Teaching Foreign Languages: Engaging With Communities
This workshop for K–12 foreign language instructors is designed to help you evaluate your teaching practice by examining a research topic from the national standards produced by the American Council for the Teaching of Foreign Languages as they apply across languages and skill levels. It features the work of leading researchers and the reflections of practicing teachers in a lively round-table discussion format. Classroom examples are shown throughout the workshop videos to illustrate the ideas being discussed. In this session, you will identify opportunities for students to use the target language with native or fluent speakers. In exploring such community interactions, you will examine ways to prepare the students and native speakers prior to their interactions. You will learn to monitor and assist during the interactions, and debrief the interactions to ensure a successful experience for all.
Teaching Foreign Languages K-12: A Library of Classroom Practices: Standards and the Five Cs
This video is an introduction to the National Standards for Foreign Language Learning. The standards define what students should know and be able to do in foreign language education. Through classroom examples and interviews with teachers, students, and experts in the field, this program begins to show how a range of teachers are using the standards to advance their students' foreign language skills and engage them in lifelong learning.
Teaching Foreign Languages K-12: A Library of Classroom Practices: Assessment Strategies
This course introduces assessment strategies aligned with the National Standards for Foreign Language Learning, state and district standards, and curriculum and instructional practices. Three case studies with comments from teachers, students, and experts in the field illustrate how several teachers are assessing their students' foreign language skills.
Teaching Foreign Languages K-12: A Library of Classroom Practices: Chicken Pox
In this course, students demonstrate their knowledge of body parts. They begin by talking about the chicken pox and reading Marc Brown's story, Arthur a la Varicelle (Arthur has the Chicken Pox). Then they sing a song about the chicken pox that names different parts of the body. Finally, students do a cut-and-paste activity, labeling a drawing of a person with words for body parts that they had practiced in the song.
Teaching Foreign Languages K-12: A Library of Classroom Practices: Mapping Planet Earth
In this course, students practice vocabulary for the continents and oceans. They begin by reviewing vocabulary for the solar system, then narrow their focus to planet Earth. Finally, as a class and in pairs, students practice the continents and oceans vocabulary using Total Physical Response and maps.
Teaching Foreign Languages K-12: A Library of Classroom Practices: Family and Home
In this course, students learn and review vocabulary that refers to family members, rooms of the house, and activities in the home. They cut out pictures from French magazines and use them to create an imaginary family tree. Then they work in pairs to match pictures of families with written descriptions. The class also practices reading comprehension by putting together sentence strips.
Teaching Foreign Languages K-12: A Library of Classroom Practices: Holidays and Seasons
In this course, students review the months, seasons, and German holidays. They practice vocabulary and develop oral and written comprehension while singing songs, solving riddles, and participating in other activities. They also use a Venn diagram to compare the German holiday Fasching with Halloween.
Teaching Foreign Languages K-12: A Library of Classroom Practices: Sports Stats
In this course, students talk about their sports likes and dislikes. They begin by reading their personal journal entries to review the previous day's vocabulary. Then students share their sports preferences in groups and put the information on a class graph. Next, they interpret an article about the sports interests of young Germans; they scan the article for familiar words and then listen as Ms. Garcia reads the text. Finally, students work in groups to describe the contents of a sports photograph.
Teaching Foreign Languages K-12: A Library of Classroom Practices: Daily Routines
In this course, students practice vocabulary related to daily routines in Japan and in the U.S. First, Ms. Dyer uses Total Physical Response and authentic materials to introduce the vocabulary. Next, the class places pictures of daily activities in sequential order, and continues reviewing the vocabulary and reflecting on Japanese culture depicted in large photo panels. Then, in pairs, students use props and drawings to talk about their personal routines. Finally, students compare the daily routines of students living in Japan and in the U.S., using a Venn diagram and a game of charades.
Teaching Foreign Languages K-12: A Library of Classroom Practices: Fruits of the Americas
In this course, students learn vocabulary for fruits grown in Latin America. Using iMovie and PowerPoint technologies to illustrate the fruits, Ms. Rodriguez introduces the vocabulary, then has students practice the new words in full-class and pairs activities. Next, the students taste the fruits and discuss whether they are sweet or sour and whether they like them. In a culminating activity, the students make and eat a big fruit salad.