Culture and Languages Across the Curriculum (CLAC) Materials Clearinghouse

The essays in this collection are based on presentations given at the 10th Conference on Cultures and Languages Across the Curriculum (CLAC) held at Drake University in October 2016. The essays represent a broad variety of approaches and facets that illustrate the inherently flexible nature of CLAC's main principle of promoting transformational learning through the integration of content, language, and culture.

The 2016 CLAC Conference was organized by the CLAC Consortium, which has been holding conferences at member institutions since 2004, first annually, and more recently, every 18 months. This is the first printed volume based on presentations given at one of the conferences.

These materials include a general syllabus for Portuguese Directed Independent Language Study (DILS), a proposed weekly schedule of study for a Portuguese beginner, the DILS handbook and overview, the self-assessment rubric, and supplemental materials specifically for music majors studying Portuguese. As this is an independent, student-driven course, the learning goals and schedule will vary with each student. The student develops a learning plan and completes weekly self-assessments, and the student is held accountable to that plan as part of the grade.

White paper to justify the establishment of a FLAC program at Cornell University. Written in 2015, it led to a pilot program.

This is a syllabus outlining the requirements for a one-credit French CLAC course at Skidmore. The course meets once a week, and is graded S/U (Pass or Fail). Students search for and report on articles in French that treat material for a full course (taught in English). While they meet as a group to discuss their readings in French, the courses which their reading supplements can vary with each individual. We might have 8 students connecting their readings to up to 8 specific courses.

A package of materials from a single course that uses CLAC principles. The materials include the course syllabus, an assignment, and the final project. Together they illustrate some possible ways for a language course – in this case a German business language course – to be connected to other disciplines at the institution, here specifically the Economics Department.  CLAC in this course also is useful for our general education requirement dealing with global diversity.

This lesson plan is used as the first in every Binghamton Univeristy's Languages Across the Curriculum (LxC) study group.  Students reflect on the ways they begin to research a question and to explore the kinds of sources they use. We look at ways Google personalizes information, and strategize ways to internationalize students' news streams. We also introduce other search engines as more localized information sources for countries in which they may have interest.  Since our program encourages students' independent research using foreign language materials, no matter their field, this is a common exercise for each group.

Students usually do not regard foreign language proficiency as a resource for their schoolwork or as an advantage in their future career. This language proficiency survey helps students make these connections. It can be applied to all courses in various disciplines, and the results can be used as the information for faculty to prepare and design a CLAC activity as well as as an in-class introduction to or discussion of the CLAC activity.

This is an assignment for students in a Historical Research Methods course to integrate their non-English language skills with their historical work.

This document is intended for students to assess their skills in reading of any target language.  Students in classrooms outside of language departments don't often think, and too often aren't encouraged, to use their non-English languages skills to help them better undersstand course content.  Faculty who incorporate this self-assessment and determine a specific use for it will be able to offer students meaningful opportunities to incroporate their foreign languages skills, and thus bringing international perspectives, into any course.

This document is intended for students to assess their skills in speaking of any target language.  It has been used by students participating in study groups, conducted in languages other than English, that are linked to a specific content course (ex: history, business, environmental science).  This activity can be combined with the "Student Self-Assessment -- Reading Proficiency" when appropriate.  These self-assessment forms are modified versions of the "2012 ACTFL Proficiency Guidelines."

This document is a description of the Binghamton University Languages Across the Curriculum (LxC) options for students seeking opportunities to use languages other than English in courses supported by the program.  It is an informational document that was intended to help students understand the different environments and level of independent work required in each option.  This document can also be of use to administrators and instructors seeking ways to integrate language use, as well as the perspectives and skills of bi- and multi-lingual students, into the curriculum.

In this course, students explore how language and culture impact global health policy and practice. Through authentic text, video, and case studies in French, this course analyzes health disparities in the Francophone World to develop understanding of core issues in the field. The tutorial counts for half a course credit and meets for 75 minutes/week. It is taught entirely in French. Pass/fail.