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Content Type: 1
Title: Dictation: Yes or No?
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From http://frenchteachernet.blogspot.com
Steve Smith writes, “Dictation can be described as a technique where pupils hear some spoken material, hold it in their memory for a short time, then write down what they heard.
“It is one of the ancient crafts of language teaching. L G Kelly, in his 1969 book 25 Centuries of Language Teaching traces it back to at least the early middle ages. …
“Some like it, some hate it. Some accuse it of being boring and uncommunicative, a relic of the past when grammar-translation ruled the world; others argue that it has a valuable place, reinforcing phonological memory, improving grammar, spelling and listening skills.”
Read the full post for an extensive list of pros and cons for dictations, a discussion of what it actually practices, and lots of suggestions for adaptations and modifications of this ancient language learning practice: http://frenchteachernet.blogspot.com/2017/03/different-ways-of-doing-dictation.html
Source: Language Teacher Toolkit
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Title: 6 Tips for Making Craft Projects in the FL Classroom More Language Rich
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Craft projects are engaging for young learners, but sometimes they use a lot of classroom time without really doing much for students’ language proficiency. Here are some suggestions for making craft projects more language-rich: http://elmundodepepita.blogspot.com/2017/03/6-tips-for-making-craft-projects-in-fl.html
Source: Mundo de Pepita
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Title: Draw 1-2-3: Post-Reading Activity
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From https://latinbestpracticescir.wordpress.com
Here is a no-prep post-reading activity that your students can do, with suggestions for extending the activity: https://latinbestpracticescir.wordpress.com/2016/03/23/draw-1-2-3/
Source: Latin Best Practices: Comprehensible Input Resources
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Title: Blog Post: Why Not Edit the Text?
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From https://marishawkins.wordpress.com
Your InterCom has been taught (and believes) that the same authentic text can be used for student learning across a broad range of proficiency levels - the teacher adjusts the tasks, rather than the text itself, to the student. However, in this intriguing blog post, Maris Hawkins defends editing the authentic resource itself. Read her post, which includes helpful examples of what she means, here: https://marishawkins.wordpress.com/2017/03/19/why-not-edit-the-text/
Source: Maris Hawkins
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Title: Reading Activity: Choose Your Own Adventure
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Katie Mitchell describes an activity she did with her English students as they read Lois Lowry’s The Give. At certain key points in the novel, students thought about other choices that the protagonist could have made, and what would have happened as a result. Read how she did it at http://fltmag.com/remix-your-adventure-collaborative-writing-and-esl/
Source: FLTMAG
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Title: Article: Creativity in the Language Classroom
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M. Elhess, E. Elturki, and J. Egbert offer strategies to support creativity in the language classroom in this recent article: http://languagemagazine.com/2017/03/the-art-of-teaching/
“Creative thinking is not language specific, so any chance that learners have to practice in any language can advance their ability. If creativity cannot be addressed sufficiently in the language classroom, learners can be encouraged to use their creative-thinking skills outside of the classroom as they participate in social media, make up and play games with friends, and even tell bedtime stories with their families. However, with guidance from educators who understand not only their own creative abilities but the importance of creative thinking to language learning, work, and life, students can become better problem solvers, employees, and global citizens.”
Source: Language Magazine
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Title: Critically Thinking about Research: SLA and the Spacing Effect
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From http://www.eltresearchbites.com
Mura Nava writes, “Second language acquisition (SLA) often borrows ideas from other disciplines, along with the advantages this brings (e.g. the positive benefits of spaced repetition software for vocabulary learning) potential dangers need to be assessed. This post summarizes the case of the spacing effect from cognitive psychology as discussed by John Rogers (2017).”
Read the full post at http://www.eltresearchbites.com/201703-buyer-beware-sla-and-the-spacing-effect/
Source: ELT Research Bites
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Title: Pink Trombone: Hands-on Vocal Track Manipulation
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Here is a virtual representation of a human vocal tract. You can manipulate tongue shape, lips, voicing, etc. to produce human speech sounds (sorry, apparently no ingressive sounds). If you teach any phonetics to your students or are looking for ways to explain how to produce a certain sound, this tool may be helpful: http://dood.al/pinktrombone/
For resources dealing with the International Phonetic Alphabet, see this recent Lingthusiasm podcast and blog post: http://www.superlinguo.com/post/158600557447/lingthusiasm-episode-6-all-the-sounds-in-all-the
Source: Pink Trombone
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Title: Connecting Input and Output through Interaction
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Keli Yerian directs the Language Teaching Specialization program at the University of Oregon. Her research interests are in language and interaction, most specifically in the use of gesture in both L1 and L2 speakers, as well as language teacher education, including the goals and experiences of L2 speakers in language teacher education programs.
Peek inside one language classroom. Here we see students using actions and brief responses to show they are following the teacher’s story. Peek inside another. Here we see students repeating after the teacher to show they can accurately (re)produce the target sounds and structures.
In the first classroom, the teacher is using comprehension-based instruction, with a focus on helping students acquire language through carefully structured input. In the second classroom, the teacher is using production-based instruction, with a focus on helping students acquire language through repeated spoken practice.
What do these classrooms have in common?
If these two classrooms always look like this, every day, all year, we might say the common point is that they both tip dangerously to only one side of the spectrum of teacher beliefs and practices regarding instructed language learning. On one end of the spectrum is the belief that language acquisition requires the exclusive ingredient of comprehensible input. Indeed, comprehension-based instruction is strongly supported by some research (e.g. following Van Patten, 2007) that shows that structured input (input that compels learners to focus on form in order to access meaning) can lead to improved proficiency not only in comprehension but in production as well.
On the other end of the spectrum is the claim that a skill will only be acquired if it is directly practiced multiple times (see DeKeyser, 2007). While the direct practice claim has been less supported by research, studies do show that language acquisition may remain incomplete without the opportunity to ‘notice the gap’ between one’s own production and the target forms. Importantly, this benefit appears only when production involves meaningful exchanges that allow for the noticing and mediation of forms (e.g. see Swain, 2000).
From this perspective, what both classrooms may be missing is the key element of meaningful interaction. Many current scholars argue that interaction connects the dots between the essential benefits of comprehensible input and the visible advantages of “pushed output.”
However, it is never a good idea to judge a language classroom from just a moment of peeking in. A good language classroom will reveal, over time, a rich range of coherent practices, and include varied opportunities for learners to process authentic and structured input, meet the challenge of crafting output, and negotiate meaning with peers, texts, the teacher, and the wider community.
Maybe, if we peeked into these same classrooms some minutes later, or on another day, we would see something else entirely. A peek into the first may reveal students producing posters to present to their peers, and a peek into the second may show students immersed in extensive reading groups. In this case, our answer to the question above is turned on its head: what both classrooms have in common is the commitment to providing students with a full range of input, interaction, and output - all key ingredients for a ‘balanced meal’ in instructed language learning.
References
DeKeyser, R. (2007). Practice in a Second Language: Perspectives from Applied Linguistics and Cognitive Psychology. New York, Cambridge University Press.
Swain M. (2000). The output hypothesis and beyond: mediating acquisition through collaborative learning. In H. Byrnes (ed.) Advanced Language Learning: The Contributions of Halliday and Vygotsky. London: Continuum.
Van Patten, B. (2007). Input processing in adult second language acquisition. In B. VanPatten and J. Williams (eds.) Theories in Second Language Acquisition (pp. 115-35). Mahwah, NJ: Lawrence Erlbaum.
Source: CASLS Topic of the Week
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Content Type: 4
Title: What hobby do you want to try next?
Body:
This activity has students finding and listening to an advertisement outlining a leisure activity and then deciding whether or not they would like to participate by leading them through some guiding questions.
Learning objectives:
- Students will be able to understand an ad outlining a leisure activity and can decide whether or not to participate based on the details included in the ad.
Modes: Interpretive Listening
Materials needed: Handout
Procedure:
- Introduce the topic of leisure activities, perhaps by discussing how you are looking into taking up a new hobby and aren’t sure what to choose. Watch a video about that hobby with the class and discuss with them how you evaluated the pros and cons of that activity (essentially you are modeling what the students will do for themselves next)
- Have students find their own television, radio or internet ad for a leisure activity (you can also preselect a list for them to choose from). Using the handout, have students make a list of all the details mentioned that can help them to make a decision about whether or not they want to try this activity. Students can do this for homework or during class time, but they will need access to the internet.
- Students can either discuss their decision with a peer or small group or post their responses to a class discussion board where students can go and see what other students found, noting anything they also find interesting.
- Have students use the handout to reflect on their process. How well do they feel they were able to achieve the Can-Do statement? What was easy and where were they struggling? What could be a goal for next time?
Optional extension activity: Students can create their own video promoting a leisure activity
Source: CASLS Activity of the Week
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