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Title: Christmas Commercial Madness
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We've talked about decision brackets in class before, modeled on March Madness college basketball brackets. This time of year, some teachers play a few commercials in the target language each day and have their students vote on which one "wins" and should advance to the next bracket.
See what this looks like for French here: https://williamsonci.com/2018/11/25/2018-noel-commercial-madness/
A Spanish version is available here: https://williamsonci.com/2018/11/24/2018-navidad-commercial-madness/
Get ideas for extension activities here: https://williamsonci.com/2018/11/27/extensions-of-commercial-madness/
See another teacher's adaptation here: https://lamaestralocablog.com/2017/12/05/simplifying-my-december/
Source: Various
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Title: Energy Breaks for Young Learners
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From https://sandymillin.wordpress.com
Sandy Millin shares a collection of activities you can do with young learners who are having a hard time sitting still, including lots of brain breaks, high-energy games, and calming mindfulness exercises: https://sandymillin.wordpress.com/2018/11/26/energy-breaks-for-young-learners/
Source: Sandy Millin
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Title: Using Seesaw to Showcase Proficiency Growth
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From http://spanishwithsrashaw.blogspot.com
Middle school Spanish teacher Jen Shaw loves using Seesaw, a digital portfolio platform, to let students showcase their proficiency growth. We've reported briefly on Seesaw in the past (http://caslsintercom.uoregon.edu/content/23111). Ms. Shaw has created a 15-minute walk-through video of using Seesaw, along with a blog post that summarizes why she likes using it to let students demonstrate their proficiency growth. Watch the video and read the post at https://spanishwithsrashaw.blogspot.com/2018/11/seesaw-best-app-for-proficiency.html
Source: Spanish with Sra. Shaw
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Title: Survival Tips to Make It to Winter Break
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From http://teachinginthetargetlanguage.com
Students are antsy and distracted, teachers are busy with holiday commitments as well as teaching duties, germs are circulating, special events that rob classroom time proliferate, and we still have a month until winter break. French teacher and blogger Laura Flynn has some suggestions for you: low-prep, engaging activities that fit with a variety of themes; holiday-themed activities; engagement with authentic resources outside of class; and more.
Read her suggestions at http://teachinginthetargetlanguage.com/5-ways-to-survive-those-weeks-leading-up-to-winter-break/
Source: Teaching in the Target Language
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Title: Circumlocution in Immersion Classrooms
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From https://addalinguablog.com
Stephanie Irizarry addresses the issue of immersion students avoiding the use of the target language with one helpful tool: circumlocutions. She suggests an activity (magic box) to get students started using circumlocutions, and then different ways for incorporating circumlocution in common classroom routines.
Read the blog post at https://addalinguablog.com/2018/11/27/stay-in-the-target-language-with-circumlocution-mindset-method-awesome-madness/
Source: add.a.lingua
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Title: Vocaroo for Linking an Audio Clip to a QR Code
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It's been a while since we've shared a resource for associating a QR code with an audio clip, which can be handy for a lot of activities in a language classroom (for example, a treasure hunt in which each QR code plays a clue to the location of the next QR code). Watch this video by Richard Byrne to learn how you can use Vocaroo to do this: https://www.freetech4teachers.com/2018/11/how-to-create-qr-code-for-voice.html
Source: Free Technology for Teachers
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Title: Yoga, Mindfulness, and Movement
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Joliene Adams is a combined EFL, movement, outdoor, art, and cooking instructor at The English Academy, Rapa Nui (Easter Island, Chile). She holds an MA in Linguistics with a Language Teaching Specialization and an MA in Comparative Literature. She has taught and/or interned in: EFL, ESL, Spanish as a Foreign Language, and Pacific Northwest language Ichishkíin-Sahaptin classrooms and conversation groups as well as having instructed: yoga, rock climbing, soccer, gymnastics, aerobics to the elderly in Cuba, and served as recreation leader to at-risk youth in El Alto, Bolivia.
March 2018 I accept a job on the most remote inhabited island of the world. April 2018 I ask myself: buy a camera or a surf-board? May 2018 I say sorry and my best approximation of “dang nabbit” in Spanish to a half dozen people in the Santiago, Chile airport, sporting a 8” surf board across my 5’1/4” frame. How did I arrive to my clumsy conclusion? This realization: a camera will put something between others and me. A surf board will put us alongside. Shortly put: community.
Active in movement/mindfulness activities wherever I go, it’s a method to engage and find community in new places. This fosters language engagement opportunities and opens friendship portals. The language teacher in me eventually asked if I could invite the same spirit, benefits, and community of yoga, mindfulness, and movement (YMM) practices into classrooms. Research shows I am not alone. Language programs implementing movement, meditation, yoga and sports, plus academic articles on the topic, can be found below.
Yoga, Language Learning, Community
I currently teach 90-minute yoga sessions in English to Spanish and Rapa Nui speakers plus 20-30 minute sessions either at the beginning or end of normal 90-minute class sessions. Forget whether or not you can touch your toes. There are many small ways to integrate YMM. A little bit goes a long way. A short list of benefits and applications of YMM in language classrooms follows.
Benefits:
1) Fosters community:
Sharing in healthy, revitalizing practices with others typically cultivates positive feelings and bonds with others. YMM also reduces anxiety, cultivates groundedness, and supports levity. These qualities promote a presence of mind and effervescence of spirit that create an ideal learning climate.
2) Healthy competition:
In language learning, comparing one’s abilities to another’s is counter-productive. You can tell students this. Yoga and meditation, however, set students up to internalize rather than intellectualize the irrelevance of such comparisons. This lesson readily translates off the mat.
3) Visualization:
Many renowned professional athletes practice visualization and meditation (Ratey and Hagerman, 2013, p. 8). This is a skill I do not often hear mentioned as a language learning tool. Yoga and meditation provide natural opportunities to encourage such a practice, as well as the frame of mind from which to visualize language encounters.
4) Experience and Reflection:
We learn somewhat by experience but far more by reflecting on experience. YMM relates twofold: 1) the actual practice promotes a contemplative state of mind; 2) extension activities, such as written reflections on or oral discussions on the practice, can follow.
Applications:
1) Reading, Writing, Speaking, Listening:
Bringing YMM into a class fosters listening. Providing vocabulary and commands before-hand and during (oral and written) scaffolds the oncoming listening portion for students. Please see #4 above for more on this topic.
2) Vocabulary, Grammar:
Body vocabulary, prepositions, phrasal verbs, commands, following instructions are all readily available through YMM instruction. Pre-teaching vocabulary and recycling it across lessons also allows one to build more complex grammatical structures across sessions.
3) Culture:
One can also creatively adapt poses and sequences to fit unit themes or the surrounding environment. Living in the middle of the Pacific Ocean as I do, I often describe the breath as ebb and flow of the ocean, spinal movements as a wave, and “warrior pose” becomes “surfer pose.” This relates to the student’s environment, provides tools to articulate their world, and can be adapted to other place-based contexts.
4) Differentiation, Personalization:
YMM promotes individual self-expression. In some classes, for example, I ask students who their favorite superhero is before class. They then create a representative pose. With two words: “superhero pose,” students self-express.
5) Storytelling:
YMM naturally lends itself towards Total Physical Response (TPR) relevant principles. Instead of commands such as “shut the door” associated with movements, commands can relate to asanas (poses) and pranayama (breath). It can also, by extension, invite TPR related storytelling (Morgan, 2011, p. 4). For example, the surfer is on the board and paddles (stomach down on mat, “paddling”), now the pop up (cobra to up-dog pose) into surfer pose (warrior pose), but “oh no! a shark is coming!” (back to stomach on ground but with arms over head in a fin shape).
Closing:
To turn it back to you: a healthy, happy classroom behooves a healthy, happy teacher. The same goes for students. Even if yoga and meditation do not take place in your classroom, consider trying a 10-20 minute practice at home. Google “Yoga for Teachers” and you’ll find more than one result. Please see the Activity of the Week for a guided at-home practice to try this all out. Morgan (2011) mentions one small practice you can immediately integrate that takes no time: ring a gong or bell before class to signal the transition into focused time, or use it to help students refocus. If space is an issue, you can also search for chair-based yoga practices to suit your classroom.
Final note:
One should allow students the opportunity to opt out, or for alternative exercises. One should also always ask if students have any health problems or injuries before beginning.
Annotated Resources:
Decolonizing Yoga: http://www.decolonizingyoga.com/decolonize-yoga-practice/. Decolonizing Yoga is a website about exactly what it sounds and is an important project. Please visit here to engage in socially responsible yoga.
Breathe for Change: https://www.breatheforchange.com. Breathe for Change is a yoga program specifically aimed at training educators in yoga. They train educators how to self-care and extend that into the classroom.
ESLYoga: http://eslyoga.com. ESL Yoga is a website with a free starter kit for teachers new to but curious about implementing yoga in their classrooms. The website is also conscientious about culturally appropriate language and yoga instruction. She also has two books full of ESL Yoga activities available for purchase.
ESLLanguages: https://www.esl-languages.com/en/. ESLLanguages is a Switzerland-based company providing study abroad language opportunities for adults. They offer programs that include yoga, sports, and beyond (film and cooking for example)!
- Language PLUS Yoga: https://www.esl-languages.com/en/study-abroad/language-plus/language-plus-yoga/index.htm
- Language PLUS Sport: https://www.esl-languages.com/en/study-abroad/language-plus/language-plus-sport/index.htm
Liu, F., Sulpuzio, S., Kornpetpanee, S., & Job, R. (2017). It takes biking to learn: Physical activity improves learning a second language. PLoS ONE,12(5). doi: https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0177624. Chinese speaker ELLs with a basic knowledge of English benefitted both in vocabulary retention and in their understanding of sentences from 20-minutes aerobic exercise prior to learning a set of new words and 15 minutes of continued exercise during instruction.
Machado, A. “This Latina just started the first even Spanish-language yoga teacher training in the States.” Matador Network. May 30, 2016. https://matadornetwork.com/pulse/latina-just-started-first-spanish-language-yoga-teacher-training-states/. This piece introduces Rina Jakubowicz, born in Venezuela as daughter of a Cuban father and Argentinian mother, and now in the USA making waves. While she does not teach second languages through yoga, her accomplishments as the first Spanish language yoga training program instructor at a major yoga school in the USA are inspiring and reinforce the growing interconnections between yoga, languages, empowerment, and community.
Mishler, A. (n.d.). Home [Yoga With Adrien]. Retrieved from: https://www.youtube.com/user/yogawithadriene. This is my favorite go-to resource for online yoga. She has yoga for everything, including for teachers and students. She is accessible, approachable, and a top-notch place to start. She also has a plentitude of videos for beginners! Check out the comments below any of her videos and her positive impact is clear.
Morgan, L. (2011). Harmonious language learning: Yoga in the English language classroom. English Teaching Forum,49(4), 2-13. Retrieved July 14, 2018, from ERIC. This article promotes the idea of a “harmonious language learning classroom”—an emotionally, mentally, and physically healthy place to learn where teachers and students are concentrated yet relaxed. The teacher writes on her experiences and expertise gained from a simultaneous internship teaching in a traditional language learning classroom and one teaching ESL with Yoga to Latina mothers new to the USA at a Quaker Meeting Center.
Ratey, J. J., & Hagerman, E. (2013). Spark: The revolutionary new science of exercise and the brain. New York: Little, Brown. This text covers groundbreaking research into the science of academic performance and fitness. It focuses on an important distinction from Physical Education classes of long ago Rather than focus on sports and competition amongst students, it focuses on fitness and personal improvement/benchmarks.
Reynolds, Gretchen. “How Exercise Can Improve Learning a Language.” The New York Times. August 16, 2017. https://www.nytimes.com/2017/08/16/well/move/how-exercise-could-help-you-learn-a-new-language.html. This article covers and reflects on the research covered in the above “It takes biking to learn: Physical activity improves learning a second language” article.
Source: CASLS Topic of the Week
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Title: Yoga for Teachers
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Total time: approximately 45 minutes. Yoga With Adriene “Yoga for Teachers” video time: (30:22)
Before you try anything out in the classroom, try something out for yourself. Please note, if you have any injuries or limitations you may consult a doctor or wellness expert as well as search online to find adaptations in poses.
- Grab a pencil and paper plus yoga mat/towel/blanket. A pillow may be handy for sitting or kneeling.
- Turn off your cell phone.
- Roll out your yoga mat/towel/blanket.
- Sit down. Take two minutes to free-write. The topic: “How I will let what I want to be inspire rather than terrify me?” Now, jot down (using only adjectives) the language teacher you were today and one you would like to be most like.
- After the free write, stand at the top of your mat feet hip width apart. Check in with your body. How does it feel?
- Thank yourself. I recommend being ridiculous, shaking your own hand, and saying a hearty “Well done, you handsome devil you!” Making it to the mat was the hardest part. Welcome. Let’s get nourished and have some fun!
- Before beginning the video, close your eyes. Your lungs are life-giving balloons. Take a big sip of air as you breathe all the way into your stomach and let all four corners of your torso inflate. Exhale. Repeat x3.
- Try on a small smile. You magnificent creature you!
- One quick question. I recommend going with the first thing that comes up. What is the top quality you would like to emanate and impart with ease in your classroom this week?
- Press “play” on the Yoga With Adriene “Yoga For Teachers” video. Complete or go as far as you can.
- Once the video has finished, say a quick thank you to your body for all it does. Give yourself a few minutes and move at your own pace into the final step.
- In your mind, note: how and where do your body and mind feel different?
- Pencil and pen, List what you did well as an educator this week. Whatever word(s) came up in Step 9, please now take the biggest inhale from your day and say the word in your head with an exhale. As a final step, please now quietly utter, loudly shout, or whatever way feels right to yourself: "I already know how."
- As Adriene of Yoga with Adriene would say, “The awesome in me bows to the awesome in you.” Thank you for showing up. A healthy, happy teacher is a healthy, happy classroom. May you be an ever-increasing torch in life.
Source: CASLS Activity of the Week
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Content Type: 5
Title: CASLS and LTS: Supporting Professional Training for Graduate Students
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CASLS and the Language Teaching Studies at the University of Oregon partner each year to support the professional development of LTS students. The LTS is a Master of Arts program aimed at giving up-and-coming leaders in language teaching a theoretical and practical professional foundation in just fifteen months.
Part of that foundation includes internships, and CASLS regularly hosts LTS graduate students as both interns and graduate employees who receive full tuition support. LTS students have worked on LingroToGo (a Spanish language and pragmatics mobile application) Games2Teach (classroom activities to accompany digital games), the Bridging Project (online high school curriculum), and research support.
“LTS graduate students work on projects related to our Title VI Language Resource Center grant, which enables them to put their LTS program studies into practice,” says CASLS Director Dr. Julie Sykes. “They also become part of our weekly professional development sessions and receive introductions to national leaders in the field.”
“The CASLS and LTS collaboration provides graduate students with a host of opportunities to participate as emerging language professionals,” CASLS Language Technician Christopher Daradics adds. Christopher started working at CASLS as an intern, later as a graduate employee, and eventually as a faculty member.
Christopher isn’t the only LTS alum working at CASLS. Our East Asia Programs Director Li-Hsien Yang graduated from the program in 2011.
Source: CASLS Spotlight
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Title: Joining a Language Community: Second Language Socialization in the Study Abroad Context
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By Isabelle Sackville-West, CASLS Fellow
Studying abroad is an adventure. For many, it is their first leap into the arms of a new culture. Although wonderful and rewarding, an experience abroad can also be equally fraught with frustration and isolation. Navigating the process of joining a community and language socialization requires tenacity and patience. One must be willing to fail repeatedly. Through consistent observation, reflection, and engagement with experts in the community, however, one’s communicative and social competence will continually develop. More importantly, the learner’s concept of self, community, and the relationship between the two will deepen.
Joining a language community can be understood as a process of language socialization. Language socialization is the means by which novices come to participate in communicative practices informed by the social, cultural, and historical features of their environment and the expert communicators that exist within it. Key to this process is an expert-novice relationship that is formed by members in the community as novices seek to engage in “culture-building webs of meaning” and social practices (Ochs, 2011, p. 17).
Becoming an accepted member of a given society entails the acquisition and awareness of a multitude of social and communicative structures including acquiring and displaying knowledge, expression of emotion, and establishing and maintaining relationships. Learners are able to acquire these structures implicitly through observation and interaction with expert community members in everyday life (Shively, 2011, p. 23); learners can be socialized without much awareness or effort (though a lack of awareness makes socialization far more time-intensive). However passive, it is argued that second language socialization is a much more tumultuous process for a learner’s L2 than for their L1 since it often results in the confrontation of competing roles and identities (Duff, 2011, p. 580).
My own experience studying abroad in Beijing exemplifies this process. During this time, my previously purely American identity was brought to odds with my new identity as a Mandarin speaker and the different roles I occupied in each respective society. For instance, in the American school system I was always commended for my respectful and studious behavior. In China, however, I was initially seen as an extremely confident and bold student because I did not yet understand the Chinese pragmatic intricacies of student-teacher and student-student interactions. Essentially, depending on my context, I was interpreted to have opposing personalities. This reality and my attempt to establish myself in my community of peers at my University in Beijing, a community of fellow L2 learners, and a community of Mandarin speakers was, at times, overwhelming.
Entering a new language community is complex, involving re-evaluation of one’s culture, perceived norms, pragmatic awareness, and individual identity. In this way, the development of social and linguistic competence abroad is not just pertinent to language development, but also the learner’s well-being, identity construction and negotiation.
References:
Ochs, E. (2011). The Theory of Language Socialization. The Handbook of Language Socialization, 1-21.
Duff, P. A. (2011). Second Language Socialization. The Handbook of Language Socialization, 565-586.
Shively, R. L. (2011). Learning to be funny in Spanish during study abroad: L2 humor development. The Handbook of Language Socialization, 930-946.
Source: CASLS Topic of the Week
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