This is a good reference that was made as a blog for Arabic Grammar, that I use all the time when teaching Arabic.I think the group can use the same idea and create simple grammar lessons in FL, these lessons can be useful for all the teachers teaching for example French, German all over the world.
From the website: "NOVASTARTALK website, [is] an online resource that supports workshops and webinars designed to help teachers use technology tools and 21st century language pedagogy in the official STARTALK languages. In the face-to-face program, teachers of less-commonly-taught languages (Arabic, Chinese, Dari, Hindi, Persian, Portuguese, Russian, Swahili, Turkish, Urdu) create technology-enhanced activities [..]"
This is a recent Arabic blog which provides some information about culture, It will useful from teacher of other language to have an idea and use used in FL.
May George # GroupC
But true authenticity comes from the activities we use during class time, leaving an impact on the communicative skills of our students.
Use the language proficiency site developed by UTexas to gain access to native Spanish speakers talking about a variety of themes. These are conveniently divided into proficiency levels.
I tried this activity by having each group research then report about an Arabic speaking country of their choice and the activity was a great success. They seemed to have had a lot of fun, presented short clear sentences (for the most part) that also provided factual and relevant material, and it opened the door for some spontaneous cultural themes and relevant dicussions.
I've used some of the videos from UTexas. Some of the novice level videos are still too difficult for my middle schoolers though! I have to give lot's of scaffolding and support.
remember these rules when selecting activities:
They must be authentic.
They should always be engaging.
Activities should be varied.
They need to be focused around the unit theme.
Perhaps most importantly, they should force students to use the target language.
I discovered this post from an earlier carlatech class when searching "German" in our group, and I thought it was worth bringing to our group's attention. The site offers hundreds of songs in many languages. Would make for a fun Friday reward activity.
Excellent resource. Three levels, Karaoke and Expert options seem fun. What is really interesting is ability for instructor to customize their own activities.
anyone try the karaoke? or, is there another karaoke site? i have a student trip to Mexico City coming up and my wouldn't that be a fabulous fundraiser!