The Douglas College Newsletter

  

INside ...

m New Westminster Campus, David Lam Campus & Thomas Haney Centre

Modern Language classes a
natural choice

Memorizing dialogues, sweating
through verb drills, struggling
to translate tenses correctly; for
many of us, the thought of
learning another language
brings back painful memories.
But thanks to innovative
teaching techniques now in use
at the College, times have
definitely changed. “We create a
positive, non-threatening
atmosphere,” says French
instructor Marie-Claire
Chinniah. “Classes are small,
lively and filled with

encouragement.”

Depending on the interests of
the group, students are
introduced to topics ranging
from shopping to scuba diving,
with lots of activity and
laughter along the way. “For us,
language learning is not about
memorizing lists of words or
making perfect translations,”
adds fellow instructor Marie-
Andree Rivet. “In our classes,
the structure is there, the
vocabulary is there, but
students build their
understanding and ability
gradually.”

Their method, called the
“Natural Communicative
Approach,” follows the work of
ground-breaking educators

Stephen D. Krashen and Tracy
D. Terrell. Inspired by how all
children learn their first
language, these researchers
proposed a more natural
approach to the teaching of
additional languages. “Native
speakers learn to communicate
by moving from listening to
comprehension, then on to
experimentation and finally
meaningful expression,” says
Rivet. “And this is all done in
context, in an atmosphere of
familiarity and trust.”

After special training by Terrell
in the late 1980s, Modern
Languages adopted the
“natural” approach for Spanish
and French classes. Since then,
it has also been incorporated
into German and Japanese
classes. While some institutions
still balk at their non-
traditional techniques, Douglas
College instructors have seen
striking results.

“We saw a difference right
away,” says Rivet. “First,
students love it. Instead of
resisting rules and grammar,
now they ask for the structures
and guidelines that will help
them communicate about

things that are important to
them. And they remember

more, because the learning is
personalized.”

“Its amazing how quickly our
students learn to actually think
in another language,”
Chinniah adds. “And judging
from the many who have
successfully taken this ability to
communicate into their work,
travels or university studies, the
method has served them well.”

Rivet and Chinniah also stress
that their classes are not just for
full-time college students.
“This fall at the New
Westminster Campus, we're
offering a beginners’ French
class one night a week, to make
it easier for people in the
community to attend. We want
to encourage College
employees to join in, too.”

The New Westminster Campus
will also offer evening classes in
German, while the David Lam
Campus will feature week-
night classes in Spanish and
Japanese. For more
information on Douglas
College’s French language
offerings, call Rivet at 527-
5211 or Chinniah at 527-
5204. For information on
other modern language classes,

call 527-5465. @

 

Douglas College welcomed many ESL students in July. Students pictured here travelled from
Brazil, Thailand, Korea, Taiwan, Japan, Mexico and Quebec to sharpen their language skills.

IN

Douglas College

    

 

The new Student Society Building at the New Westminster
Campus begins serving students this fall with meeting rooms,
food services, offices and other facilities. The Douglas
College Student Society unveils the new $2.9 million
structure at a special event on August 23.

 

A full year for Morin

As Douglas College welcomes
President Susan Witter, we also
say goodbye to Interim
President Lloyd Morin.

Morin, the Past President of
Camosun College, joined us

last September. “During his
tenure, Lloyd fostered a sense of
stability and teamwork while
facing the considerable

challenges of budget cuts,” says
Board Chair Bob Buzza.

“He encouraged development
of new strategic directions for
the college and implemented

changes in the organization of

computing and educational

technologies.”

In addition, Morin worked
hard to maintain strong
relationships with school
districts in the college region
and to stay in touch with the
college community through
forums and breakfast meetings.

After leaving his 8th Street
office, Lloyd’s immediate plans
included a trip to Tuktoyaktuk
for some exploring in the
Northwest Territories. After
that, it’s back to the splendor of
Vancouver Island and more
time with his family. m

 

Quote of the Month

Laughter is the closest distance between two people.

Victor Borge