The Summer Language Insitute for French Teachers has a unique curriculum designed to strengthen your language proficiency, teaching expertise and cultural understanding, and to maximize your potential as a language teacThe curriculum includes:
- Core required courses in areas such as second language acquisition theory, assessment, and teaching for proficiency.
- French language and culture electives.
- Pedagogy courses which accompany each language or culture elective and focus on practical application of various pedagogical practices.
- For master's candidates, a unique final Action Research project that develops reflective teaching practices.
The descriptions below provide more details on our curriculum and on each of these types of courses.
Please note: The syllabi for Summer 2021 are forthcoming and will later be added to each course description. In the meantime, please inquire with the program if you have questions about course content.
SLI Curriculum Overview
The Summer Institute for French Teachers offers the opportunity to earn a Master of Arts in French Language Teaching over three summers. Completion of the MA degree program requires a total of 48 quarter credits, earned over five three-week summer sessions. You may earn up to 18 credits each summer (up to 9 credits in each three-week session).
See below for information about our courses and the breakdown of credits required for the MA degree. You may also view curriculum information and course descriptions in the SOU catalog.
A Minimum of 16 Credits in Core Pedagogy Courses:
Our core pedagogy courses are taught in English.
- FL 511 - Second Language Acquisition: Theory and Practice (3 credits)
- FL 512 - Teaching for Proficiency: Methods and Strategies (3 credits)
- FL 513 - Foreign Language Assessment: Principles and Strategies (3 credits)
- FL 514 - Action Research (3 credits)
- FL 515 - Technology in the Classroom(3 credits)
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- FL 515 is offered online during SOU's winter term. It is typically taken by MA candidates between their first and second summers in the program.
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- FL 501 - Data Exploration and Analysis (1 credit)
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- FL 501 is offered online in a five-week session during SOU's winter term. It is taken by MA candidates prior to the summer in which they would present their final Action Research Project.
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A Minimum of 28 Credits of French Language and Culture Courses:
Our elective courses are taught in French and vary each summer, providing students with a variety of options. They are designed to build students' linguistic and cultural knowledge and enhance their pedagogical skills.
Each of these 3-credit courses is accompanied by a 2-credit FR 516 pedagogy course.
The following are examples of topics courses taught in recent years.
- Communicative Grammar (3 credits) with Teaching Grammar in Context (2 credits)
- French Heritage Cinema (3 credits) with Teaching Language with Film (2 credits)
- La France et ses immigrés (3 credits) with Teaching Culture (2 credits)
- Le Théâtre du 20è (3 credits) with Teaching Language through Theater (2 credits)
- Expression écrite (3 credits) with Teaching Writing (2 credits)
- Contes et nouvelles (3 credits) with Teaching Language through Literature (2 credits)
- Peinture du 19ème siècle (3 credits) with Teaching Language through Art (2 credits)
- La Phonétique française (3 credits) with Teaching Pronunciation (2 credits)
- Les Régions de France à travers le cinéma (3 credits) with Individual Differences (2 credits)
A Minimum of 4 Credits Action Research Project - Development and Presentation:
- FR 503 - Thesis (1 credit, repeated)
- FR 504 - Action Research Presentation (1 credit)
- Culmination of Action Research conducted in the student’s classroom. Consists of a presentation to faculty and students of the final version of the paper, which will also be submitted for digital storage in the library. The final written project must be approved before being presented to faculty and students.
If you are a master's candidate, you will conduct an action research project with your own students/at your own school during the school year prior to your final summer in the SLI program, and will write a 30-40 page paper (with a bibliography and appendices) documenting the project. The action research project, presentation and paper take the place of a traditional thesis paper, and are graded based on the AR project rubric and the AR presentation rubric.
Students take the FL 514 Action Research class during the second summer. While working on their Action Research Project during the following school year, they must enroll for 1 credit of FR 503 per term (fall, winter, spring). Then, during their final summer, they must register for 1 credit of FR 504 in order to present their Action Research project.
Students who do not finish the Action Research project must register for 1 credit of FR 503 each term that they continue working on the project, until it is completed. If the Action Research project has not been completed after three years, FL 514 must be retaken.
2021 Core Courses
Summer Session 1 (June 20 - July 9, 2021)
FL 513 - Second Language Assessment: Principles and Strategies
Dr. Heather Willis Allen - 3 credits
The goals of the course are to equip participants with up-to-date knowledge of best practices in assessing foreign language development and to provide them with meaningful opportunities to practice creating assessment tools and evaluation criteria in a collaborative setting. The approach to assessment emphasized in this course is multidimensional and Standards-based. Course participants complete a portfolio of assessment tools for classroom use, including an Integrated Performance Assessment.
Summer Session 2 (July 10 - July 30, 2021)
FL 514 - Action Research
Dr. Erin Kearney - 3 credits
Introduces students to research methodologies that pursue action (change) and research (understanding) concurrently. Students will learn how to do a systematic inquiry into the teaching/learning environment of a classroom with the goal of developing reflective teaching practices. This course is intended as preparation for an action research project that students will conduct over the course of the following year.
FR 504 - Action Research: Presentation
Dr. Erin Kearney - 1 credit
Culmination of Action Research conducted in the student’s classroom. Consists of a presentation to faculty and students of the final version of the paper, which will also be submitted for digital storage in the library. These course components are graded based on the French Action Research Project Rubric and the French Action Research Presentation Rubric. The final written project must be approved before being presented to faculty and students.
Online Courses (2020-2021 Academic Year)
FL 515 - Technology in the Classroom (Winter Term: January 4 - March 19)
Dr. Brianna Janssen Sánchez - 3 credits
Transforms knowledge into practice about Second Language Acquisition (SLA) and pedagogy, while focusing on the use of technology in the foreign language classroom. Fosters professional development as students formulate critical skills for creating, integrating, and assessing technology into the classroom. Topics may include interactive and non-interactive hypermedia technologies, Computer Assisted Language Learning (CALL), language testing and technology, distance learning, online discussions, and software selection.
FL 501 - Data Exploration and Analysis (Winter Term, Second Five Week Session: February 8 - March 14)
Dr. Erin Kearney - 1 credit
Provides an introduction to the data analysis process with the goal of helping participants analyze the data to be gathered for their Action Research Projects. Requires participants to actively think about their Action Research project design in regard to the data to be obtained and how this data will be examined in order to answer their research questions. Examples of topics to be covered include numerical and graphical summaries of data (e.g. bar graphs, pie charts, scatterplots, etc.), hypothesis testing (t-tests), and descriptive statistical procedures
FR 503 - Thesis (Fall, Winter, and Spring Terms)
Dr. Erin Kearney - 1 credit each term
Beginning with students enrolled in Action Research (FL 514) in Summer 2019, students must enroll for 1 credit per term of FR 503 Thesis while working on their Action Research Project during the following year. During the final summer, they must register for 1 credit of FR 504 Action Research Presentation in order to present their Action Research project. Students who do not finish the Action Research Project during that academic year must register for 1 credit of FR 503 Thesis each term they continue working on the project until it is completed.
2021 Electives
Students must choose both "a" and "b" of a course-grouping.
Summer Session 1 (June 20 - July 9, 2021)
1a. FR 528 - (Extra)ordinary Stories of Refugees and Heroines in WWII France
Dr. Marianne Golding - 3 credits
The objectives of this course are to gain better knowledge of the Holocaust in France and connect these facts to real people, as well as to discuss the teaching of these events to our students. The course will begin with the intimate portraits and journeys of three young Jewish refugees from Germany and Czechoslovakia, including Dr. Golding’s father, and the stories of the women who helped them escape from France’s WWII concentration camps and orphanages originally intended for Spanish children fleeing Franco’s war. The course will focus on the extraordinary connections between the three boys and the remarkable women who saved them. Materials for the course include personal and official archives, testimonies, biographies and films, as well as literature (graphic novels and historical youth novels) for a young audience that can serve as historical and linguistic tools for middle school and high school French learners.
1b. FR 516 - Women Are (Also) Heroes
Dr. Marie-Noëlle Cocton - 2 credits
The objective of this course is to discuss the following question: “Can women be heroes? If so, how?” To answer these two questions, the course is built around the destinies of French and Francophone women who, through concrete actions, have changed the course of history or/and who have succeeded in bringing new perspectives on the place, role and future of women in society. In this regard, the history of women’s rights in France will be discussed. In order to lead this reflection with our students, the course proposes to explore pedagogical paths through concrete projects to make our learners actors and active participants in their learning. The grade will be based on student participation, implementation of an activity and a critical essay.
Summer Session 2 (July 10 - July 30, 2021)
2a. FR 528 - Games of Culture and Culture of Games
Dr. Sébastien Dubreil - 3 credits
Games are about to overtake books as the most widely used cultural product in France. In the French cultural landscape, therefore, there is a privileged role for play not only as a vehicle for fun, but also as a vehicle for building social ties and a way of learning. We will examine some traditions around gaming in France and, by focusing on three specific genres of popular games, we will investigate what can be learned about the French language and culture through playful practices.
2b. FR 516 - Learning Language and Culture Through Games and Game Design
Dr. Sébastien Dubreil - 2 credits
Games are effective learning tools because their mechanics teach players to be effective as they are playing the game. We are going to examine how to leverage the principles of game design to structure language and culture pedagogy and build fun, educational games.
2021 Optional Courses
Session 1: FR 510 - Advanced French Conversation (June 20 - July 9, 2021)
Instructor TBD - 1 credit
Course tentatively scheduled for Session 1.
Designed to improve French conversational skills. Students will learn about and discuss a wide variety of current topics, including historical influences on contemporary culture; art and media; and societal, religion and political institutions. This course may be taken for repeat credit.
Session 2: FR 511 - Advanced French Grammar (July 11 - July 30, 2021
Instructor TBD - 1 credit
Course tentatively scheduled for Session 2.
Addresses selected topics in French grammar, with particular focus on grammatical difficulties for English speakers in the goal of helping students improve proficiency in the language. Course conducted entirely in French. This course may be taken for repeat credit.
