Contents

From https://gianfrancoconti.wordpress.com

In this post, Gianfranco Conti describes eight “narrow reading” techniques that get students to re-read similar passages to perform different tasks: https://gianfrancoconti.wordpress.com/2017/07/22/eight-narrow-reading-techniques-that-will-enhance-your-students-vocabulary-and-reading-skills/

From http://palmyraspanish1.blogspot.com/

Here’s a getting-to-know-you activity for the beginning of the school year: have students stand in a horizontal line. Then make a statement such as, “If you have a pet cat, take two steps forward.” Continue to make different statements about things that your students may or may not have in common.

Read a full description of this activity at http://palmyraspanish1.blogspot.com/2017/07/step-forward-step-backward.html

This week, we depart from our normal, student-centered activity to provide educators with a possible procedural approach for creating data sets for themselves and their students to use when analyzing language in class.

Procedure:

1. Identify the language function that you wish to teach in class. If you are unsure where to begin, the NCSSFL-ACTFL Can-Do Statements (https://www.actfl.org/sites/default/files/pdfs/Can-Do_Statements_2015.pdf) provide great examples.
2. Find authentic examples of the language function in practice to share with the class. Language corpora are good places to start and can be used to search for certain words or symbols you would expect to appear in the function. The Corpus of Contemporary American English (http://corpus.byu.edu/coca/) is a great example and is perfect for teachers of English Language Learners. Also, Linguee (http://www.linguee.com/) an online dictionary available in many language, provides examples of target vocabulary in use. Alternatively, you may use video clips and other media located online.
3. Engage your students in an observation phase of the language function. Allow them to induce what they see and understand about the function. This discussion can be focused on deciphering the vocabulary and structures needed to engage in the act.  Alternatively, prod them with questions to look beyond word meaning (i.e., decipher tone or illocutionary force (intent) of the act).
4. Provide the students opportunities to practice the speech act in question. Vary the contexts within which they practice the act so that they get a good idea of how it may change given audience, format of delivery, and the like. A great method for engaging in this exploration is to have the students work through a RAFT protocol (http://www.readwritethink.org/classroom-resources/printouts/raft-writing-template-30633.html) either in the traditional, written format or orally.
5. Provide direct feedback and/or an opportunity for peer review. This review can also come from outside sources (such as a conversation partner at WeSpeke.com).
6. Allow the learners to engage in more opportunities for practice and refinement.

Notes:

• To increase learner autonomy, allow learners to build their own data sets/ mini language corpora. These corpora can be specifically related to classroom language learning targets or related to individual learning targets.
• This procedural approach is focused on analyzing various language functions, but could easily be adapted to the incorporation of any research in the classroom. For example, learners could analyze multiple articles written from different perspectives about contemporary, hot-button issues in lieu of analyzing a specific language functions.
• This procedural approach was greatly influenced by Ishihara and Cohen (2012) and Moeller, Thieler, and Wu (2012). Check the sources out for more information.

Citations

Ishihara, N. & Cohen, A. (2012). Teaching and learning pragmatics: Where language and culture meet. London and New York: Routledge.

Moeller, A. J., Theiler, J.M., & Wu, C. (2011) Goal setting and student Achievement: A longitudinal study. The Modern Language Journal, 96 (ii), 153-169.

By Julie Sykes, CASLS Director

In addition to utilizing research to inform practice, a useful approach for language students can also be doing their own research about language, the language learning process, and more general, but related, topics. While it might seem intimidating at first, learners can access information to make sense of the learning journey they are on. Below, we present three examples for the use of student research in the language classroom.

1. Help learners create their own classroom data set. As students become adept at creating data and working with it, they can start to see patterns in language as well as learning processes that are relevant to their own context and experience. This week’s Activity of the Week outlines one way to do this as part of classroom practice.
2. Ask learners to select one article about language learning and share what they find with their classmates. The article can be on any topic of their choosing, but can be especially helpful when tied to the learning process, learning strategies, or understanding classroom practice. As learners being to see why things happen in the classroom, they being to embrace the process of learning, and, in many cases, embrace types of activities to which they may not typically relate.
3. Share a statement of best practices with the learners. Sharing a one page, research-based synopsis of how classroom activities contribute to their own learning. Then, as learners engage in different components of the class, the instructor can refer back to the synopsis. While the content of the information may vary based on the age of the learner, attention to the research behind best practices can be highly beneficial, no matter the age. 

CASLS is pleased to announce a new customized version of LinguaFolio Online. Working with the Department of Education (DOE) in Virginia, CASLS has created a customized version of the onlilne portfolio. LinguaFolio Onilne is an ePortfolio employing the NCSSFL-ACTFL Can-Do statements. Students upload evidence to show proficiency in each assigned Can-Do. Virginia DOE's customized version became available on August 9, 2017. CASLS will also integrate Virginia's state standards into the customized version by October 1, 2017. If your school, district, or state is interested in the possibility of a customized version of LinguaFolio Online, please contact CASLS' Associate Director, Mandy Gettler, at mandyl@uoregon.edu.

From https://www.routledge.com/Evaluating-Language-Assessments/Kunnan/p/book/9780415897778

Evaluating Language Assessments
By Antony John Kunnan
Published by Routledge Taylor & Francis Group

Evaluating Language Assessments offers a comprehensive overview of the theoretical bases and research methodologies for the evaluation of language assessments and demonstrates the importance of a fuller understanding of this widely used evaluative tool. The volume explores language assessment evaluation in its wider political, economic, social, legal, and ethical contexts while also illustrating quantitative and qualitative methods through discussions of key research studies. Suitable for students in applied linguistics, second language acquisition and language assessment and education, this book makes the case for a clear and rigorous understanding of the theoretical and methodological underpinnings of language assessment evaluation in order to achieve fair assessments and just institutions.

Visit the publisher’s website at https://www.routledge.com/Evaluating-Language-Assessments/Kunnan/p/book/9780415897778

From https://www.buffalo.edu/nemla/convention.html

The 49th NeMLA Annual Convention
April 12-15, 2018 Pittsburgh, PA
"Global Spaces, Local Landscapes and Imagined Worlds"

The organizers seek to examine the concept of spaces: their appropriation and occupation, the demarcation of borders, processes of inclusivity and exclusivity, as well as reproductive processes related to the creation of worlds—real, fantastic, and imagined. 

The deadline for abstract proposals is September 30, 2017.

View the full call for proposals at https://www.buffalo.edu/nemla/convention/callforpapers.html

From http://intesda.org/globalization-second-language-acquisition-teacher-education/

International Conference on the Globalization of Second Language Acquisition and Teacher Education
October 30-31, 2017
Honolulu, Hawaii

As globalization advances and boundaries between countries fade away, the need to communicate in a second or multiple languages has altered the linguistic landscape. As a result, second language acquisition and foreign language teaching have progressed to the forefront of linguistics, providing a critical framework in understanding how language is acquired or learned and its pedagogical implications. Language today not only links nations but also empowers individuals toward greater upward mobility, all of which makes it an indispensable tool in modern society.

With the theme Breaking Barriers, the conference is an opportunity to share research, insights and techniques, and form professional networks in this burgeoning field of linguistics and education.

Visit the conference website at http://intesda.org/globalization-second-language-acquisition-teacher-education/