Language Across the Curriculum (LAC) University of Richmond

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Language Across the Curriculum (LAC) University
of Richmond

• e-mail LAC_at_richmond.edu
• website w/FAQs http//LAC.richmond.edu
• dr. robert graboyes, director of LAC, 804.287.6355

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Short Bio

• Dr. Graboyes is a health economist and Director
  of Language Across the Curriculum at the
  University of Richmond. He was Chase Manhattan
  Banks Africa economist and an economist with the
  Federal Reserve. He has lectured in Kazakhstan
  and speaks French, Spanish, and Portuguese. His
  degrees are from Columbia University (M.Phil,
  Ph.D), Virginia Commonwealth University
  (M.S.H.A.), William and Mary (M.A.), and the
  University of Virginia (B.A.). Dr. Graboyes is an
  accomplished jazz, Latin, and classical musician.

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Senegal, France, Kazakhstan, Nigeria, South
Africa, Zimbabwe, Kenya
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LAC basics structure, purpose

• 1 credit-hour pass/fail courses
• Enhances foreign language skills
• Bolsters knowledge of curriculum
• Informal setting
• Focuses on students interests

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LAC basics Languages

• Spanish
• French
• Italian
• German
• Russian
• Chinese
• Japanese
• Other

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LAC basics Subject areas

• CORE
• Political Science Social Science
• Arts Literatures
• Science Health
• Business Administration
• Leadership Studies
• Selected Topics / (eg Sports Culture)
• Range of courses or single course

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My family saga

• Talented albeit lethargic
• Chase Manhattan Inlingua and context
• Travel and meetings
• Wife job through languages
• Son family secrets in Spanish
• Son Acquired Hebrew fluency via IM
• Music, travel, current events
• Casa Bolívar (UVa)

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University of Richmond

• Arrived in 2002 and heard about LAC
• French lit, Russian history, etc.
• Statistics and Macroeconomics
• Students loved it
• Humiliation and Jacquess sister
• Semester after semester
• Revived interest in formal language study

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Student-instructors

• Spring 2002 Curriculum read web articles,
  attend, speak, brief memos, games
• Hired native-speakers as assistants
• Morphed into student-instructors, with quiet me
  in room
• Fall 2002 Student-instructors, with quiet me
  back in office
• Student-instructors improvised

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Discoveries

• Shaky speakers rapidly improved
• Native-speakers learned about their gaps
• Technical Spanglish, etc.
• Students learned unexpected things about primary
  courses
• Professors with no linguistic skills could offer
  LAC with little effort
• (language / nonlanguage teams)

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Who should take LAC?

• Students who speak with difficulty
• Native-speakers of the language
• Middle-of-road speakers
• Students contemplating study-abroad
• Students returning from study-abroad
• Students currently studying abroad
• Distance learning techniques
• Students facing the job market

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Students currently abroad?

• Blackboard discussion boards (asynchronous)
• Chatboards
• Instant Messenger
• Blogs
• Teleconferences
• Videoconferences

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Who can teach LAC?

• Native-speakers
• Heritage-speakers
• Advanced, fluent students
• Highly competent students currently studying
  abroad

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Subject matter and techniques

• Whatever works
• Talking about soccer and soccer culture in
  Spanish ? Employability in Latin and European
  football leagues
• Give people what they want then later you can
  give them what you want.
• Pascal (Ian Holm), in Big Night
• Talking about soccer and soccer culture in
  Spanish ? García Lorca and Cervantes

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Contributions to University

• Support federal goal
• Gives international students a leadership role in
  campus life.
• Potential magnet for attracting desirable
  international students.
• Deep penetration of foreign languages makes more
  attractive to intellectually inclined applicants,
  both international and American.
• Opportunity for students to collect outside of
  classes for an intellectual activity.
• Helps to prepare students for study-abroad.
• Provides continuity for returning study-abroad
  students.
• Allows students to maintain some connection to
  foreign languages during semesters in which they
  cant take a traditional language course.
• Via distance learning, provides some
  opportunities for students currently studying
  abroad. This semester, a student studying in
  Paris is serving as an LAC instructor via web
  discussion board.
• Classes are interdisciplinary.

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Challenges

• Coordination with Registrar
• Publicity
• Sorting into viable classes
• Hiring instructors, contingent on demand
• Timing of classes
• Monitoring

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Monitoring Activity Report

• After each activity, fill in the answers below
  and email to the class professor.
• What kind of activity was this? (class, web
  discussion, assigned memo, guest speaker, film,
  game, etc.)
• Which language and curricular area is this (ex.
  Spanish CORE) class is this?
• Who was the student-instructor in charge of this
  activity?
• In 100 words or less, describe this activity and
  what it accomplished. Mention preparations, such
  as readings, associated with this activity.
• When did the activity take place, and for how
  much time?
• Which students participated in this activity and
  completed all requirements?
• Which students participated in the event, but did
  not complete all requirements? (please explain
  which requirements they did not fulfill)
• Which students did not participate at all in this
  activity? (Do you know why?)
• Additional Comments?

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Expansion plans

• Expand enrollments (currently 112 out of 3000)
• Law, MBA, Continuing Studies offerings
• Additional languages (e.g., Portuguese, Farsi,
  Hindi, and Arabic).
• Invite foreign-language speakers to campus for
  LAC classes
• Independent study formats. E.g., we have an
  Afghan student currently has no outlet for using
  Pashto in his studies at UR.
• Develop written standards and procedures for LAC
  courses.
• Use distance learning technologies to better
  connect UR students with students and faculties
  overseas. Use discussion boards, chatboards,
  videoconferencing, teleconferencing, etc.
• Restructure registration process
• Pursue external funding.
• Establish LAC Housing

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LAC Housing

• Immersion environment
• Contract to speak language
• Appealing environment.
• Reinforce interests
• parties, concerts, plays, films, receptions,
  speakers, meals, hikes, tours, and other
  activities.
• Public face for foreign languages
• Native-speakers in mix