Group items tagged

Good explanation of different ACTFL standards.

I have been exhausting this website for resources since I first discovered her through Twitter. I apologize that it's another language resource, but she has great activities for all different levels of proficiency and languages. The presentation and units with resources are aligned with ACTFL standards.

This article describes the incorporation of web conferencing in a foreign language classroom with the purpose of improving listening and speaking skills. Although the number of students in the study is small, the authors provide very specific recommendations for the implementation of this technology in the classroom. This technology allows students more time to practice and interact with their L2 since the conferencing can be done outside of the classroom.

Our data group for EDTC 615 is focusing on developing better speaking skills in the Chinese as a Foreign Language classroom. This article describes a structured process for reviewing textbooks to ensure that they provide explicit strategy instruction for listening and speaking. Using this method my group could review the explicit instruction that is currently in use in our classroom and decide if any modifications need to be made to improve student learning.

This article describes an innovative technique for teaching foreign language teaching skills. The researchers used interactive videos and webcams to capture their students responding to video prompts and capturing their responses for future review. The method also allows students to review their responses and create a digital portfolio of their speaking skills.

Lesson plan for studying Victor Hugo's Les Misérables with students using novel and character summaries in the target language. While the multiple choice questions in the lesson are mere comprehension questions, some of the discussion questions address main idea and supporting details. Teachers could also develop their own multiple choice questions for the passages to address main idea and supporting details.

Great blog and ideas for language teachers who want to ditch grammar and run a communicative language program.

Great audio, video and reading resources for Spanish speaking countries.

This site provides great, authentic resources in varying levels of proficiency for languages. The students can listen, decide how much guidance they need and complete a game like activity to practice vocabulary covered. I have used it as an audio resource in the classroom for incorporating cultural viewpoints and reinforcement of vocabulary. It does have a fee to become a member and students cost more.

A research article on academic ability and how this can be developed in students of various backgrounds, race, and socioeconomic status.

A comprehensive mission of public schools is to produce students who are intellectually competent and prepared for postsecondary education and the increasingly competitive workforce. However, differences in educational outcomes of students indicate that the impact of our current public school system is limited.

By: Jason Lange. The push for data-driven instruction has been widespread since the implementation of the No Child Left Behind Act, which was signed into law in 2002. Yet the number of individual classrooms regularly practicing DDI remains startlingly low.

The article acknowledges that schools often collect more data than is needed in order to determine what student(s) need for instruction. The 6 methods schools can put into practice in order to lead effective data driven programs is helpful, particularly the first 3 methods - keep it simple; think small; and analyze your efforts.

Teachers incorporate writing in math class to help students reflect on their learning, deepen their understanding of important concepts by explaining and providing examples of those concepts, and make important connections to real-life applications of the math they are learning. This page includes links to other writing resources.

This guide offers five recommendations to help educators effectively use data to monitor students' academic progress and evaluate instructional practices.

I like how this article breaks down five different recommendations and makes it easy for the reader to explore what they choose without overwhelming them. I will be bookmarking this!

My school does not use data for instructional purposes. This is a great guide for us to use in order to start collecting and using data for instructional purposes.

This article from The Language Educator discusses how to differentiate instruction in the language classroom through the use of stations, complex instruction, orbital studies, centers, and tiered activities. The article showcases the success of differentiating instruction at a German immersion school and and a district-wide implementation of differentiated. Included are addresses to challenges with differentiating instruction in the language classroom.