Abstract:
ABSTRACT
KINESTHETIC TEAMBUILDING ACTIVITIES FOR A GERMAN
FOREIGN LANGUAGE CLASSROOM
by
Steven Paul Wildhaber, Jr.
Master of Arts in Teaching International Languages
California State University, Chico
Summer 2010
As a handbook, this project offers German language teachers at the university-
level the theory, methodology, and practices for the integration of an experiential
approach to language teaching. By adapting the community-building methods and practices
developed by Adventure Educators, kinesthetic teambuilding activities provide
meaningful opportunities for foreign language application.
Current research in the field of Foreign Language Education (FLE) suggests
the need for a paradigm shift in the relationships between learner, teacher and content
based on an experiential approach. However, to date there are few concrete methods for
such a transition in FLE. Additional research reveals a strong correlation between the
use of kinesthetic teaching practices, such as Total Physical Response (TPR) and language
acquisition. Yet beyond TPR there remains a gap in concrete methods for the
activation of the bodily-kinesthetic intelligence as defined by Multiple Intelligence Theory.
As a result of the integration this project aims to: lower anxiety associated
with the learning process through teambuilding, provide a wide variety of activities that
activate the bodily-kinesthetic intelligence, inspire students' intrinsic motivation to learn
German as well as a sense of accountability for personal behavior and the attainment of
community learning objectives, and lastly to provide students the opportunity to process
learning through facilitated reflection in the target language, which is a significant step
toward a fully experiential approach to foreign language learning.
