Maintaining the Momentum from High School to College: Report and Recommendations

This article investigates how language contests can serve as an effective element of articulation in language education. Educators and researchers have reflected on how to facilitate the progress of language learners from high school to college through shared learning outcomes across institutional divides and by developing common guidelines for assessment and curriculum development. Less attention had been paid to cocurricular events, such as language contests. In analyzing data collected in a survey conducted among collegiate volunteers for a high school language contest hosted at a university, this article points to the relevance of cocurricular educational activities in connecting high school and college language learning and programs.

Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Using Contests to Connect: A View from the Collegiate Level

Belgum

2017

“…Previous articles suggest that the fun and bustle of German Day is greater than the sum of its parts. Andress et al () have aimed to understand what motivates high school students to continue their study of German at the college level. Based on the analysis of a survey of over 4,700 high school students, the authors offer recommendations for teachers in order to ensure that current practices meet the needs and the expectations of learners of German.…”

Section: Benefits Of German Daymentioning

confidence: 99%

German Day: A Practical Guide to Connecting High School and Post‐Secondary Programs

Howards

Rinner

Gulewich

2018

An annual German Day event can be a powerful tool to motivate students, increase visibility of state and local German programs, and, ultimately, boost enrollments. However, it can also be a daunting undertaking that is often orchestrated by a single person. This article offers a user guide that can help others plan their own German Day, be it a university‐hosted statewide event or contained within a single school district and offered at a high school. Written from the dual perspective of hosts and participating teachers, this article provides instructions and insights into the basics of the event and its composite parts as well as logistical information. Sample events and schedules are included for those who wish to host their own German Day. States with existing German Days might learn from the experiences described and use new ideas to invigorate their own events.

“…Significantly, increased awareness of the existence of these communities can remind students that they are part of something bigger than themselves, giving them a sense of belonging and integration that can transcend their choice of major or enrollment in a language class. As Davidheiser and Wolf indicate, citing the 2000 AATG report of Andress et al (2002) on retention of German students as they transition from high school to college, "students are primarily motivated by affective factors, such as having fun with learning the language and liking learning languages in general, much more so than they are motivated by pragmatic factors" (61). 1 I would add that encouraging study abroad increases the number of these affective factors that motivate students, by heightening students' awareness of themselves as members of multiple communities of German speakers, and that such awareness is one of the elements that identifies a program as healthy and vital.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Community Building: Study Abroad and the Small German Program

Cagle

2011

Study abroad is often treated in terms of individual student outcomes, and has recently been discussed as potentially detrimental to smaller language programs—in that student participation in semester‐ or year‐long programs subtracts from enrollments in upper‐level courses. In this article, the promotion of study abroad in a small German program is presented as community‐building that can help to enhance and sustain small college programs by strengthening the community of German‐speakers and others interested in German on campus and abroad.