Research in the area of speaking proficiency has shown that there is a lack of attention to systematic language proficiency development in upper-level courses (e.g., Darhower, 2014). Factors affecting this deficiency include differences in approaches and treatment of language development between lower- and upper-level courses, commonly referred as language-content divide (Paesani & Allen, 2012). This session reports on an initiative that integrated systematic and explicit attention to speaking development in third-year Arabic, German, and Spanish courses. We first discuss proficiency results that prompted the initiative. Next, we outline the collaborative processes between administrators, faculty, and TAs for developing instructional activities that merge language and literary-cultural learning and promote advanced-level speaking practice. Finally, we offer suggestions for integrating curricula that promote advanced-level speaking and for collaborations across multiple groups.
Alex Korte
Emily Groepper
Adolfo Carrillo Cabello
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