EAS 480 – Teaching and Learning East Asian Languages

The three major East Asian languages, Chinese, Japanese, and Korean, are becoming increasingly popular in American K-16 schools. EAS 480/580 is for advanced undergraduate students and graduate students who wish to become language educators and/or specialists in one of these languages. The first half of the semester focuses on linguistic issues and pedagogical challenges specific to teaching the three East Asian languages (e.g., tones and syllabic features, writing systems,), and we then continue with sociocultural and sociopolitical dimensions of East Asian language teaching.

EAS 580 – Teaching and Learning East Asian Languages

This course begins with an overview of foreign language teaching methodologies and then centers around issues in the teaching of Chinese, Japanese and Korean. The focus of the first half of the semester is how to create communicative language classrooms and incorporate emerging technologies in language teaching. During the second half, we delve into discussions about issues and challenges specific to teaching the three East Asian languages (e.g., writing systems, teaching culture, heritage speakers). We conclude by returning to the discussion of the overall picture of foreign language education in North America. Each student also engages in learning about opportunities for professional development throughout the semester and submits a teaching portfolio as the final assignment for this course.