Equitable and Inclusive (Classroom-Based) Foreign Language Assessment Using Universal Design for Learning

In increasingly diverse learner groups, it must be ensured that foreign language learners can reach their full potential, so diverse learner needs have to be catered to in teaching and in assessment contexts. Providing accessibility of learning, teaching, and assessment is a matter of equity and has increasingly been embraced as a principle of foreign language assessment. However, accessibility of language assessment has often been seen as a retrospective accommodation rather than a flexible planning of language assessment from the start. The purpose of the chapter is to discuss the potential of Universal Design for Learning (UDL) for (planning) classroom-based language assessment (CBLA) procedures in order to foster equitable and inclusive language assessment. After clarifying relevant terms, the notion of accessibility will be applied to foreign language assessment. UDL as a flexible framework for individualized language learning will be presented and illustrated for a foreign language context before its potential for classroom-based learning assessment (CBLA) is discussed and exemplified.

Improving Accessibility: Developing Learner Agency

As classrooms become more diverse, the understanding of learner needs has evolved to include both visible and invisible needs. Traditionally, reasonable accommodation has been limited to supporting students with physical or cognitive requirements. This has evolved to include support for social, psychological, emotional, and even economic difficulties. Resources and institutional support remain underfunded and underdeveloped; it is therefore paramount that teachers are able to diagnose, communicate, and empathize with students who are displaying a wider range of learning needs and difficulties than ever before. Through such teacher awareness raising, we can provide scaffolding for our students and empower them to be successful. The field reports, analysis, and examples described in this study demonstrate how diverse learner needs can be better accommodated by helping learners choose or develop better learning environments for themselves. The objectives of this study were to raise awareness of diverse learner needs and share potential coping strategies. 教室における多様化が進むにつれ、学習者のニーズも、可視化された違いだけでなく不可視化された違いも含み、その対象を拡大してきた。合理的配慮も、社会的、精神的、そして経済的な学習困難を対象とする考え方に転換しつつある。一方で、学習資源と教育機関の支援は未だ発展途上にある。したがって、教師が様々な困難を抱える学習者のニーズを把握し、支援をすることがこれまで以上に求められている。このような認識の転換により、教育者は多様な学習者に学びの場を提供し、学習者の学習意欲を醸成することができる。本稿は、様々な事例の分析を通して、学習者自身が学習環境の向上に取り組むことを支援することが、どのように学習者の多様なニーズの充足に結び付くのかについて明らかにする。本稿が、学習者ニーズの認識を拡大し、教育的戦略の一つのモデルを提示し、言語教育に示唆を与えるものとなることを願う。

Traditional Theorists and You

This chapter explores traditional theorists as they apply to our current context in higher education. With a more diverse learner population entering higher education institutions, administrators and instructors need to recognize and utilize the building blocks of the theory that have brought higher education to where it is today. Included are not only traditional theorists, but their back, major concepts of the theory, how the theory applies to current administrators and instructors, and reference materials to learn more. Finally, case studies are included that provide opportunities to synthesize chapter information and provide discussion.

INTEGRATING MULTIPLE INSTRUCTIONAL MEDIUMS TO TEACH CRITICAL LITERACY WITH ADULT LINGUISTICALLY DIVERSE LEARNERS

Critical reading is the apex of tertiary education and the chief focus in higher education courses as they prepare adults for the workforce. Without significant improvements in academic preparation and support, many linguistically diverse [LD] students will have higher drop out rates in their first year of college. Developmental reading instruction practices are designed to emphasize moving the first-year LD students from sub-par reading levels towards the application and development of critical reading skills, as demanded by their college courses. Many community colleges across the United States prepare assessments tests in reading and mathematics for most, if not all, newly admitted students. These tests are used as placement guides, especially when the newly admitted applicant�s high school transcript or SAT scores do not demonstrate that the student possesses the critical reading or mathematical ability needed to pass the 70 percentage threshold, an indication of being college ready. This paper argues that teaching critical reading requires embracing students� cultural capital and implementing scaffolds that will support the Adult Linguistic Diverse learner/students (ALDl/s). Results from this study indicated that both intrinsic values and instructor�s disposition influence the ALD learner attitudes related to developed critical reading performance. These findings indicate that using multiple instructional mediums [MiMs] had a positive impact on students� critical reading skills and contributed to the ALD learners� comprehension, motivation, and critical reading skills.Keywords: critical literacy; community college; developmental reading; language minority students; adult linguistic diverse learner; culturally relevant teaching; cultural capital.

Listening to Our Students: THEIR Stories

Storytelling in the classroom has long been recognized for its many benefits, especially as a bridge from orality to literacy. With the changing demographic landscape present in current elementary classrooms across Canada and internationally, storytelling reaps additional benefits for promoting the goals of inclusion among diverse learner profiles. This article provides an updated literature review reflecting these shifting instructional mandates, offers practical ideas for using storytelling in the contemporary classroom, and provides an illustrative sample of a co-constructed story between student and teacher, highlighting the many ways in which storytelling benefits all learners.