European Perspectives in Language Teaching Learning and Assessment
This elective course has been designed and taught by Professor Bessie Dendrinos. Open to students in their third year of studies in the form of a seminar, the course has no prerequisites. Complementing the relevant core courses, it attempts to explore commonsense ideas about 'foreign' language teaching and learning. In doing so, it turns to issues related to the language politics and to the language education policies in Europe.
The syllabus is related to a series of questions that the course raises, such as the following: Why do views about teaching, learning and assessment change over time and vary from one society to another? In what ways are the aims and language education policies and planning related to sociopolitical goals? How are foreign language education programmes and assessment systems affected by the demand to sustain a multilingual Europe and develop plurilingual citizenry? What is the relationship between the pedagogic and the social identity of the foreign language learner? Is there a link between foreign language learning and the development of intercultural awareness? Which are the European recommendations for language teaching, learning and assessment today?
These are a few of the important questions that this course attempts to answer, through discussions in class and extra-credit project work. It demands that students come to class sessions prepared to participate in discussion and think through issues posed. It also requires that they read from additional sources which are made available electronically.