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Content Type: 1
Title: Set Goals for Yourself with the TELL Framework
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From http://www.path2proficiency.com/
Whether you believe in New Years resolutions or opposed to them, all teachers need to reflect on their practice and set goals for improvement to be at their best year after year. In this timely post, Thomas Sauer explains how teachers can use the TELL framework to set goals and how to meet them using the EPIC growth plan mode. Read the post here: http://www.path2proficiency.com/this-year-i-will-be-a/
Source: path to proficiency
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Title: Learner Training: Language Learning Strategies
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From https://gianfrancoconti.wordpress.com
In this long and detailed post Gianfranco Conti reviews the literature on Learner Training. Learn more about language learning strategies and a framework that you and your school could consider here: https://gianfrancoconti.wordpress.com/2016/01/02/language-learning-strategies-and-learning-to-learn-insights-from-research/
Source: Language Gym
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Title: 4 Suggestions for Assessing Interpersonal Communication with Novice Learners
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Teachers often under-estimate what their novice learners are capable of, or they worry about mistakes becoming permanent errors. In fact, novice learners can communicate meaningfully with each other in the target language, and doing so leads to increased proficiency. Here are some good suggestions from Lisa Shepard for assessing interpersonal communication with novice learners: http://madameshepard.com/?p=1077
Source: Madame's Musings
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Title: It's Time to Burst the Grading Bubble
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Nicole Naditz is a National Board Certified Teacher of French, Google Certified Innovator, and 2015 ACTFL National Language Teacher of the Year
As a language teacher and self-proclaimed fan of geeky tech and gadgets, you may be surprised that I'm not going to write about language acquisition, pedagogy or methodology for world language instructors. I'm not even going to write about one of my favorite topics: Web tools to meaningfully engage learners in authentic media. I want to talk about grades and grading systems. More specifically, I want to talk about why our grades are broken. Our grading system is so institutionalized that most teachers use it without even giving it a second thought. But traditional grading systems–with a 100% scale and traditional grade book categories full of points do NOT value proficiency and we are losing language students–sometimes proficient students–as a result. So if traditional gradebook categories and the 100% scale do not value proficiency, what DO they value?
They value points. And points and proficiency aren’t the same thing.
In American education, we often do things the way they have always been done. For example, many teachers use gradebook categories whose sections have names such as “homework,” “tests,” “quizzes,” and “participation” and “extra credit.” Each of those sections is often assigned a percentage value (or a “weight”). All the assignments the students complete receive points and the points are input into the correct category. Math is done and the whole thing adds up to a score out of a possible 100%. Teachers then convert that score to a letter grade using the 100% scale and that letter grade gets reported to parents, students, and others. There is some variation to this conversion, but most scales go something like this:
90-100 = A
80-89 = B
70-79 = C
60-69 = D
0-59 = F
That’s not proficiency. That’s 100 shades of grey. And "tweaking" the scale won't help: it gets no better if the A starts at 87%. Why? Because no one can truly quantify the difference in proficiency OR performance between the student who earned 92% and the one who earned 93% or between the student who earned 77% and the one who earned 78%. And we can't even quantify the difference in student knowledge and skills between the student who earned 89% and the one who earned 90% even though the two students will receive completely different letter grades. No matter how the scale is set, in a 100% system, there will always be a cut-off point at which the only difference between any two letter grades is ONE point, meaning that the difference isn't in fact about the student's knowledge, proficiency, or skills. Again, points and proficiency aren't the same thing.
We have used this grading system for a long time. It's tradition. And for many teachers (and students and parents), it is very "comfortable" because we all think we understand the results. Frankly, if we don't think too hard about the traditional grading system, it seems to work great. But this system only works if the accumulation and reporting of points is your primary objective. I don’t think any of us see that as our primary objective. In fact, we don't even see the accumulation of points as the main goal of calculating and reporting grades. When teachers are asked what is the purpose of grades, the answer is usually something about accurately reporting the achievement of the student within a field of study. But that is NOT what happens when we convert "points" to a letter grade. Points mean such different things in each class and for each teacher that an A based on points adding up to 100% in one class is likely to have very little in common with an A in the same subject from a different teacher. Even worse, earning points in a class can (and does) happen in lots of ways that have little or nothing to do with a student's actual proficiency in content and skills of the subject taught. So although we know what the purpose of calculating and reporting grades is, we can't accomplish that purpose if we continue to teach for standards (and proficiency) but then grade for points.
Click here to see my “TOY Talk” where I break down even further why this traditional grading system is actually less fair to all of our learners and what I (and a growing number of teachers in all subjects, including ours) believe may be a better way.
Source: CASLS Topic of the Week
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Title: Resources for Integrated Performance Assessments
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In her Topic of the Week article, Nicole Naditz advocates for standards-based grading and performance assessments as an alternative to point-based assessment. If you would like more information on standards-based grading, Nicole recommends you check out these educators: Myron Dueck, Tom Schimmer, Jan Chappuis, and Rick Wormeli (books and videos).
Here are some great resources for learning about and finding examples of Integrated Performance Assessments.
National Board Certified French teacher Lisa Shepard wrote an InterCom article breaking down the process of creating an IPA into steps: http://caslsintercom.uoregon.edu/content/19761
Mrs. Shepard often posts her own IPA’s to her blog, Madame’s musings. Find all of her IPA-related posts here: http://madameshepard.com/?cat=23
Kathy Shelton, World Language Education Program Specialist for the Ohio Department of Education, wrote an InterCom article focusing especially on assessing listening comprehension using authentic resources: http://caslsintercom.uoregon.edu/content/18854
The Ohio Department of Education has a wealth of IPA-related resources. Go to http://education.ohio.gov/Topics/Ohios-Learning-Standards/Foreign-Language/World-Languages-Model-Curriculum/World-Languages-Model-Curriculum-Framework/Instructional-Strategies and scroll down to “Assessment and Rubrics” for a list of available documents, which include background information on IPA’s, many examples of IPA’s, and a scoring rubric that works well with IPA’s.
Sara-Elizabeth Cottrell also has a popular rubric that works well with performance assessment on her Musicuentos blog: http://musicuentos.com/2015/08/rubric-201/
Our sister LRC the Center for Advanced Research on Language Acquisition (CARLA) has a nice self-paced module about using IPA’s as part of the backward design curriculum development process: http://www.carla.umn.edu/assessment/vac/CreateUnit/p_2.html
If you do content-based instruction (CBI), you’ll also be interested in this site about adapting IPA’s for CBI: http://carla.acad.umn.edu/cobaltt/modules/assessment/ipa/index.html
For more information about implemting IPA’s, you can purchase ACTFL’s book: http://www.actfl.org/publications/books-and-brochures/implementing-integrated-performance-assessment
And finally, here are some more examples of IPA’s: http://swcolt2011.wikispaces.com/IPA+examples and http://swcolt2011.wikispaces.com/IPA+examples-Andrea+Henderson
Source: CASLS Activity of the Week
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Title: Using and Creating Infographics
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Toni Theisen, the 2013 ACTFL President and the 2009 ACTFL Teacher of the Year, teaches French at Loveland High School in Loveland, Colorado, where she is also the district World Language Curriculum Representative. Theisen is a National Board Certified Teacher with a M.A. in Foreign Language Teaching and a M. A. in Education of Diverse Learners. She is also a Google Certified teacher.
According to the ACTFL 21st Century Skills Map, it is important that learners have opportunities to use critical thinking skills to analyze, and synthesize information as well as negotiate meaning across language and culture in order to explore problems and issues from their own and different perspectives. Also for students to build their literacy skills using a variety of texts they need to know how to access and effectively use culturally authentic sources in order to become more informed global citizens.
I believe that infographics are a great resource to use in order for learners at any proficiency level to access information that sometimes can be more challenging when using text. Infographics are visual representations of information and data. These graphics take information and make it come alive with images, simple text and numbers, etc. Infographics can show cultural practices such as exercise routines, eating habits, environmental issues and voting procedures and cultural products such as food pyramids, recycling containers, the characters in a story, historical timeline, food waste data and favorite leisure activities, just to name a few. Therefore, it make is easier for students to interpret and analyze the information. Infographics give students opportunities to use vocabulary, cultural images and numbers in the context. It is also easy to find infographics on the same topic from different countries, thus providing the students authentic resources to do cultural comparisons. I also believe since the text and the data are easier to interpret, students find it easier to engage in both interpersonal and presentational speaking activities.
One of my favorite activities using infographics involves a novice level unit where students compare a French food pyramid with an American food pyramid. Students can compare eating habits, important foods, and the amount of food from each category that is needed for a healthy diet. Students can compare and contrast the two cultures, as well as talk about their own eating habits. This comparison can also lead students to create their own eating plan to be healthier.
Students can also make infographics. My two favorite online tools are Piktochart and Easel.ly. They are easy to use. For example, students could write a survey, conduct the survey and show the results by creating an infographic. Another example is to provide a text on a topic with lots of data. In teams the students analyze the reading and create an infographic to represent their understanding of the reading. Finally, a third example is to take a standard writing students might do such as a paragraph about their family. Instead of a paragraph, students can use an infographic to represent the same information. If there is no access to the internet, students can always use paper and markers.
Infographics are easy to find. Just search infographics (the target language word) and the topic. For example in French, one could search: infographie eau or infographie gaspillage alimentaire. Many teachers have also created infographic boards on Pinterest.
Infographics are excellent visual learning tools that can help students better understand information and data. These powerful tools also help students interpret and analyze information and data, as well as synthesize information and data into a new product. Infographics are just another way for students to use their language in context.
Source: CASLS Topic of the Week
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Content Type: 4
Title: Nutrition Infographics: Lessons for Novice and Advanced Learners
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In her Topic of the Week article this week, Toni Theisen talks about using infographics with learners of different proficiency levels.
One example is a unit for novice learners in which students compare the French and American food pyramids, comparing the two cultures and examining their own eating habits in the process. Here is that lesson for novice French learners.
Another example is this unit for French 4 called Le Goût et Le Gaspillage that uses lots of infographics. Here is the Wikispace link, which includes handouts and assessments: http://lhsfrenchdevoirs.wikispaces.com/Go%C3%BBt+et+Gaspillage
Source: CASLS Activity of the Week
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Content Type: 1
Title: Book: Teaching, Learning and Investigating Pragmatics
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From http://www.cambridgescholars.com/teaching-learning-and-investigating-pragmatics
Teaching, Learning and Investigating Pragmatics: Principles, Methods and Practices
Edited by Sara Gesuato, Francesca Bianchi, and Winnie Cheng
Published by Cambridge Scholars Publishing
This volume presents a collection of research papers investigating how to foster the learning and teaching of pragmatic phenomena, as well as how to administer tests that assess pragmatic competence in second/foreign language education with regards to several target languages. The topics investigated include: speech acts; computer-mediated communication; conversation analysis; pragmatic, intercultural, and emotional competence; native and non-native performance; data collection and instructional methods; needs analysis; and syllabus design and materials development. The contributions will be of particular interest to linguists, language learners and teachers, teacher trainers, and communication experts.
Visit the publisher’s website at http://www.cambridgescholars.com/teaching-learning-and-investigating-pragmatics
Source: Cambridge Scholars Publishing
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Title: Book: Frequency Effects in Instructed Second Language Acquisition
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From http://www.degruyter.com/view/product/436265
Frequency Effects in Instructed Second Language Acquisition
By Karin Madlener
Published by de Gruyter Mouton
Based on a state-of-the-art review of prior research in all related domains, this book makes precise predictions about the expected effects of specific type and token frequency distributions in input floods and tests these in the second language classroom context.
Visit the publisher’s website at http://www.degruyter.com/view/product/436265
Source: de Gruyter
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Title: Book: Materials Development for TESOL
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From http://www.euppublishing.com/book/9780748691364
Materials Development for TESOL
By Freda Mishan and Ivor Timmis
Published by Edinburgh University Press
Offering a practical introduction to the fundamental principles of materials development in TESOL, this textbook introduces you to a wide range of theoretical and practical issues in materials development to enable you to make informed and principled choices in the selection, evaluation, adaptation and production of materials.
Advocating a principled approach to the creation of materials, it combines an awareness of relevant language learning and teaching theory with a critical attitude to existing published materials. It also encourages critical reflection by demonstrating how choices need to be informed by an awareness of culture, context and purpose.
Visit the publisher’s website at http://www.euppublishing.com/book/9780748691364
Source: Edinburgh University Press
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