Students’ and Instructors’ Perceived Value of Language and Content Curricular Goals
Nicole Mills (PhD, Emory University) is Coordinator of the French language program, Harvard University, Cambridge, MA.
Samuel T. Moulton (PhD, Harvard University) is Research Director at Panorama Education, Boston, MA.
Abstract
Universities across the country are experiencing a decline in the number of undergraduates choosing to major in the humanities in general, and similar trends have been observed specifically in the study of foreign languages (FLs), cultures, and literatures. The educational and social psychological literature has explored uptake, or a student's decision to enroll in a course, by evaluating how beliefs can guide both thoughts and actions (Jarvis, 2009; Omrod, 2011; Taylor & Mardsen, 2014). To explore this topic, undergraduates who were enrolled in FL courses and instructors teaching those courses were asked to rate the value of language and content‐oriented goals to determine the learning outcomes that students valued and how they converged or diverged from instructors’ course goals. The findings reveal areas of alignment and misalignment in students’ and instructors’ perceptions of the value of particular learning outcomes. Compared to instructors, students more greatly valued learning about cultural practices, discourse competence, grammar, and interpretive communication skills. Students who were enrolled in and instructors who were teaching advanced courses valued different goals than did their counterparts in introductory courses. Implications for departments and educators are discussed
Number of times cited: 2
- Kate Paesani, Researching literacies and textual thinking in collegiate foreign language programs: Reflections and recommendations, Foreign Language Annals, 51, 1, (129-139), (2018).
- Heather Willis Allen, Redefining writing in the foreign language curriculum: Toward a design approach, Foreign Language Annals, 51, 3, (513-532), (2018).
