Reaching advanced levels of linguistic and cultural proficiency in a foreign language is a challenging task for students and instructors who face the task of how to best support students in acquiring this proficiency. The presenters will share how this challenge is met at the Defense Language Institute by using the target language as a tool for learning about various domains of knowledge, such as politics, geography, and economy (i.e. “Big Culture” of the target country) via research based learning. By conducting research in the target language on various country specific and global topics, students learn to analyze, identify biases in various authentic sources available online and form their own balanced opinion of region-specific and global issues as well as present their findings to an audience verbally and/or in writing. Additionally, by participating in in-country immersions students are able to simultaneously sharpen their linguistics skills (i.e. fluency and accuracy) and gain a better understanding of the perspectives that govern the daily habits and behaviors of native speakers of a foreign language (i.e. “Small Culture”). The expected outcomes are how we can best increase our students’ motivation level and success rate in class and to transform our students into life-long learners.  

A shallow understanding of other cultures and their ways of life gives rise to biases in thinking, and a lack of sensitivity toward members of other societies which in turn lie at the heart of many global conflicts. Foreign language education is invaluable in that it can be planned so that students have the opportunity to critically examine their own “habitual ways of thinking, feeling, and acting” (Mezirow,1997) and to acquire acceptance of and respect for different cultural views of the native speakers whose language they are learning. Educational experiences that allow students to reach the highest level of cultural competence and cross-cultural understanding are therefore as important as the linguistic skills that enable them to utilize higher order cognitive skills such as analysis, synthesis and evaluation. The presenters will share two components of the Defense Language Institute’s (DLI) curriculum that serve both of the abovementioned ends/objectives (i.e. research based learning and in-country immersions).  By conducting guided research in the target language on various country specific (i.e. “Big Culture”) and global topics, students learn to analyze, identify biases in various authentic sources available online and form their own balanced opinion of region-specific and global issues as well as present their findings to an audience verbally and/or in writing. Sample student projects from Arabic and Russian will be shared with the audience to help exemplify how such projects can transform students’ view of other cultures and their assumptions about global issues. Additionally, by traveling to the target country students are able to simultaneously sharpen their linguistics skills (i.e. fluency and accuracy) and gain a better understanding of the perspectives that govern the daily habits and behaviors of native speakers of a foreign language known as the “Small Culture”. Students comments from post in-country-immersion sensing sessions will be shared to demonstrate the transforming nature of these immersion events. These two types of experiences have demonstrated to significantly raise students’ motivation level and success rate in class and transform them into life-long learners of a foreign language thereafter.

This interactive session will begin with the audience sharing in small groups their foreign/second language experiences they believe transformed their thinking of their own learning process and/or assumptions regarding members of a target culture. Presenters will then discuss the benefits of research based learning and in-country immersion programs in the DLI context and the transformational value of these activities. The audience will then be encouraged to share with the group strategies and approaches they have implemented in their academic settings that have transformed their students’ point of views regarding their learning of a foreign language and/or their understanding of a foreign culture’s practices, values and beliefs. Lastly, the floor will be open to the audience comments, discussions, and questions. The objective is that the audience gain a better understanding of the application of transformational theory in a variety of academic settings and be motivated to try out some of the strategies shared during this session in their language classrooms and programs. 

Bloom, B.S. (Ed.). Engelhart, M.D., Furst, E.J., Hill, W.H., Krathwohl, D.R. (1956). Taxonomy of Educational Objectives, Handbook I: The Cognitive Domain. New York: David McKay Co Inc.

Jerome H. Hanley. Beyond the Tip of the Iceberg: Five Stages Toward Cultural Competence. The International Child and Youth Care Network. http://www.cyc-net.org/reference/refs-culturalcompetence.html.

Mason, J. L. (1993). Cultural competence self-assessment questionnaire. Portland, OR: Portland State University, Multicultural Initiative Project.

Mezirow, J. “Transformative Learning: Theory to Practice.” In P. Cranton (ed.), Transformative Learning in Action: Insights from Practice. New Directions for Adult and Continuing Education, no. 74. San Francisco: Jossey-Bass, 1997.

Standards for Foreign Language Learning in the 21st Century (1999). Allen Press, Inc.; Lawrence, KS.

30-Minute Roundtable Session

Launching Transformative Learning