Speakers

Masami Ikeda-Lamm – Overcoming New Challenges in F2F Elementary Japanese Classes with Masks

Returning to in-person classes in fall 2021 brought us a new set of norms and challenges in language learning and teaching. One of the foremost challenges was the use of masks in class. Masks hide facial expressions, block the view of mouth movement, and muffle the voice, making it harder to read emotions, intuit reactions and hear the sound clearly. These issues are especially crucial at an elementary level of language learning, when there is no foundation to build on. In this presentation, Masami will report some practices aimed at helping the first year Japanese students overcome the challenges presented by the use of masks, mainly in mastering the proper pronunciation and intonation in Japanese.

Dagmar Jaeger – From Portrait to Selfie: Conceptualizing Photography in a Third-Year German Class

In this talk, Dagmar will present a teaching unit designed for third-year German in which students explore portrait photography and photomontage as culturally and historically relevant products of the German-speaking world, as well as reflect on the global phenomenon of selfies. The presentation will showcase activities, including the comparison and contrast of the images’ motifs and the artists’ creative control, in the context of student collaboration and sharing. Using and broadening descriptive and narrative language skills, students investigate different aspects of photography as a form of documenting times and people, as manifestations of performance, and as means of critiquing politics and cultural norms. The presentation will conclude with samples of students’ own creative work.

Zoom Link
(Open to MIT community. MIT ID authentication required)