Design Thinking in World Language Classes

Design thinking, a staged process and approach to problem-solving that fosters innovative thinking and human-centered solutions, offers an excellent vehicle for second-language acquisition in world language classrooms. Each stage of the process naturally works all three modes of communication—interpretive, interpersonal, and presentational—allowing learners to exercise their language skills at every proficiency level. Because problem-solving is at the core of design thinking, just as it is at the core of second-language acquisition, learners strengthen their skills in the target language by devising innovative solutions to authentic, real-world challenges. 

In my classes, I use the design process as outlined by the Stanford d.school, since my learners find it easy to follow. The five stages—empathize, define, ideate, prototype, and test—are fairly simple and can be applied to a variety of contexts and situations. Even better, the d.school creates resources for educators that are easy to adapt into other languages.

Stage 1: Empathize

The first stage of design thinking invites learners to empathize, gaining a deep understanding of another person’s problems, realities, wants, and needs. For students to empathize with their peers, they must engage in conversation with them.

For novice-level learners, you might simply ask them to complete an exercise or a project for a partner instead of for themselves. For example, in a recent unit on schools in France, I asked learners to create a partner’s ideal backpack. The language needed was very simple: They had to ask what someone needed every day and what they liked and did not like about their current backpack. They could answer using new vocabulary and structures—school supplies and asking open-ended questions—while also integrating previously acquired structures—likes and dislikes.

A more advanced version of this might look like a recent project my class completed on Francophone holidays and meals. Students were asked to plan a dinner party for a partner with two constraints: The dinner party must demonstrate that they understood the elements of a French repas gastronomique as outlined on the UNESCO World Heritage Site and must demonstrate understanding of a holiday celebrated in the Francophone world. Once students had fully explored the cultural context of each of the two constraints, they were tasked with interviewing their partner to fully understand which holiday they wanted to celebrate, dishes they might like or dislike for each of the courses, who they wished to invite to their celebration, and so on.

To prepare for this interview, students had to understand products and practices of the target culture and compare them with their own experiences. They then had to adapt new knowledge to their personal wants and needs. As learners became more comfortable with the content and new language, they naturally evolved from using memorized phrases to creating their own sentences to negotiate meaning spontaneously.

Stage 2: Define

The next stage of the design process is to define their partner’s problems. In my projects, I typically frame this as restating what their partner—their client—wants and needs, as well as making observations about their partner’s realities. At this stage, all learners are working primarily in the presentational mode because they are describing, explaining, and informing about their partner’s situation. 

Again, this lends itself to a variety of proficiency levels. Novice-level speakers can primarily use declarative sentences, while intermediate-level speakers can work toward creating compound sentences. Those at a more advanced proficiency level can begin working with the conditional and subjunctive moods. Teachers can build in feedback activities or Q&A sessions where each student presents their user’s situation to the group. The group in turn uses questions or “I like” and “I think that” statements to push one another’s thinking.

Stage 3: Ideate

Once the problem is defined, learners have to generate possible solutions, or ideate. For intermediate-level students, this phase lets them learn and practice the conditional mood, using the construction “What if we were to…” in a real-world context. Even novice-level learners can access this language if it’s taught as vocabulary. 

Sentence starters can be extremely useful here; I often start the students off with “What if we were to…” in French and provide a list of probable infinitives that let them finish their sentences. Instead of creating in the language, they’re working to logically combine two halves of a sentence, a task that beginning language-learners are pretty familiar with. Describing their possible solutions can also be an engaging and useful activity here, and can be adapted to all proficiency levels.

Stage 4: Prototype

In the prototype stage, learners translate their ideas into the real world in a physical form. Since a prototype is meant to be a quick, mock-up test of an idea, students often do it individually. Language work, therefore, comes as learners document their learning in either a journal or, as in my classes, their ePortfolio. Since prototyping can sometimes span several class periods, learners are asked to put artifacts in their portfolios in the form of images or video. I typically require them to describe the artifact, recount the work they did that day, state their successes and their struggles, and reflect on what they would have done differently. 

This reflection process is open enough that it accommodates most proficiency levels, even novice-level learners. Descriptive reflection, which lets students describe their creation and the process, can be done with even the earliest novice levels. My students’ sentences at this level are often quite repetitive (e.g., “There is a red pen. There is a green book bag.”), but they’re easily modifiable, which facilitates self-expression, a high-impact practice in language classrooms. At the intermediate level, I put more emphasis on describing the process so that learners get frequent practice with the past tenses.

Stage 5: Test

Finally, learners test their prototype by presenting it to their partner. This phase allows learners to practice a wide range of structures, but I like to use it to emphasize the past tenses—talking about their thought process—and the future tenses as they talk about how their user will engage with their end product or solution. 

The best part is that the design process lends itself to a variety of situations in world language classes. It can work in everything from project units to daily lessons to warm-up activities. The process can also be adapted to a variety of language levels. Of course, the process becomes more in-depth as learners advance in proficiency, but with a bit of scaffolding, even novice-level learners can experience designing for someone else.