Name: Klaus Engelhardt
Institution: Lewis & Clark College
Language: French
Status: Full-time, tenure track
Type: SummerFellowship
Title: Web-based introduction to Business French
Duration: May through July 1999
Description:
Background:
At the current time I am holding a Course Release Award from the NWLC. It was granted on the basis of a two-part application. Unfortunately, I was able to do significant work only on the first part of the application. I developed a new, web-based course entitled French 450, French Literature and Society (Littérature engagée) : http://www.lclark.edu/~klaus/fr_450/fr_450.htm and I fine-tuned two other web-based courses, developed earlier: French 230 and French 410.
Fr 230:
http://www.lclark.edu/~klaus/fr_230/fr_230.htm
Fr 410:
http://www.lclark.edu/~klaus/fr_410/fr_410.htm
This work resulted in a brief presentation last month during the visit of Dr. Clara Yu, director of the Mellon Grant.
Current request : The second part of the original application resulted form a workshop I attended in March 1998 in Monterey/Cal., entitled Business French and the Internet. It was organized by the Linguistic and Cultural Services of the French Consulate at San Francisco. My participation was supported by the Consortium. When I returned, I immediately implemented the techniques I had learned, especially the concept of "Global Simulation", which was completely novel to me, during the remainder of a third year writing class I was teaching at the time.
Existing web page outlining the Global Simulation:
http://www.lclark.edu/~klaus/interlunettes.html
At the time of the workshop I was teaching a full load and found myself unable to fully explore the possibilities of this approach. I have yet to convert it into tangible, repeatable programs. It is clear to me that, in the context of a small liberal arts college, it would be very difficult to devote an entire course to the teaching of Business French. Therefore I would like to develop interactive, preferably self-taught learning modules. which can be "plugged" into existing language courses at the instructor’s discretion (probably 3rd/4th year level). They can be structured to teach how to write and format French business letters, how to fashion an authentic curriculum vitae, a job application in French, etc. These modules would be complete with model letters, explanation of linguistic conventions, specialized vocabulary, etc. They would also have an important web component, familiarizing the learner with cultural features of French business practices and the consequences of the ever-progressing economic integration of Europe, the emergence of the Euro, etc.
At this point, I have yet to get beyond the preliminaries of this project. I have a great deal of information on its web-component, but I have barely begun experimenting with the creation of interactive material: simple yes/no questions, multiple choice or fill-in exercises, automatic scoring, etc.)
Request:
I would like to use the Summer Fellowship I am requesting for the creation of small, interactive learning modules in Business French without any distraction from teaching and without working on any other parallel projects. I know that some of my colleagues in Spanish have moved ahead with comparable interactive projects. This would allow me to benefit from their expertise significantly.
outcome: Once tested, these modules can be made available through our own Interactive Learning Center. Any instructor, technology-trained or not, can refer his/her students to them. Their use should not encroach upon an instructor’s class-time. An individual student’s progress can easily be overseen, as testing tools will be provided with the program. I believe that these modules respond to a need of relatively small French departments, as they are typical among the members of the NWLC. They will of course be available NWLC -wide.
Timeline: At the end the Summer 1999 I fully expect to have developed a good number of multi-media, interactive models which then can be tested during Fall Semester. During Fall I will be teaching only 2nd and 4th year courses, but finding volunteers in order to test these new programs should not prove to be difficult. This will be my only research project this summer, except that I have been re-invited to participate in a one-week program of reading and evaluating the Advanced Placement Tests in French at the College of New Jersey at Trenton, NJ. The AP Reading is scheduled from June 9 to June 16.
Amount: I believe the amount would be equal to the compensation of one course within the regular Summerschool of LC.
Breakdown: The equipment and technology currently available to me at Lewis and Clark through the Keck Interactive Learning Center should be sufficient.