"Jetzt machen wir hier mal Multikulti": Fostering Critical Engagement with Multiculturalism through Peer-Assisted Language Learning

• Published in: Die Unterrichtspraxis Vol. 45; no. 1; pp. 53 - 66
• Main Authors: Schallié, Charlotte, Thorson, Helga
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Oxford, UK Blackwell Publishing Ltd 01.04.2012; American Association of Teachers of German; Wiley-Blackwell; John Wiley & Sons, Inc; American Association of Teachers of German, Inc
• Subjects: Canada; Collaborative learning; College Students; Content area instruction; Conversation Courses; Conversational Language Courses; Cooperative Learning; Core Curriculum; Course Content; Course Descriptions; Cross Cultural Studies; Cultural differences; Cultural Instruction; Cultural Literacy; Cultural Pluralism; Curricula; Departments; Educational Activities; Figurative Language; Foreign Countries; Foreign language learning; German; German as a Second Language Instruction; German as a second language learning; German language; Groups; Interpersonal Competence; Involving Students in Teaching; Language; Language Acquisition; Language arts learning; Language culture relationship; Learning Activities; Learning Environment; Lesson plans; Literacy; Merkel, Angela; Multicultural education; Multiculturalism; Multiculturalism & pluralism; Multiple Literacies; Nonnative languages; Peer Teaching; Peer tutoring; Peers; Reflection; Second Language Instruction; Second Language Learning; Self Concept; Self Concept Measures; Skill Development; Student Projects; Student surveys; World language instruction; Canada; Germany
• ISSN: 0042-062X; 1756-1221; 1756-1221
• DOI: 10.1111/j.1756-1221.2012.00118.x

In this article we present an integrated curricular model for addressing the transition from the intermediate to the advanced language level through peer‐assisted learning activities in the post‐secondary German classroom. In a series of group projects between students in second‐ and third‐year conversation courses, we employed a learner‐centered approach that encouraged reciprocal peer mentoring. Both the contemporary focus on multiculturalism and the format involving collaborative work between students in two different language courses were critical components of our project. Engaging with contemporary political and cultural discourses in a peer‐assisted learning environment, course participants obtained important skill sets, which served to enrich their linguistic, cultural, cognitive, and interpersonal competencies.