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Resources for Students

MLL's intensive introductory language program is one of the striking features of the Kenyon curriculum, and has received special attention in Fiske's and other college guides. The Kenyon Intensive Language Model (KILM),with its two hours of daily instruction, aims to immerse the student in the target language and culture. The consistent use of the target language,combined with a dramatic, active, and contextual approach to learning,and the opportunity to work with trained student Apprentice Teachers (ATs)in small practice sessions facilitates the teaching of one and a half to two years of college-level language instruction in one year.

All introductory courses listed as 111-112 are taught through the KILM, an approach that compresses into one year beginning and intermediate materials. KILM classroom activities aim at dispelling inhibitions and encouraging communication. For each meeting with the professor (typically four times per week in both 111 and 112), there is a session with a Kenyon undergraduate apprentice teacher working with a group of approximately eight students. Work in the Language Practice Room and Language Learning Center is sometimes required. Apprentice-teacher classes are arranged when the class first meets with the professor. Some middle-level courses numbered 213-214, along with 321, meet for a fourth hour with an apprentice teacher. Listening comprehension practice with audio tapes is also required.

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FLATNET is the , a peer tutoring program sponsored by MLL. Available assistance includes help with writing skills on all levels, from grammar to vocabulary to clarity of expression. See the FLATNET web site for more information (best viewed using Internet Explorer).

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Kenyon's MLL department uses technology in diverse ways to enhance teaching. Two computing labs, both located in Olin-Chalmers library, are available for students and faculty use: the Language Learning Center, and the MLL Macintosh Lab. For more information on these facilities, see Language Learning Labs at Kenyon College

Consortial courses in lesser-taught languages such as Arabic and Chinese are held in the Remote Collaboration Facility. This videoconferencing facility enables Kenyon and Denison students to share the same virtual classroom.

Faculty have equipment with which they can create original projects, including digital video hardware and software, macintosh and windows laptops, and scanners.

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The faculty in French, German, and Spanish recruit Language Assistants every year from countries where the language is spoken. The successful candidates for the positions of French, German, or Spanish Assistant are usually college students in their own country at the undergraduate or graduate level, often with a specialization in English or American literature and culture. They spend one year at Kenyon, serving as "Apprentice Teachers" in our beginning and intermediate language classes, and also as cultural resources for the entire student body. They attend language tables in the dining halls, help organize film showings and social events, tutor students individually, and perform other functions as needed. They are also full-time students, but enroll in only three classes rather than the usual four so as to have enough time to attend to their duties. Kenyon has a history of success with its Language Assistant program extending back several decades. Some of them have returned to complete a Kenyon degree, and all of them have left deep impressions on the students they have helped and befriended during their time on the Hill.

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In addition to Kenyon's library collection, MLL has an extensive independent collection of videos and dvds for departmental teaching.


Chinese By titles By Directors
English By titles By Directors
French By titles By Directors
German By titles By Directors
Italian By titles By Directors
Japanese By titles By Directors
Russian By titles By Directors
Spanish By titles By Directors

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Ohio 5 Foreign Language Technology Project

Kenyon faculty contributed to projects under the recently concluded Ohio 5 Foreign Language Technology Project funded by the Mellon foundation. The grant funded training workshops for faculty, consortially-shared technology specialists, small grants among Ohio5 faculty, and completion of Viewpoints projects. Many of the clips from Viewpoints are available online thanks to OhioLINK's Digital Media Center and to Susan Binkley's efforts, formerly the Ohio 5 Language Technology Specialist, currently Visiting Assistant Professor of French at the College of Wooster.

Collaborations with Technology

Formerly a grant applicable to Kenyon-Denison, Collaborations with Technology is in its final year, and applies to all Ohio5 faculty who wish to collaborate with technology in the classroom. Recent projects involving Kenyon include symposiums on Chinese computing and implementation of webportfolios in Spanish classes.

Information Literacy

Another Mellon grant to the Ohio5 focuses on integration of information literacy into course curriculum. MLL 331: Topics in Linguistics has integrated information literacy for Spring semester '03.

Midwest Instructional Technology Center

MITC represents another opportunity for collaboration beyond the Ohio5. Liberal arts schools of the Associated Colleges of the Midwest and the Great Lakes Colleges Association can submit proposals quarterly to the Midwest Instructional Technology Center, which has already held a symposium on Modern Language computing issues.

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