The 21st century witnesses the fact that today's students are more globally connected than ever before, and students need to become global citizens with four global competences which are investigate the world, recognize perspectives, communicate ideas and take actions (Mansilla and Jackson, 11). I believe that learning a foreign language itself is a good way to discover new worlds from an insider’s view of another culture, which leading to foreign language learning could bridge cultural connections, embed international perspectives and promote cross-cultural understandings. In ECI 524 Theory and Research in Global Learning, I developed my knowledge on global learning and my philosophy on how to help my Chinese learners become globally competent students.
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The "Tour City" Project
In my classroom, I feel my students learn best when they are involved in a global community. For example, doing a “Tour City” project allows them to attain maximum learning outcomes with fun. To learn about a city in China, my students do a lot of research first. They browse related information online, interview Chinese students in the community (NCSU) (5C's Standards 5.1), and explore a virtual trip on Google Earth. They collaborate in groups to hold a travel show in Chinese to introduce the city in class as a final product. From this project, students not only learn vocabulary and grammar to describe a place, but also know more knowledge about geography (5 C's Standard 3.1) in China and Chinese culture (5C's Standards 2.1&2.2) such as different features in different areas and the relationship between natural environment and human activities. |