The National Less Commonly Languages Resource Center (NLRC) Learning Community is a professional development opportunity open to LCTL instructors from K-16 nationwide. The learning community will provide relevant accessible readings, hands-on activities, and opportunities for sustained pedagogical discussion. The learning community aims to work with a small group of LCTL instructors over the course of five meetings during the semester, with virtual meetings planned once a month.

2024-2025 Learning Community – Project-Based Learning

This year’s Learning Community will focus on project-based learning. Last year and the year before the Learning Community adopted assessment-based learning and task based and proficiency-oriented language instruction, respectively. This time, we will be launching a project-based learning view on language instruction. Project based language learning can immerses language learners in real-life issues (i.e., a response to a challenging problem or question) and practical language application, achieved through creating meaningful projects serving genuine purposes, and sharing their products with an audience beyond the classroom context. The learning community is an excellent way for LCTL instructors to expand their teaching methods repertoire and explore with peers how small- or large-scale projects, infused or not with technology, help integrate culture, content and language and help advance their student to that next proficiency level. Participants will have the opportunity to: 

• Learn how to design projects that engage students and help develop their language and life skills at the same time 
• Create and scaffold appropriate and authentic materials with a student-centered approach 
• Brainstorm with fellow LCTL instructors and learning community facilitators, and share ideas and stories to build off each other 

Spring 2025 schedule

The community will meet virtually via Zoom on Tuesdays from 1:00-2:30pm Eastern on the following dates:

Previous NLRC Learning Communities

2023-2024 Learning Community – Designing Proficiency-Based Assessments for Your LCTL Classroom 

This year, the learning community will focus on assessment. Starting from proficiency-based language objectives or can-do statements, the learning community will develop task-based, proficiency-based formative and summative assessments that fit your course or program.  Participants will (1) identify relevant language proficiency objectives and/or end-of-course target tasks based on the ACTFL Proficiency guidelines and (2) create performance-based assessments to evaluate students’ progress during and at the end of the course. Throughout the course of the Academic Year 2023-2024, participants will design engaging and motivating assessment tasks or classroom activities that help students master corresponding language objectives (summative assessment) and gauge their progress towards those objectives (formative assessments).  

Participants will collaborate and provide feedback on each other’s ideas and work. Participants will be encouraged to pilot their assessments in the classroom and reflect on the success of their assessments. Finally, participants will also receive guidance and feedback from the experienced learning community facilitators. By the end of the learning community, each participant will have fully developed assessment tasks or activities that meet and assess relevant proficiency learning objectives in a principled fashion.  

During this learning community, participants will: 

• Become familiar with foundational principles of assessment for LCTLs, including proficiency-based language teaching and performance-based assessments 
• Identify the most relevant proficiency-based language learning objectives or target tasks for their course or program 
• Explore diverse types of assessment (self- and peer-assessment) and how they contribute to strong assessment practices 
• Design strong performance-based assessments with corresponding rubrics 
• Explore how technology can enhance assessment practices 
• Learn about accessibility and inclusion issues in assessment 
• Participate in feedback/review of assessments created by other participants using rubrics 
• Pilot the use of the assessments in their classroom, reflect on the success of the assessments, share their experiences with the group and discuss ways of improving the assessments further 

The facilitators aim to work with a small group of LCTL instructors over the course of 8 meetings during the 2023-2024 academic year, with meetings planned once a month from October through May. The group of committed participants will meet virtually via Zoom. We will make use of various online learning tools to foster a lively and principled exchange of ideas. 

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Spring 2023 Learning Community – Designing Proficiency-Based Instructional Materials for Your Classroom 

The inaugural Learning Community ran from January until May 2023. The group of committed participants met virtually in Google Classroom and made use of all its features fostering a lively and principled exchange of ideas. The NLRC’s first learning community focused on the design of proficiency-based language teaching materials for the classroom. The learning community adopted a task-based, proficiency-oriented view of language instruction and followed a reverse/backwards design approach.

Participants:
(1) identified relevant language proficiency objectives based on the ACTFL Proficiency guidelines,
(2) created performance-based assessments to evaluate students’ progress, and
(3) designed engaging and motivating tasks or lesson activities that help students master corresponding language objectives.

Participants collaborated and provided feedback on each other’s ideas and work. Participants were encouraged to pilot their materials in the classroom and reflect on the success of their instructional materials. Finally, participants also received guidance and feedback from the experienced learning community facilitators.

At the end of the learning community, participants had a fully developed sequence of meaningful tasks or activities that meet and assess relevant proficiency learning objectives in a rigorous and principled fashion. Certificates of participation were handed out on request.  

If you are interested in future professional development opportunity, please let us know by filling out our Learning Community sign-up form (linked below)!