Teachers as Designers with Learners as Mediators for Intercultural Communicative Competence
Jennifer Eddy (USA)
Abstract
How can we design bespoke MFL curricula for transferable concepts with relevance to community, career, and world? How do our 21st Century learners clarify, compare, elaborate, and collaborate with others to move plurilingual and pluricultural space forward and place new language and cultural contexts within reach for others?
This session outlines a curriculum and task design framework for mediation and intercultural communicative competence. Based on MFL projects in North Wales, London and the United States, see exemplars for Chinese, French, Italian, Japanese, Korean, Spanish, Maori, and Welsh unfold pupil deliverables for transition across levels within transdisciplinary and diverse themes. Through these tasks, our learners solve problems and create products with value beyond the classroom, develop confidence to use the language they own right now and the motivation to mediate for others. Participants will receive tools for design and an invitation to participate in curricular task design projects.
Bio
Dr. Jennifer Eddy is Associate Professor and program director of World Language Education at Queens College, City University of New York. Her research focuses on teacher as designer for transfer and intercultural competence. Her recent book, Designing World Language Curriculum for Intercultural Communicative Competence (Bloomsbury, 2022) features 24 exemplars for 16 languages from global educators, primary-university. Each exemplar models vertical progression with deliverables across different levels for audiences beyond the classroom. The framework unfolds diverse, transdisciplinary themes relevant to college, community, work and world.
Dr. Eddy’s work is published in the Journal of National Council on Less Commonly Taught Languages (NCOLCTL), NECTFL Review (NECTFL), Foreign Language Annals (ACTFL), and Hispania (AATSP). Dr. Eddy wrote Sonidos, Sabores, Y Palabras (2006, Heinle/Cengage) and published a book chapter in F. Diamantidaki (Ed.), Teaching Literature in Modern Foreign Languages (2019, Bloomsbury Academic). Dr. Eddy leads professional learning projects internationally for schools and universities on MFL curriculum and assessment design.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4iPGei1JNUM
Jennifer.Eddy@qc.cuny.edu