Learning Journal Questions 102
Journal one (First or second day of class):
1) What are your goals for this class?
2) Describe your emotions as you begin this course and the role that your previous
language experience has on those emotions. For example, are you confident or unsure of
yourself? Excited or resigned? Do you have fears about learning a language?
3) Have you had other successes that will help you with language learning? Have you had
any opportunities to apply your knowledge of the foreign language since you last studied
it?
4) What do you think is the US popular perception of people from your foreign language
culture? Where do these perceptions come from (from media? Etc.?) Has the study of
your foreign language culture thus far led you to confirm, reject, or rethink the accuracy
of these portrayals? How?
Journal two (Week 4-7):
1) How is language learning going so far? Are you experiencing successes with the
class? Describe one. Are you employing any new learning/studying strategies this
semester? Do you have any concerns? Is the use of technology for language study
working for you?
2) Describe an encounter that you have had that involved your foreign language.
(Went to a festival, met a native speaker, heard something in a movie you
watched) How did you use your language skills to communicate or comprehend?
What did you learn about the language, culture or values of your foreign language
culture from the encounter? How did you feel about your language/cultural
learning after your encounter? If you have not had a recent encounter that you can
recall, you will need to go in search of one!
1) What is culture? Where does it come from? How do we learn our culture? How
do we know what is appropriate behavior in our culture? Have you found yourself
thinking about a new perspective or different value system since you began this
class? Describe your thinking.
2) What are we currently doing in the class setting that works successfully for you?
Journal three (Week 11-13):
1) Reflect on the goals that you had for yourself in this course. Do you feel that you
are making progress toward those goals? How do you measure your progress? Is
your learning progressing differently this semester than last semester? What will
you need to do to finally reach your goals?
2) Have you talked about things related to your foreign language and/or culture in
other classes (history, environment, geography, literature, etc.)? If you needed to
write a research paper in another class, how could you connect your foreign
language and culture with the other discipline? What did you write aboutyou’re
your topic paper in 101?
3) You now know more about what it takes to learn a second language. In a
discussion with the central theme “people who come to this country should speak
the language,” how do you weigh in? Should people from the US who travel
abroad be expected to speak the language of that country? What do you think
about attempts to include other languages spoken frequently (Spanish in Texas or
Japanese and Chinese in California, for example) in government and public
documents? Please explain your reasons and the potential advantages and
disadvantages of doing so.
FINAL EXAM TAKE HOME PORTION
Reflective essays (in English). Turn in your exam essays to SafeAssign AND turn in a
hard-copy to your instructor by the date set.
Answer each essay in English in a well-developed, grammatically sound paragraph with
detailed EXAMPLES FROM 102 (i.e. not 101). Answer all prompts of both essays and
support your main points.
1) Cultural awareness: (5 points)
·
Facts. What are some aspects of your language's culture and
values that you have learned about in 102 that you find most
interesting? Compare ways in which these aspects are similar to and/
or different from U.S. life, including a discussion about cultural values.
·
Perceptions and behavior. How has this 102 course changed or
expanded your perceptions about the people who speak your foreign
language (as a first language), their language, and their culture
from what you had already learned in other language classes? How has
102 changed or expanded the way you might interact with people from
your language or other foreigners who don’t speak English fluently?
When describing the change, be sure to tell about the ideas and
attitudes you had before this class and whether that affected your
interaction with native-speakers.
·
AND
2) Holistic application of learning (5 points)
·
Life skills. Discuss the life skills developed during the
language learning process in this course which may have influenced
your learning in: a) other subjects on campus this semester or b)
preparation for other subjects or a career in the future.
·
Action. You have invested a year of your life learning about
a language and its cultures. Provide a concrete example of a possible
setting in which you might apply your new cultural and/or language
knowledge during your university years or for future enjoyment/
enrichment. You might specify which class assignments have prepared
you or motivated you to pursue this interest.
·
Critical thinking. Historically, learning a foreign language
was a sign of being an educated person. Beyond textbooks facts, how
does your foreign language/foreign cultures education enhanced your
world view? Consider how you read about current world events or your
thoughts as you watch them on TV.