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Content Type: 1
Title: Back to School Resources
Body:
Here are a few more back to school resources:
From ELT-cation, here are eight different activities that your students can do with questions about each other's summers: https://eltcation.wordpress.com/2018/08/26/back-to-school-8-qa-activities/
Here are nineteen getting-to-know-you activities in Spanish: https://www.profedeele.es/profesores/actividades-presentacion-primer-dia-clase/
Source: Various
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Content Type: 1
Title: Lots of Games on the Wilderdom Website
Body:
Here is an extensive collection of game descriptions, including icebreakers, trust-building games, self-awareness games, and much more: http://wilderdom.com/games/
Source: Wilderdom
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Content Type: 3
Title: Identity and Language Ideology
Body:
By Lindsay Marean, CASLS InterCom Editor
I’m a Potawatomi person, and I started learning the Potawatomi language about two decades ago. One of my language’s expressive tools is the internal structure of verb stems. A prototypical verb stem has three components: a root that often provides descriptive information, a medial whose meaning may include body parts or different kinds of materials, and a final whose meaning includes the sort of action (hitting, driving, talking, etc.) as well as the animacy of the entities involved. Here’s an example:
Ngi-mzhiyabdégnama. I knocked all his teeth out.
In this example, mzhi is a root associated with clearing things out; it’s used in words for clearing brush, for example. The medial yabdé has to do with teeth. The final gnam has to do with striking an animate entity (for example, a person). All together this stem creates the image of striking someone so that his/her teeth are cleared out, like a clearcut forest!
I’m passionate about my language, and I’m delighted when my elders share especially descriptive words like this one with me. Sometimes they’ll recall people who were elders when they themselves were young, and chuckle about the way they crafted words for extra impact. Naturally, when I learn a new root, medial, or final, I like to try it out by building new words and running them by my elders.
“Where did you hear that?” My elders respond to a word they haven’t heard before with suspicion. “That’s not a word.” Through these interactions, I am learning a certain ideology: since Potawatomi is endangered, some people, including my elders, are concerned that the language will undergo too many changes too quickly as my generation and younger people learn it. When I deliberately make up new words, it makes them worry that the words they grew up with will be lost, replaced by new ones. Their language ideology involves resisting language change and valuing older forms over newer ones.
Of course, this language ideology isn’t the only one in Potawatomi Country. There are other Potawatomi people who think it’s important to use the tools our language gives us to coin words for new things so that our language can continue to fully describe the modern world around us. Also, there is some overlap in ideologies. Our word for “phone” literally means “wire” (Remember when phones used to be connected to wires? Remember party lines?). One of my elders humorously coined a term for “cell phone” by calling it a wireless phone, which has the literal meaning in Potawatomi “wire that is not wire.”
As my fellow language activists and I work to carry Potawatomi on into the future, we must navigate these language ideologies. I can be most effective if I am aware of the ideologies that exist in Potawatomi country and how my identity as a language learner influences how my language choices will be received by different people.
In fact, it is a good idea for all language learners to explore language ideologies: both their own and those that can be found in the target culture. Doing so will inform their choices, such as whether to engage in language play (see our August 9 Topic of the Week article) or whether to use formal or informal registers in different situations. Our Activity of the Week guides learners to do exactly this, in a multi-step process that includes comparison with classmates’ and exchange partners’ ideologies.
Source: CASLS Topic of the Week
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Content Type: 4
Title: Exploring Language Ideologies
Body:
Learning objectives:
- Students will be able to articulate some of their language ideologies.
- Students will be able to summarize some language ideologies of others.
- Students' understanding of the roles of individual beliefs and cultural background on the formation of language ideologies will become more nuanced.
Mode: Awareness of language ideologies is a beneficial tool for intercultural communication.
Materials needed: Exchange partners, discussion questions handout
Procedure:
The key experience in this activity is an information exchange with someone from the target culture. For students in a study abroad context or with a large heritage community nearby, it may be easy to arrange face-to-face conversations. Otherwise, we recommend setting up a virtual exchange; this activity can be one part of the overall virtual exchange experience. For more information about virtual exchanges, visit the Virtual Exchange Coalition's website. Those who are learning about the Middle East and North Africa may be especially interested in the Stevens Initiatve.
- Start by introducing the concept of language ideologies, as defined on the discussion questions handout.
- Have students complete the first box for each of the seven questions on their own.
- As a class, debrief by discussing some of the most interesting or prevalent responses to different questions. Emphasize that there is no one correct answer; the purpose of this activity is to explore the diversity of language ideologies.
- Have students work in pairs to complete the second box for each of the seven questions.
- In the follow-up discussion, explore potential factors in different ideologies: age, gender, cultural background, etc. Are there certain ideologies that may be typical of your students' home culture(s)?
- Prior to working with exchange partners, be certain that your students are open to exploring a wide range of ideologies and ideas that may be different from their own. The exchange partners should also have completed the first two boxes for each question in advance.
- Provide dedicated time for your students to complete the third box for each question with their exchange partners. Allow extra time for and encourage follow-up questions and discussion.
- Once again, in the follow-up whole-class discussion, explore potential factors behind different language ideologies. Are there clear differences between your students' home culture(s) and the target culture? How might students put their new insights into language ideologies to use in future intercultural interactions?
- Have students complete the fourth box for each question with any final thoughts. The final reflection questions at the end of the handout serve as a culminating activity.
Source: CASLS Activity of the Week
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Content Type: 4
Title: Identity and How We Present It: A Concept-based Activity Focusing on Learner Relevance
Body:
In this activity, learners will be exploring the concept of identity through various lenses and then applying their exploration to the creation of a social media profile that best exemplifies their identity. The activity is modeled upon Lynn Erickson’s work in concept-based instruction, and offers a large degree of student autonomy and higher-order thinking, helping students see how a concept is relevant to their lives even if it isn’t immediately obvious to them.
Objectives:
Students will be able to:
- Think critically about the concept of “identity” and analyze its component parts
- Think critically about the language, images, and other materials that make up a successful social media page
- Create a social media page
- Talk about themselves and their likes, dislikes, hobbies, etc.
Modes: Presentational, Interpersonal
Materials needed: Computer or phone with Internet access, Brainstorming Worksheet, Social Media Analysis Worksheet, Social Media Planning Worksheet
Procedure:
- Brainstorm: To begin, have students use the Brainstorming Worksheet to get them thinking about the concept of “identity.” Once they finish the worksheet, have students share in small groups and add to their worksheets. Then, as a whole class, create a giant mind map on the white board/chalkboard/etc. that includes the components identified by all students. Then have students think about what facets of identity are most important to them and their own identity. Students should write town their top 3 identity components.
- Some example components include hobbies, family, appearance, language, country in which you grow up, talents, personality traits, dreams and aspirations, past events, etc.
- Observe: Instruct students to go online and look at social media pages in the target language. Give them a list of several famous people in the target culture and encourage them to view several of their pages. Students should think about and take notes on how people’s pages differ both within and among platforms, even for the same person. Divide students into groups of four and give each group the various social media pages of one celebrity in the target culture. Then, have students observe the content of their page across these different platforms, taking notes on genre, content, and structure differences.
- Analyze: Once students have some data to work with and have spent time making observations about social media pages, they will analyze how identity is presented via social media. Have them complete the Social Media Analysis Worksheet.
- Extend: Next, have students complete the Social Media Planning Worksheet to help them think about the social media pages they want to create (one worksheet per social media page). Students should make a profile on three distinct platforms and think about how to best present themselves on each (Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, etc). When they finish the worksheets, they should create their pages and accompanying posts. Students can then explore one another’s pages, taking notes on what they find especially effective.
- Reflect: Have students reflect on this experience by writing a journal entry about how identity is presented online. Be sure to have students discuss what they found easy or difficult in presenting their identity online, what their favorite platforms are and why, and allow students to share work if they choose. Students should justify the three different versions of themselves they created to fit each platform, how they differ, and why.
Notes/Modifications:
This activity is designed with novice learners in mind, but can be adapted to any level depending on the types, quality, and quantity of information you ask students to produce.
For more information on concept-based instruction refer to Lynn Erickson’s work:
Erikson, H. L., Lanning, Lanning, L., & French, R. (2017). Concept-based Curriculum and Instruction for the Thinking Classroom. Corwin Publishing.
Source: CASLS Activity of the Week
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Content Type: 5
Title: CASLS Software and Systems Engineer Carl Burnstein Recognized for Excellence
Body:
CASLS Software and Systems Engineer Carl Burnstein received this year’s University of Oregon’s Star Award. Each year, the Office of the President selects and recognizes employees who have made an exceptional, positive impact on the university. Those selected for the Star Award embody a spirit of collegiality and vision, working with partners across departmental lines.
Carl has been part of the CASLS team since 2010. He architects, programs, and maintains all of CASLS’ online tools and mobile applications, in addition to providing user support. Carl has designed and coded our popular mobile applications LingroToGo and LFO to Go, the companion application for LinguaFolio Online.
“Carl is always willing to jump in and solve challenges,” says CASLS Director Dr. Julie Sykes.
Because of his willingness to help and his experience leading national-level coding projects, Carl is the expert in mobile app development at the University of Oregon. Other departments on campus often call to request his input in feedback when working on mobile applications and working with the iOS App Store and Android’s Google Play. Thanks to Carl’s efforts, CASLS has been contributing to the open-source developer community by sharing code on GitHub.
As a recipient of the Star Award, Carl will be officially recognized at a UO home football game this fall, from a place of honor in the President’s suite. Congratulations, Carl!
Source: CASLS Spotlight
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Content Type: 1
Title: Data on English Learners: Academic Performance and Outcomes
Body:
OELA is pleased to announce the launch of a third interactive web page dedicated to data on ELs. This data story builds on previous data stories that examine the characteristics and educational experiences of ELs, and presents the most recent data on EL academic proficiency for states and selected urban school districts. It also provides state-level EL high school graduation rates and insights into changes in EL graduation and proficiency rates over time.
Access the latest report at https://www2.ed.gov/datastory/el-outcomes/index.html#introText
Source: NCELA Nexus Newsletter
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Content Type: 1
Title: Online Book: Handbook of Assessment for Language Teachers
Body:
From http://taleproject.eu/mod/page/view.php?id=1200
Handbook of Assessment for Language Teachers
By D. Tsagari, K. Vogt, V. Froelich, I. Csépes, A. Fekete, A. Green, L. Hamp-Lyons, N. Sifakis, and S. Kordia
Published by the TALE Project
This Handbook is addressed both to language teachers who wish to develop their assessment skills and teacher educators and trainers who focus on language assessment.
Access this book to download it at http://taleproject.eu/mod/page/view.php?id=1200
Source: TALE
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Title: Book: Rethinking Linguistic Creativity in Non-native Englishes
Body:
From https://benjamins.com/catalog/bct.98
Rethinking Linguistic Creativity in Non-native Englishes
Edited by Sandra C. Deshors, Sandra Götz, and Samantha Laporte
Published by John Benjamins Publishing Company
At a time when the paradigm gap (Sridhar & Sridhar 1986) between the EFL and ESL research areas is attracting much scholarly attention, the contributions in the current volume explore this gap from the perspective of linguistic innovations across the two different types of non-native Englishes. In this endeavor, this volume unveils the many facets of linguistic innovations in non-native English varieties and explores the fine line between learners’ erroneous versus creative use of a target language. Adopting empirical, corpus-based approaches to portray linguistic innovations characteristic of EFL and ESL varieties, the contributions show how the interaction of linguistic and social forces influences the development of novel linguistic forms in both endonormative ESL contexts and exonormative EFL contexts. This volume is of relevance to linguists who are interested in the features of non-native English and who wish to gain a better understanding of the nature of innovations along the EFL – ESL continuum.
Visit the publisher's website at https://benjamins.com/catalog/bct.98
Source: John Benjamins Publishing Company
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Title: Book: Second Language Acquisition of Mandarin Chinese Tones
Body:
From https://brill.com/abstract/title/32460
Second Language Acquisition of Mandarin Chinese Tones: Beyond First-Language Transfer
By Hang Zhang
Published by Brill
Tones are the most challenging aspect of learning Chinese pronunciation for adult learners and traditional research mostly attributes tonal errors to interference from learners’ native languages. In Second Language Acquisition of Mandarin Chinese Tones, Hang Zhang offers a series of cross-linguistic studies to argue that there are factors influencing tone acquisition that extend beyond the transfer of structures from learners’ first languages, and beyond characteristics extracted from Chinese. These factors include universal phonetic and phonological constraints as well as pedagogical issues. By examining non-native Chinese tone productions made by speakers of non-tonal languages (English, Japanese, and Korean), this book brings together theory and practice and uses the theoretical insights to provide concrete suggestions for teachers and learners of Chinese.
Visit the publisher's website at https://brill.com/abstract/title/32460
Source: Brill
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