In order to “keep foreign languages alive and flourishing,” several private institutions of higher education, including Schreiner University, collaborated to form a language consortium for the purpose of expanding opportunities for students to learn languages that help them become global citizens.

1. LEARNING AND TEACHING
BEYOND SCHREINER: THE
TEXAS LANGUAGE
CONSORTIUM
Faculty Thursday
March 7, 2013

2. Why should you learn a foreign
language?
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mzEjzL6_gyE

3. Rationale
 Mission Statement
 National foreign language
reduction
 The foreign language paradox
 Interest in more language
offerings while lacking

4. New Pedagogical Approaches?
 Live Size Video Communications System
 Teaching several campuses simultaneously
 Test administration, group work, book club
discussions, Stammtisch
activities, office hours, pen pals
 Survey results

5. Survey
18 students responded, five rankings
Assignments contributed to my appreciation and/or understanding of
the subject matter: Agree - 27.8% Strongly Agree - 72.2%
My interest in this subject matter increased as a result of taking this
course:
Neutral - 11.1% Agree - 5.6% Strongly Agree 83.3%
I have gained valuable knowledge and/or skills as a result of taking
this course:
Neutral - 5.6% Agree - 22.2% Strongly Agree - 72.2%
The technical aspects worked well:
Disagree - 5.6% Neutral - 22.2% Agree - 55.6% Strongly Agree -
16.7%

6. Survey
Web and library resources were easy to access:
Neutral - 5.6% Agree - 50% Strongly Agree - 44.4%
The discussion sessions worked well:
Agree - 55.6% Strongly Agree - 44.4%
I feel the professor of the course genuinely cared about me succeeding:
Agree - 5.6% Strongly Agree - 94.4%
Would you take a course that integrates students and faculty from other campuses
again: Yes - 100%
Do you feel taking a course that is taught by a professor from a different campus
enhanced your academic progress:
Yes – 83.3% No – 16.7%

7. Student Outcomes
 More schedule variety
 More choices
 Raise intercultural awareness
 Raise interest in studying abroad
 Interaction amongst various campuses
 Interaction with new professors
 New skills (conferencing, work studies)

8. Institutional Outcomes
 Outreach to more students
 Collaboration opportunities
 Guest speaker opportunities
 Offer a class that might not make
it on our campus alone
 Speaker series, conferences

9. Short-Term Goals
 On-site visits at LCU and TWU
 NITLE Symposium
 Academic Showcase
 Intermediate German
 Increase online opportunities (homework)
 Stammtisch
 Monthly meetings of instructors

10. Long-Term Goals
 TLC schools offer a sequence of four semesters
of foreign language instruction as part of the core
 Linking a travel component to foreign language
courses
 More languages
 Establishing a German minor at SU
 Establishing a German major at SU
 Interdisciplinary teaching
approaches (History, English)

11. The TLC Partners
 Texas Wesleyan University (French)
 Concordia University (Mandarin Chinese)
 Texas Lutheran University (Spanish)
 Lubbock Christian University (Portuguese)
 Schreiner University (German)

12. TLC Faculty Profile: Français
Steven Daniell, PhD, Dean of the School of Arts and Letters (TWU)
Alma Mater: University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign
Study abroad: Paris (1year, assistant d’anglais), Québec City (1
summer)
Research: Contemporary French-Canadian Literature
Vice President of the American Association of
Teachers of French
Named Chevalier dans l’Ordre des Palmes Académiques
by the French Education Ministry

13. TLC Faculty Profile: Français
Steven Daniell, PhD, Dean of the School of Arts and Letters (TWU)
Three Best TLC Experiences:
1. Enthusiastic students, especially on the distance sites
2. Good colleagues across the state
3. Reconfiguring teaching style to the classroom set-up
Challenge:
Adapting to the Smart Board
Quote:
La langue révèle l’âme de sa société. (Language reveals the soul of its
society.)

14. TLC Faculty Profile: Español
Chris Dickens, M.A., Visiting Professor (TLU)
Alma Mater: Texas State University
Study Abroad: Mexico, Costa Rica, Brazil
Research: 2nd Language Acquisition
Three Best TLC Experiences:
1. The recognition and appreciation I get from my colleagues for
working with the consortium
2. Being encouraged to explore new online teaching resources
3. Getting to know Steven!
Challenge: Adapting to new teaching style and occasional technical
problems

15. TLC Faculty Profiles: 中国普通
话
Patricia Schiaffini, PhD, Southwestern University and Concordia
University
Alma Mater: Stanford University (MA), University of Pennsylvania
(PhD)
Research: Contemporary Tibetan Writers, Modern Chinese Literature
Teacher-trainer consultant, founder and
president of a non-profit organization
话

16. TLC Faculty Profile: Deutsch
Silke Feltz, M.A., German And English Instructor (SU)
Alma Mater: OFU Bamberg, Germany
Study Abroad: Columbia, SC
Three Best TLC Experiences:
1. Creating a holistic learning experience with on-site and
off-site students
2. Being a part of a big collaboration from the very
beginning on
3. Becoming a cultural ambassador beyond Schreiner
Challenge:
Speed and camera tracking

17. Academic Advisors:
Please consider the TLC classes when
signing students up for a foreign language.

18. “La distance n’y fait
rien; il n’y a que le
premier pas qui coûte.”
(Marquise du Deffand)

19. Silke Feltz, M.A.
Schreiner University