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Year Awarded: 2008
Project Leaders:
Senta Goertler, Linguistics and Languages, Angelika Kraemer, Linguistics and Languages, Dennie Hoopinggarner, Language Learning Center and Lansing Chinese School, Jason Merrill, Linguistics and Languages, Michael Miller, Visiting International Professional Program,Shawn Talifarro, Winans Elementary School, Jennifer Redmann, Michigan American Association of Teachers of German
Project Description:
In order to address the national and local need of more adequate academic and professional preparation of children and young adults for the job market, we are proposing that with the assistance of a FACT grant, we will expand our existing community language programs in Chinese, German, and Russian to a more diverse student population. The technology-enhanced community language programs are intended to improve students' linguistic ability and computer literacy to make them more competitive for a global economy. Progress as a result of the program offerings will be evaluated with a pre-test, post-test, delayed post-test method. A Center for Applied Linguistics language exam for children will be used for measuring linguistic improvement and the Educational Testing Service computer literacy assessment tool will be modified for the project's purposes to measure computer literacy development.
It is hypothesized that students' language ability and computer literacy will improve as a result of the program, which will make them more marketable on the job market. In addition, the collaboration between the university and the community is intended to connect international families in the area with language learners in the community and children in the community with the university. Based on previous research it is assumed that participation in the program will improve students' academic achievement and their attitudes towards language learning and other cultures.
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