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Content Type: 1
Title: My Name, My Identity Campaign
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The National Association for Bilingual Education is running a campaign called “My name, my identity.” Educators are urged to take a pledge to ask students how they would like their names to be pronounced, so that they can respect students’ names and in this way their identity.
Learn more about the campaign at http://www.nabe.org/MyName-MyIdentity
Source: NABE
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Title: 90% Target Language: Just Do It!
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The American Council on the Teaching of Foreign Languages promotes using 90% or more target language in the classroom (http://www.actfl.org/news/position-statements/use-the-target-language-the-classroom-0). This amount of target language with novice and intermediate learners can seem daunting. Here is one teacher’s surprisingly positive experience of taking the 90% or more plunge with her students: https://mmefarab.wordpress.com/2016/03/25/90-tl-just-do-it/
Source: En Français, SVP!
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Content Type: 1
Title: Using Translation in a Language Classroom
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This recent blog post by Sara-Elizabeth Cottrell starts with a frank reflection on the possibly false dichotomy between learning and acquisition before moving on to a discussion of the possible value of translation and finally some suggestions for making translation most effective when you do use it (and suggestions for how to avoid it while still making the meaning clear.
The post is available at http://musicuentos.com/2016/03/change-translation/. Be sure to scroll down to the comments for more suggestions from other teachers.
Source: Musicuentos
Inputdate: 2016-03-26 21:26:48
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Content Type: 1
Title: The Place of Grammar in Proficiency-Based Instruction
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From http://www.path2proficiency.com
Alyssa Villarreal writes, “Many teachers I meet who are interested in making the shift to a performance driven instructional repertoire have this idea of a false dichotomy. The all or nothing approach – either we teach grammar or we teach toward performance and proficiency. I can say there are few things in life are that clear-cut. Teaching toward performance and proficiency does not negate the need for grammar instruction. It provides us a cadence to how and when we teach grammar. We need for our students to communicate. If no one can understand them, communication is not possible. Just like if our students lack cultural understanding, they also cannot communicate if they are insulting those with whom they interact, but that is another post. Teaching grammar has a very defined role so long as we honor three basic principles. Grammar instruction is aligned to our targets and be presented within a meaningful context while grammar information is easily accessible so that we best prepare our students to meet or exceed performance targets.”
Read on for specific guidelines for including grammar in proficiency-oriented instruction: http://www.path2proficiency.com/the-g-word/
Source: path to proficiency
Inputdate: 2016-03-26 21:27:41
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Content Type: 1
Title: Essay: Why “Easy” Doesn’t Bother Me
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From https://mmefarab.wordpress.com
Your InterCom editor loves this short blog post from a teacher in Ohio promoting a “rolling grade book” that shows progress and what students CAN do rather than what they can’t: https://mmefarab.wordpress.com/2016/03/22/defining-easy/
Source: En Français, SVP!
Inputdate: 2016-03-26 21:28:23
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Content Type: 1
Title: Introducing New Language: Note-Taking Puzzles
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From http://www.path2proficiency.com
Rosalyn Rhodes writes, “My principal’s favorite phrase is, “The students should be doing the heavy lifting” but I hadn’t really bought into that until recently when I realized why I was getting so irritated. I was annoyed that they’re not engaging with my amazing visuals or target language notes. Why not? Because they aren’t actually DOING anything while they’re “taking notes”. Well, that’s not true. They’re writing down what I write, drawing what I draw, and some awesome eager language-learners are actually responding to my questions. Those learners are probably 4 out of the 32 kids in my room. The rest are mostly cooperating, but even on my best day, there are students completely zoned out. Now, before you sign off this blog saying ‘Wow, she’s a terrible teacher,’ let me share what I’ve done recently to adjust.”
Read on for a way to introduce new vocabulary that has students doing the “heavy lifting: http://www.path2proficiency.com/solving-the-note-taking-puzzle/
Source: path to proficiency
Inputdate: 2016-03-26 21:29:00
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Content Type: 1
Title: Activity Idea: Good Idea/Bad Idea
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From http://indwellinglanguage.com
Justin Slocum Bailey describes an activity that is incredibly simple and also incredibly versatile: after the teacher (or another student) says a sentence, students declare whether it is a good idea or a bad idea. This can be a stand-alone activity or used to reinforce other activities. Read the full blog post for many adaptations and applications of this very simple activity: http://indwellinglanguage.com/good-idea-bad-idea/
Source: Indwelling Language
Inputdate: 2016-03-26 21:29:50
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Title: Encouraging Risk/Rewarding Growth with “Checks and a Smile”
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From http://leesensei.edublogs.org
Teacher and blogger Colleen Lee-Hayes uses rubrics not just for assessment at the end of an assignment but to encourage students to take risk by choosing “challenge” or “extra push” areas to work on before they start an activity. Read how she does it at http://leesensei.edublogs.org/2016/03/18/encouraging-riskrewarding-growth-with-checks-and-a-smile
Source: Language Sensei
Inputdate: 2016-03-26 21:30:34
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Content Type: 5
Title: Celebration of Language Learning Benefits
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On March 31, language experts, students, and faculty members joined together at the University of Oregon (UO) to celebrate one of the many benefits of language learning: the tangible impact on careers.
“We’ve invited a distinguished group of UO alums to help us start a new conversation. They come from many backgrounds. Most were not language majors. Most don’t work in academia,” notes Jeff Magoto, director of the Yamada Language Center and co-founder of the UO Language Council. “But all of them epitomize an essential fact of modern life: they live and work in different places, and language is at the intersection of what they do, who they interact with, and how they participate in their communities.”
All of panelists extolled the social and economic benefits of language learning. “The people who speak a foreign language don’t make more [money]. They’re the only ones who get the job,” said incoming University of Oregon Foundation Board President Jim Shephard, class of 1980, who served as the keynote speaker.
UO Archivist Chas Cassidy, class of 2014, added, “Foreign language is all about connectivity. We do not exist in a vaccum. Language give us access to the diverse ways people come at problems.”
Roundtable participants included: Eric Benjaminson (class of 1981), former U.S. Ambassador to Gabon São Tomé & Príncipe; Kayla “Chas” Cassidy (class of 2014), UO University Archives; Don Klotter (class of 1986), Managing Director at EFG Asset Management; John Patton (class of 1966), Cadence Management Corporation; Sarah Rubin (class of 2004), Attorney at Law; Jim Shephard (class of 1980), incoming University of Oregon Foundation Board President; Hassan Shiban (class of 2010), International Refugee Assistance Project; Michael Vergamini (class of 1999), Attorney at Law.
The event was organized by the UO Language Council in collaboration with the UO Alumni Association and the Global Studies Institute.
Source: CASLS Spotlight
Inputdate: 2016-04-01 12:46:52
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Content Type: 2
Title: New Improvements for STARTALK LinguaFolio Online
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Thanks to a grant from the National Foreign Language Center (NFLC) at the University of Maryland, we are improving LinguaFolio Online for STARTALK programs. New features include easier navigation, quicker ways to capture and upload evidence, improved teacher report screens, and the ability for teachers to reset students' passwords. We hope those of you attending the spring STARTALK conference this coming May will join us for a hands-on lab to learn about how LinguaFolio Online can help boost and document your program’s successes! These improvements will be available for non-STARTALK programs by fall 2016, and details will be forthcoming.
Source: CASLS
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