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By Natascha Chtena November 22, 2015 5 Comments   .blog-spacer { display: none; } @media (max-width: 420px) { .blog-spacer { display: block; height:1px; clear:both; } }   googletag.cmd.push(function() { googletag.display("dfp-ad-story_level_pages"); }); Natascha Chtena is a PhD student in Information Studies at the University of California, Los Angeles. You can follow her on Twitter @nataschachtena.       One of the challenges I face teaching a daily language class is finding novel and creative ways to maintain student interest throughout my lessons. One of my favorite teaching “tricks” is using music to motivate learning, improve concentration, create a sense of community and help my students absorb material.   Music is a wonderful tool to integrate into your teaching repertoire, especially if you are a foreign language teacher. It has a

The key is to not be too ambitious (unless of course you are teaching a language AND culture class) and to set realistic goals: one song one major point! I usually keep it to seven minutes max, which includes a song, a very short “lecture” and some time for student questions at the end.

Next, my recent favorite, eduCanon.

So many opinions were out there on social media. I decided to focus this unit even more on this popular music event.

So many opinions were out there on social media. I decided to focus this unit even more on this popular music event.

Lots of comprehensible input there! They learned about new genres. Some said they added music that we learned about in class to their playlists. Love that!

The Advantages of Media for Students: Popular media (films, music, YouTube) are a familiar medium to students that helps gain attention and maintain student interest in the theories and concepts under discussion. Students can see the theories and concepts in action. In more than a figurative sense, theories and concepts leap from the screen. Students can hone their analytical skills by analyzing media using the theories and concepts they are studying. The use of media in the classroom enables students to see concepts and new examples when they are watching television, listening to music, or are at the movies with friends. Students can experience worlds beyond their own, especially if the media is sharply different from their local environment.

Using media requires a complete understanding of copyright law, an appreciation of the workload involved, and some skill in recognizing content that will enhance learning, instead of becoming a distraction.

Research suggests that students perform tasks where concentration is required, better with music playing in the background.

Somewhere between a PowerPoint presentation and a full-fledged video is the audio slideshow.

2. Incorporate listening and drawing activities with Pear Deck: Pear Deck is the perfect way to make your Google Slides interactive. Try using the Pear Deck Chrome extension for listening and drawing activities: Add a Pear Deck interactive “Drawing” slide and read a description aloud.For example, I will read the following description aloud (in Spanish) to my Spanish I classes: “The boy is tall, thin, and has black, curly hair and green eyes. The boy is feeling happy because it is warm and sunny outside. He likes to listen to music and read, but he does not like to study or play sports.”As I read off this description, students draw what they hear. Once their drawings are complete, I ask them to restate what they drew aloud. You can also ask them to write about what they drew. Students are enthused when I project all of their drawings on the board—each student’s drawing is different and has its own style, even though everyone heard the same description.

This may seem obvious, but judging by the notices we have received, many teachers (and especially students) are under the impression that if it is on the web, then it is up for grabs.

That is, in some cases, if an image, text, video, etc. is being used for educational purposes, there might be more flexible copyright rules.

But make sure to check specific copyright restrictions before uploading anything you’ve scanned to the web!

Essentially, the teacher narrates a video that is projected for the class to see.

it links meaning between the language used by the teacher to the images on the screen.

music videos