Thinking Beyond the Concrete: Building Superior-Level Language

Why do even advanced language learners struggle to reach the Superior level of proficiency?

According to the ACTFL Proficiency Guidelines (2012), speakers at the Superior level can “support opinions, hypothesize, and discuss topics both concretely and abstractly” with precision and fluency. Yet most of our daily discourse—whether in our first or second language—rarely ventures beyond the concrete and familiar.

Drawing on Daniel Willingham’s chapter “Why Is It So Hard for Students to Understand Abstract Ideas?” from Why Don’t Students Like School?, this LARC discussion explores the cognitive foundations of abstract thinking. Willingham argues that critical thinking depends on a rich base of factual knowledge—without it, learners lack the conceptual scaffolding needed to reason abstractly and transfer knowledge across domains.

Through this lens, we will consider:

• Why the linguistic and cognitive demands of the Superior level are so high;
• How developing abstract and hypothetical reasoning in the L1 can support L2 proficiency; and
• What instructional practices help students move from descriptive and narrative discourse toward analytical, evaluative, and hypothesis-driven language.

Join us as we examine how to cultivate the habits of mind and language that allow learners to think beyond the concrete—and speak at the Superior level.

Rethinking Language Learning: A Book Club on the Mind, Motivation, and Meaning

Hosted by LARC – Fall 2025 & Winter 2026

Why don’t students like studying a language? What does cognitive science reveal about memory, motivation, and meaning in learning—and how can these insights transform our teaching?

Join us for a five-session book club on Daniel Willingham’s Why Don’t Students Like School? : A Cognitive Scientist Answers Questions about How the Mind Works and What It Means for the Classroom 2nd Edition.

Together, we’ll connect research on how the mind works with the aims of a BYU education, asking how we can make language teaching both intellectually enlarging and spiritually strengthening.

Schedule & Readings

4010 JFSB

12:00–12:50 p.m.

• September 17 – Why Don’t Students Like School? & Teaching Skills vs. Teaching Facts (Ch. 1–2)
• October 15 – Why Do Students Forget Lessons but Remember TV? & (Ch. 3)
• November 12 – Why Are Abstract Ideas Hard? (Ch. 4)
• December 10 – Is Drilling Worth It? & Thinking Like Experts (Ch. 5–6)
• January 21 – Different Types of Learners & Helping Slow Learners (Ch. 7–8)
• February 18 – Technology & Learning & What About My Mind? + Conclusion (Ch. 9–10)

What to Expect

• Lively discussion of two chapters per session
• Practical connections to foreign language teaching
• Big-picture reflection on how our courses align with BYU’s educational aims
• Community of practice with colleagues who care about meaningful, spiritually strengthening teaching

Book Access: Why Don’t Students Like School? (2nd edition) – EbookCentral link

BYU Aims: aims.byu.edu