda for more work in this area...a 'must-read' for every language professional." Slavic and East European Journal
Synopsis
This book examines approaches to teaching students who aim to make the leap from advanced or superior proficiency in a foreign language to near-native ability. While there are an abundance of publications on classroom techniques and methods for lower levels of instruction, almost nothing exists about the transition, which is vital for those who intend to use foreign languages in high-level arenas. Compiled by leading practitioners in this area of foreign language teaching, the book fills the gap for those developing programs at the advanced to distinguished level.
Synopsis
This book examines approaches to teaching students making the transition from 'advanced' or 'superior' proficiency in a foreign language to 'near-native' ability, a level which has been much neglected in the professional literature. This book aims to assist those developing language programmes at this level by filling this serious gap.
About the Author
Betty Lou Leaver is Senior Specialist in Curriculum and Faculty Development at the American Councils for International Education and Fellow at the National Foreign Language Center.Boris Shekhtman is President of the Specialized Language Training Center and Lecturer in the Department of Modern Languages at Howard University.
Table of Contents
Foreword Richard Brecht; Part I. Principles, Practices, and Theory: 1. Principles and practices in teaching superior-level students: not just more of the same Betty Lou Leaver and Boris Shekhtman; 2. Toward academic-level foreign language abilities: reconsidering foundational assumptions, expanding pedagogical options Heidi Byrnes; Part II. Programs: 3. Contexts for advanced language learning : a report on an immersion institute Heidi Byrnes; 4. Bridging the gap between language for general purposes and language for work: an intensive superior-level language/skill course for teachers, translators, and interpreters Claudia Angelelli and Christian Degueldre; 5. Learning Chinese in China: programs for developing superior- to distinguished-level Chinese language proficiency in China and Taiwan Cornelius C. Kubler; 6. Developing professional-level oral proficiency: the Shekhtman method of teaching communication Boris Shekhtman and Betty Lou Leaver with Natalia Lord, Ekaterina Kuznetsova, and Elena Ovtcharenko; 7. The reading four project: applied technology at the higher levels of foreign language acquisition Catherine W. Ingold; 8. In the quest for level 4+ in Arabic: training level 2 3 learners in independent reading Elsaid Badawi; 9. Teaching high-level writing skills in English at a Danish University Tim Caudery; 10. Heritage speakers as learners at the superior level: differences and similarities between Spanish and Russian student populations Claudia Angelelli and Olga Kagan; 11. Teaching Russian language teachers in eight Summer institutes in Russian language and culture Zita Dabars and Olga Kagan; Part III. Learners: 12. Understanding the student at the superior-distinguished threshold Madeline Ehrman; 13. Achieving multilingualism: preliminary findings from a study of twenty distinguished-level language users Betty Lou Leaver and Sabine Atwell.