Group items tagged

"Flashcard Stash is built on top of a dictionary, so you can lookup words above and save them. Click on functions in the top right of each vocabulary flashcard for example sentences, synonyms, and audio. Highlighted words can also be clicked for an immediate definition. "

vocabulary practice and building - elementary to post graduate

""PBL is the act of learning through identifying a real-world problem and developing its solution. Kids show what they learn as they journey through the unit, not just at the end.""

"Perhaps that skills fits within a unit based on a topic or a theme, but each lesson works independently and can function without being embraced in a unit that connects them all in a learning story. " Personally I can resonate with this comment. I agree that most of the foreign language textbook are theme based, which put vocabulary and grammar within the given theme. But between different themes lack of coherence or connection. But using PBL might be an effective way to make an connection. I would like to share a own example of using PBL.The PBL is design a Travel Itinerary. Students impersonate travel agent to design a 2 days travel itinerary which includes 3 places to visit and 4 meals, provide price, compare different travel plans and persuade buyers to purchase their own travel plan. So in the PBL they are incorporate skills from different themes "Asking direction" "Travel" "Weather" "Shopping". It is also mentioned in the article that PBL "prepare the students for predicted the future", the PBL stays as authentic as possible. Also, as an ongoing assessment, the PBL can be used independently in each assessment and then at the end combined into a big assessments.

"Career analyst Dan Pink examines the puzzle of motivation, starting with a fact that social scientists know but most managers don't: Traditional rewards aren't always as effective as we think. Listen for illuminating stories -- and maybe, a way forward."

The TED talk further distinguish tasks into two types, and reveals that incentives doesn't work with the type of work requires cognitive skills. It points out that intrinsic motivation: autonomy, mastery and purpose will work better to enhance efficiency. The situations in my classroom clearly backup this statement. Every time when I am doing simple translation word to word with my students in a timed situation, incentive such as candies, points work perfectly. Students performed well under that simply reward system. But when the task change into creating sentences with the given vocabulary, students' attentions shift from getting rewards to proving their ability or mastery. As a language teacher, I understand that as the difficult of the content increase, the effect of rewards decrease accordingly. To increase students' intrinsic motivation, cultivate self-motivated students is the key to success.