"I Belong Here: Addressing Gen Z Learner Identities through Differentiated Instruction in World Languages"
Tom Garza
UT Regent's and University Distinguished Teaching Associate Professor and Director of the Texas Language Center, UT Austin

Tomlinson et al. (2003) characterized differentiated instruction (DI) as "providing students with classroom instruction that suits to their varied readiness levels, interests, learning necessities, and preferred modes of learning." Over the past two decades, this basic definition has served to inform models of learner-centered instruction well and has been effectively applied to world languages (WL) learning, where learners in a single classroom might be at various levels of proficiency and/or have varying ways of approaching language study (visual, oral, aural, holistic, analytic, schematic, etc.). More recently, however, research on individual differences in WL classes – not only regarding proficiency levels – has focused on individual learner identities (Ortega et al., 2018; Smith & Chestnutt, 2021), allowing for greater participation of Gen Z learners in our courses and the creation of more accessible, equitable, inclusive learning environments and a sense of individual belongingness in our WL courses. For WLs, especially for LCTLs, such an approach to DI can help us maintain more robust enrollments in our courses by creating welcoming ecologies of teaching and learning that will attract a larger, more diverse Gen Z learner population to our courses. 

This presentation will offer participants:

• an overview of models for identifying learner differences in WL classrooms; 
• consideration of individual identities of Gen Z learners (gender, race/ethnicity, socioeconomic status, educational access, family setting, sexual identity, neurodivergent status, ableness, etc.) in the WL classroom;
• examples of task variations to address learner differences;
• an adaptation of the flipped classroom to accommodate DI;
• DI models that use authentic materials to facilitate autonomous interaction with the WL; and
• examples of task-based DI practices that engender participation and proficiency gains for Gen Z learners with diverse and varied identities.

Works Cited:

Ortega, D., Cabrera, J., & Benalcázar, J. (2018). Differentiating instruction in the language learning classroom: Theoretical considerations and practical applications. Journal of Language Teaching and Research, 9(6), 1220-–228.

Smith, A., & Chestnutt, C. (2021). Differentiation for equity. Journal of Higher Education Theory and Practice, 21(6), 232–241.

Tomlinson, C., Brighton, C., Hertberg, H., Callahan, C., Moon, T., Brimijoin, K., & Reynolds, T. (2003). Differentiating instruction in response to student readiness, interest, and learning profile in academically diverse classrooms: A review of the literature. Journal for the Education of the Gifted, 27(2) 119–145.

Bio: Thomas Jesús Garza is Associate Professor in the Department of Slavic and Eurasian Studies and Founding Director of the College of Liberal Arts Texas Language Center at the University of Texas at Austin. He teaches courses on Russian language, language pedagogy, Russian popular culture, and critical pedagogy in education. He received his doctorate from Harvard University in 1987. During his more than 30-year tenure at U Texas, he received numerous prizes for undergraduate and graduate teaching and was inducted into the University Academy of Distinguished Teachers in 2003, selected for a U Texas Regents' Outstanding Teaching Award in 2009, and chosen a "Texas Top Ten" instructor by the Texas Exes in 2018. He has published articles in The Modern Language Journal, Foreign Language Annuals, Slavic and East European Journal, Russian Language Journal, and Current History. He recently completed a book manuscript on filmic portraits of machismo in contemporary Russian and Mexican cultures and is currently working on an edited volume of essays with Rachel Stauffer on decolonizing Russian studies in the US.

This event will be held in person in G25 Stimson and will also be streamed live over Zoom (registration required). Join us at the LRC or on Zoom. 

The event is free and open to the public.