Innovation in Language Learning

ABSTRACT

Teaching with museums has always been in the forefront for professors, instructors, artists, and students. It is a fact that many universities have their own museums and have access to many public and private museums depending on the city that they live. Art instructors are always keen on teaching art to art students. However, a question comes to mind, how do you teach foreign languages in or with a museum? Teaching foreign languages in a museum has opened a new environment for pedagogues to rethink teaching in a new space, using different platforms, apps, and working with museums. When teaching in or with a museum, there is a need to think about how the objects in the museum impact both the instructor and the students. A successful planning for teaching foreign languages in a museum needs to meet several requirements: coordinate with the museum education team, set activities that promote foreign language acquisition (museum docents’ presentation, scavenger hunt, and students’ interactive presentations), and introduce new platforms when a museum is not available. To guarantee accessibility to practice foreign languages within the museum, students need to engage in communicative practices, rehearsal skits, and hands on learning. The coordination of these elements leads to great interactivity between the students and works of art. Research shows that students’ language production and outcomes are extremely successful when stepping outside the confines of a classroom. Their imagination and their desire to have a successful experience makes the students thrive and truly enjoy the experience with learning and practicing a foreign language. This presentation will explore how to create learning activities that will create a rich environment to learn a foreign language and art at the same time. We will have hands on practice and exercises that create a relax and enjoyable learning experience in a museum.