From, Content, and Critical Distance: The Role of “Creative Personalization” in Language and Content Courses

Abstract

Absteact.Many academic programs maintain a rigid philosophical and pedagogical separation between introductory language courses and upper‐division, so‐called “content” courses. Such programs tend to consign matters of form to the elementary‐ through advanced‐level language sequence, placing emphasis on meaning in literature and culture courses. This article offers suggestions for drawing attention to form and content in both types of courses. By implementing strategies for revising traditional speaking and writing tasks through “creative personalization,” teachers may guide students to enhance critical thinking skills across the language/literature curriculum, and to become more aware of the interdependence of form and content in their own speech and writing.

Living Literacies in a Märchenwelt: World Building and Perspective Taking in a Fairy‐Tale Simulation Project

“…By adopting a persona within the emergent context of a simulation, students are pushed to consider how individuals with varying life experiences might make different design choices as they make sense of and within the social worlds they inhabit (Kearney, 2012; Michelson, 2018). The adoption of a persona thus enables learners to engage in what Krueger (2001) has dubbed “creative personalization” (pp. 19‐20), that is, tasks that ask learners to step away from the me‐here‐now context of the classroom by imagining a change in perspective of context.…”

Beyond the Language‐Content Divide: Research on Advanced Foreign Language Instruction at the Postsecondary Level

“…Traditionally, collegiate FL programs have tended to relegate matters of form and accuracy to language courses while stressing meaning in literature, cultural studies, and film studies courses (Krueger, ). However, during the past decade, numerous scholars have endeavored to integrate a focus on meaning in advanced courses with that of engaging students in learner‐centered activities related to textual analysis.…”

“…Beyond proposals that recommend communicative strategies to enhance student engagement in the literary‐cultural classroom, other publications have addressed means of sensitizing students to how form and content mutually inform one another in FL texts. To achieve this goal through linguistic production tasks, Krueger () advocated creative personalization to assist students in moving from personal reactions to texts toward developing critical and scholarly perspectives. In particular, she recommended guided, comparative analysis of student writing samples in literature courses to allow students to “examine their own utterances in order to discover how their use of form affects perception of their meaning” (p. 19).…”

Analysis the Plant Nutrients and Organic Matter in Textile Sludge in Gazipur, Bangladesh

“…While creativity is a big factor in enhancing the quality of writing, some programs tend to develop rigid rules, restricting the level of individuality and personalization. Therefore, critical thinking abilities are further improved if one is encouraged to add a personal touch to one's writing [12]. Most notably, for educational purposes, personalization plays a big role in ensuring teachers are giving proper constructive feedback catered to each student [22] and students are putting their own thoughts forward rather than blatantly plagiarizing [14].…”