LWD Languages at Work - USMEXFUSION

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Category LWD English   Date 2016-01-12 10:49:14   2677 Views  

http://usmexfusion.org/en/lwd/

In order to support the process of the comprehensive internationalization of your campus, what do you do if the directors, managers, administrators and teachers of your institution need to improve their speaking and writing skills in a foreign language?

Languages at Work through Drama (LWD) is the solution. LWD is not a teaching method. LWD is a method that stimulates the practice of a foreign language at work and assumes that participants have at least a basic level of the  foreign language to be practiced. It requires only 15 minutes a day at work.

The idea is that in a period of two weeks, the length of one lesson, teams of 2 or 3 participants create a conversation (in the foreign language) that reflects a real situation at work. Then they perform and video record it before uploading it to a Youtube or Vimeo channel that is created for each team.

During the first week, participants collaborate with their teammates to write their conversation script in the foreign language. This script must meet certain specified requirements, outlined in a rubric that is given to them at the beginning of the lesson. During the second week, participants practice and video record their conversation. This video must meet a series of requirements and will be measured against a rubric also provided to the participants at the beginning of the lesson.

The evaluators should consist of language teachers from your institution or a sister institution. Evaluators should  be paid for this work or released from some of their duties. They are responsible for the preparation and implementation of this method. If you do not wish to use teachers from your own institution, you may use teachers identified and hired through the USMEXFUSION Academy for a fee. Contact us at info@usmexfusion.org for more information and we can create a quote based on your institution’s specific needs. USMEXFUSION Academy currently offers English as a Second Language at work  and Spanish as a Second Language at work.

At the end of Week 1, teachers evaluate the written script of the conversation. They evaluate it based on the rubric provided to the participants at the beginning of the lesson. The evaluators then edit the conversation and record the revised conversation as an MP3 file. They then send the assessment of the original conversation, the revised conversation, and the MP3 file to all team members.

The oral production of the teams is evaluated through analyzing the videos at the end of week 2. The evaluators assess the videos based on the aforementioned rubric.

So as you can see, teachers complete a formative assessment. That is, they are giving continuous feedback to participants on their individual performance through rubrics that clearly establish the expectations for both the written and oral performance.

In addition, they make sure that each participant creates and maintains an e-portfolio or blog  in which he /she demonstrates that he/she  uses the foreign language correctly and applies it to work situations, depending on their departmental location at the institution. They can use Blogger, Facebook, Google+, or any other electronic outlet where they can embed their videos hosted on Youtube or Vimeo.

In the end, participants receive individual assessments, although they are always working in teams. Teachers deliver monthly reports on the progress of each participant to the institution.

Institutional recognition is extremely important and through this method, the institution recognizes participants’ professional development efforts at the end of each unit (one unit = four lessons, which takes about 2 months). Recognition can be through a certificate or any other means your institution deems appropriate. If your institution utilizes the USMEXFUSION Academy to run LWD, the Academy would provide the certificates of recognition, but you could also recognize your employees through some form of merit. 

To learn more about LWD and how it can benefit your institution, or if you have any questions, please visit our website,  usmexfusion.org or contact us at info@usmexfusion.org. Thank you for your attention.