Trinity University
Self-Instructional Language Program
Program Description
Application for admission. In order to register for a self-instructional language program, A student must submit an application, speak individually with the Director, demonstrate the necessary enthusiasm and commitment required for potential success, and then register for the course.
Introduction. During the first week of classes each semester, all students enrolled in all SILP courses will meet with the Director, who will give them an overview of the program and what is required of the students.
Materials. The materials needed to support self-instructional language programs are of three kinds: a textbook or textbooks and ancillary materials to be purchased by the students; audio and visual materials, such as audiotapes and computer programs, purchased by the university and made available to the students to use or copy; and public domain materials such as websites, that are available at no cost to either the student or the university.
Tutorial sessions. Each week, the students studying a language meet for two hours to practice what they have learned with a tutor who is a native speaker of the target language. The tutor is not expected to present new material; the tutor should never be considered the instructor of the course. The responsibility for reading, learning, and practicing the course material rests with the student alone. The Director will meet with the tutors to help guide them and give them ideas about the tutorial sessions. Activities might include free conversation, going over written exercises, drilling grammatical structures, reading aloud, looking at realia and commenting in the target language, or anything else prompted by the study materials. The Director will drop by the tutorial sessions from time to time, and the tutor will keep exact attendance records, but neither the Director nor the tutor will assign a grade to the students’ work. Tutorial sessions will be arranged around the schedules of both students and tutor. It is very possible that one or both sessions per week may be held in the evening or on the weekend.
The typical tutorial setting works best with 1-6 students. If more than 6 students register for the same course, it is advisable to split the group into two tutorial groups. If more than 12 students enroll in a single course, the best course would most be to employ a part-time teacher for the semester.
Examinations. At the end of the semester, an examiner whose area of expertise is the target language, usually a professor from a nearby institution of higher education, will visit and give each student a comprehensive oral exam. Depending upon the language studied, there may also be a written exam. The examiners will evaluate the students in comparison to the students taking the same level course at their home institutions, and report the grade to the Director, who will submit the grade to the Registrar. This exam will form the basis for the grade for the entire course. This assessment by an outside examiner will also serve to validate the quality of our program.
Course credit. Self-instructional courses typically earn academic credit, but not always the same credit as regular instructor-based courses. The Department of Modern Languages offers 4 3-credit-hour courses 1301, 1302, 2301, 2302. Perhaps most importantly, self-instructional language courses will not satisfy the language requirement or any other aspect of the Common Curriculum.
Lower division courses only. There are clearly some things that SILP courses cannot and should not do, and we will not attempt to offer comprehensive study of literature, linguistics, or culture at the advanced undergraduate level. For advanced study, students are encouraged to study abroad.