course+goals

After actively participating in this course you should be prepared to do the following:

•	Situate world language education in a social, historical and political context; •	Critically examine dominant assumptions (our own, our profession’s, our institutions’) about the value and goals of world language education; •	Design a world language curriculum that promotes students’ ability to actually use the language in meaningful ways; •	Use the target language a great deal (more than you use English) when you’re teaching and interacting with students; •	Continually refine and improve your own target language proficiency; •	Make well-informed instructional decisions based on knowledge of yourself, your students, principles of second language acquisition and sound pedagogy; •	Draw upon a large pool of instructional resources in order to implement a variety of learning activities depending on the particular students, teaching context, and learning goals that define your current teaching opportunity; •	Utilize technology-based resources in your instruction; •	Design, use, and think about assessment in ways that directly influence your planning, teaching, and student learning; •	Create a safe, caring classroom environment that is inclusive of students with disabilities as well as students from diverse social, cultural and linguistic backgrounds; •	Effectively deal with behavioral problems, distractions, and other “management” issues in your classroom; and •	Cultivate an attitude towards teaching that embodies sincere and productive thinking about your practice, patience and open-mindedness, creativity, flexibility, a sense of humor, and a commitment to ongoing refinement of your teaching.

If this list seems like a tall order, it is. Throughout your professional career, you will continue to work on each of these goals. We do not expect mastery or a complete understanding; rather, we expect to see evidence that you are beginning to discuss, think about, and implement these objectives. Our purpose is to get you safely launched, headed in the right direction.