View Content #18616

From http://languagemagazine.com/?page_id=122626

The Play’s the Thing
by Lori Langer de Ramirez

“Nothing gets a student more excited (or engaged) than being able to express herself or read a sign in situ in the target language. We can all remember that moment when we first communicated something to a native speaker in French, or Mandarin, or Hindi — and we were understood! It is exhilarating, but it is the kind of interaction that can be hard to replicate in the language classroom.

“…there are viable alternatives to the static realia of the textbook or the mock reality of a short fakealia activity. Fantasy trips, simulations, and online virtual worlds provide teachers with excellent materials, authentic contexts, and possibilities for asynchronous communication that help extend the language-learning experience for students while connecting them with the broad community of speakers around the world.”

Read the full article for good ideas on doing classroom simulations using a wealth of realia: http://languagemagazine.com/?page_id=122626