Working with adults other than teachers
Languages support
Papers & recommended reading | Editorial reviews | Task for trainees'Sharing
Words': Conversation, collaboration and cultural connections
(web article), Armstrong, A., Whitelegg, D. (2004)
This paper, originally presented at the Navigating the new landscape for languages conference in the summer of 2004, examines how native speakers of languages taught in schools can be ‘mobilised’ in ‘outreach’ activities by universities. The native-speakers, whether full-time students or participating in shorter-term exchange schemes, have been seen to “constitute a very important reservoir of knowledge, both about their native languages and about contemporary culture and lifestyles in their countries”.
In this particular case study, this linguistic and cultural expertise
has been channelled into conversation classes for local sixth-formers, and
the authors of the article have researched the effects on AS and A2 learners
of the scheme. They found benefits in terms of spoken word language skills,
intercultural awareness, learner confidence and self-respect, and, most
significantly, motivation to communicate in and continue to learn, the language
studied.
