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3) Different Context, Different Identity

VoiceThread is a ridiculously simple online program that allows students to comment on authentic materials, whether they be pictures, documents, web pages, or video. Students can provide written feedback to the material presented along with oral feedback via their computer mics, web cams, or cellular phones.

Gather responses globally — Create a Padlet with a question and post it on Twitter, a blog or other social media. (A hashtag like #comments4kids could help more people see it and respond.) See where in the world responses come from!

Padlet is a free, online "virtual wall" tool where users can express thoughts on topics of their choice. It's like a piece of paper, but on the Web. 

Uses for Padlet in your classroom

Book Reviews: 

http://voicethread.com/#q.b562.i4705Here is a way to include specific content.

All it takes is a QR reading app on a smartphone to quickly and instantly hear the student’s voice.

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.

The words that surround us every day influence the words we use. Since so much of the written language we see is now on the screens of our computers, tablets, and smartphones, language now evolves partly through our interaction with technology. And because the language we use to communicate with each other tends to be more malleable than formal writing, the combination of informal, personal communication and the mass audience afforded by social media is a recipe for rapid change.

A "text" isn't limited to something written down. A text can be a film, an artifact, anything in a language and culture that conveys meaning.

Created texts have long dominated the materials used in language classrooms. But increasingly, educators are coming to understand the need to bring more authentic texts into the learning environment.