Innovative Practice: Bilingual Student Teaching Experience in Chile

• In Event: Poster Session 4
  In Poster Session: Division G Section 3 Poster Session: Social Contexts of Multiple Languages and Literacies

Abstract

This session will present the results of a phenomenological study that examined the experiences of student teachers participating in a Summer 2012 and/or Summer 2013 study abroad program. Over two summers, thirty-two students participated in a month-long bilingual teaching experience through a study abroad program in Concepcion, Chile. This innovative field placement allowed students to participate in formal and social learning settings. Students taught at a PreK- 12 bilingual school in Chile, and each of the students was hosted in the home of Chilean family with a child enrolled at the school. The research reveals the phenomenon of participants’ shifting philosophical and pragmatic commitments to cross-cultural engagement as a result of experiencing pedagogy within an international context.

Authors

• Kenneth James Fasching-Varner, Louisiana State University

• R. Kenton Denny, Louisiana State University

• Magaret Denny, Louisiana State University

• Leah Katherine Saal, Loyola University Maryland

• Deanna Kay Rice, Louisiana State University

• Desiree R. Cho, Louisiana State University

• Reagan P. Mitchell, Louisiana State University