#LangChat is dedicated to the discussion of topics associated with issues and trends in world language instruction and learning. Educators, administrators, learners, and aficionados of world languages are encouraged to participate and share their experiences and input on various topics such as new ways to teach vocabulary, using music in the language classroom, and making standards-based grading valid. This chat is also unique in that it brings together language educators worldwide and from different contexts (elementary, secondary, higher education, etc.) and languages.
#langchat Sorry to be missing out tonight but I can only multi task in so many ways. I am excited to read your comments on these questions ... and maybe reply later. https://t.co/OFtfqIz1tZ
#langchat Suggestions for switching to CI with less than 1/3 of the year left? Am I totalmente loca? The little I've done..I love, students love, rest of department not so much. How do I transition??
Hi! #langchat I am currently student teaching in a Spanish HS classroom. I was looking at this feed earlier today & found so many amazing "gems." I have so much to learn :)
Question for #langchat: What if I have a class set of novels, but want students to be able to do some marking and annotating? Is it ok then to make a copy of a chapter?
#langchat A1 Brought in local French born/speaking chefs to cook with us during food units, local francophone artists to work with us on French Art projects and recently a francophone asylum seeker to speak with students during their SS refugee unit.
A1 I want to point out that community members can be from down the hall or down the road--we had a lot of fun with ELL classes at the local elementary school! #langchathttps://t.co/fkDJ1wAbdW
A1 I recently had a French professor from the university come and speak to the students about his different experiences with the language while studying abroad and working in the Peace Corps. (And how he was actually a biology major but fell in love with the language) #langchat
A1- Simply inviting them to come chat without an agenda works best for me - it allows for a lot of unprompted dialogue and no pressure from anyone #langchat (need to do this soon - it's been a while!)
A1 and ACTUALLY the most IMPORTANT community members we've probably had were students' parents as "tiburones" in our shark tank! #langchathttps://t.co/LeqAgWr5lu
Other school employees (from Hispanic countries) have come in to class, and students have posed questions. It has been about various things: cities they're from, what foods are like, immigration experiences, knowledge of political differences #langchat
A1: I also have not had any community members in my class, but I have thought about bringing in someone to teach an actual salsa lesson to my spanish class. #langchat
A1 I introduce my friends in Germany to the class, students pick a person to write to, and I send all the letters. Then friends write back, answer questions, send pictures
While I do a lot of dancing, I've brought in other dance instructors just so kids can engage with others, or we've switched with other teachers for lessons that they are stronger on/have more experiences with. #langchat
Other school employees (from Hispanic countries) have come in to class, and students have posed questions. It has been about various things: cities they're from, what foods are like, immigration experiences, knowledge of political differences #langchat
A1- I've had "guests" (my mom or aunt) call in and ask the class questions related to them. The guest is always prepped ahead of time. Always an area where I felt I could grow more. #langchat
A1 #langchat I have a wonderful "neighbor" to our school who worked in West Africa with the State Department; he translated for Jane Goodall when she visited and he comes and speaks with my students. I can pick the topics.
A1- I've had "guests" (my mom or aunt) call in and ask the class questions related to them. The guest is always prepped ahead of time. Always an area where I felt I could grow more. #langchat
A1 I connected w/a teacher in Mallorca and we sent letters via email, theirs in English and ours in Spanish. My kids are always dying to get replies. Choose partners based on likes (and sometimes name twins, ha) #Olivia#langchat
A1 Partnered w/foods teacher last year for comida lesson! End product - Level 1 worked with senior foods Ss to prepare and enjoy authentic meal! #langchat
A1: I have had this idea in the back of my mind since day 1 of my student teaching; however, I have not had the chance to bring someone into my classroom. I have been wanting to bring a diverse group to bring in their experience learning a new language for motivation. #langchat
My Hispanic friends (here and abroad) will write statements pertaining to stuff, and my students can ask them follow up questions. Also, @Flipgrid interview, where student videos are questions, and other respond. #langchat
A1 When I taught middle school, we had the high school exchange students from France and Belgium spend the day with us and talk about their countries. #langchat
A1-Completely forgot about our exchange students who visit us every year. They present about their school,family, home life. Then we do speed dating activity to get to know them better. #langchat
It's pretty cute because sometimes they choose to write to my friends' kids. And the kids love it. But they also wrote very thoughtful questions to my friends using the language they could and I was super proud
A2: We have strong refugee resettlement agencies in the area, and they are an incredible resource. And my dance community has been amazing. Lots of it has come from where I plug in to keep my language strong. #langchat
A1 full disclosure: I have done nothing that I would classify as community involvement...and I'm completely overwhelmed at the prospect of trying. #langchat
A1- I invite community members who speak Spanish to share pics (on screen) of their families with my 1st graders (Ss raise hands when they hear words they recognize). Then, a couple Ss "read" their pattern family story to the guest. (school bursar, HR, cafeteria, coach, etc)
A1-Completely forgot about our exchange students who visit us every year. They present about their school,family, home life. Then we do speed dating activity to get to know them better. #langchat
A1: one hispanic heritage month we had a special assembly. We ended up having a diverse panel including parents, school custodian, school cook, and some kids. Each shared a diff aspect of what makes them proud to be hispanic. it was a huge community builder! #langchat
A2: Colleagues at my university! It is a great motivator and starter to bring future community professions into the classroom. Future bilingual professionals! #langchat
A2 hi friends joining late but I included a question in my Ss surveys at the beginning of the year about family members who speak Spanish. Actually following through and getting those people in the room is my challenge! #langchat
Le Conseil scolaire francophone de la Colombie-Britannique (CSF) est à la recherche d’une personne dynamique et polyvalente pour combler un poste de La Direction générale adjointe – gestion scolaire. https://t.co/HAraTEwl97#bced#frimm#edadmin#langchat
A2: I have started building connections with my Hispanic students and meeting their families. I'm a shy person so starting at my placement school felt more natural. However, I try to take opportunities to meet speakers of Spanish as they come. #langchat
A2: KU is here and with it come tons of international students and programs, etc. I just have no idea how to connect and find what’s out there! #langchat
Which part? For the refugee services, they plaster their info all around, so it's honestly easy for me. Any international festivals in the area also frequently give booths to community organizations. And I just make a point to talk to every Hispanic person I encounter #langchat
A2 I have had the fortune to have links to Haiti, France and Congo in our school school community. Exchange students from France share and speak with students. Spanish native speakers visit other classes. #langchat
A1 & 2: I'm super duper lucky to have a growing number of latin@s at my school. My Ss are so helpful! I get extra help w/pronunciation & colloquial sayings #langchat Sometimes they even lead parts of my lesson
A1: In the past we've also done real time Skype during la Feria de Sevilla. We connected w other classes. We have had service learning chats w foundation leaders in Costa Rica. Every time I travel, I interview people and connect - bring that right into the classroom. #langchat
#langchat A3 Beginning in MS Students write to students of the MS school in the town with which the HS does an exchange. Eventually they meet, either there or here. So cool.
If you live in a large metropolitan area, it's easier. But I try to assess family contacts and connections to go beyond obvious--Also fun for folks to visit the classroom and DO something with students. E.g. an architect advises on a quick charette with recyclables.
A2 My goodness, I'm super fortunate in this area. Living in the city with the 2nd largest Cuban population outside Florida. And refugee resettlement. And the horse industry. #langchat
A2: I really need to take advantage of my colleagues who also speak #Spanish. If only they weren't also teaching classes #langchat Maybe @Flipgrid is the way to go? @SraSpanglish has an awesome collection that is growing too #langchat
A3 we have school in walking distance to a very authentic store, La Preferida. So why have we not walked there... good question. #TakeawaysAlready#langchat
A3: I truly try to talk to every Hispanic person I see and build as much connection as possible. And then I ask them if I can ask their friends and family questions digitally. #NoFear#langchat
Connect with schools in different countries! I know of one is Spain called la sagrada familia. I attended this school when I studied abroad in Adalucía #langchat
A3b: Also, if there's a Hispanic exchange student, see if they can connect you with the English teachers at their school. It's hit and miss, but it has usually worked at least temporarily for me. #langchat
#langchat A3: there are many cultural services that offer matches with international schools and cultura (MIT) can help make the partnership worthwhile.
@vivianagabi was maybe in my first 5 real Twitter friends. My students had a blast blogging letters & video with hers (Brazilian kids learning Spanish). Just put the call out and it worked... but that was what, 9 years ago? #langchat
In reply to
@SraSpanglish, @brennabyrd, @vivianagabi
A3 We are in the DC area so the State Department is not far away. We also have teachers and parents from many countries. My students exchange on a blog with ss from Paris. We are spoiled but it is still an effort to coordinate times. #langchat
A3: We have an ongoing exhange with a group in Paraguay. We send kids each summer & they come up in January. We always have a presentation with them and it’s so awesome. But I do no work. It’s all from a colleagues connection. #langchat
A3 #langchat Tchrs need to make connections so Ss can understand what being global citizen is. My 3rd gr exchange letters and projects with school in Spain. By 7th grade they can actually meet due to our trip abroad. Investing time in building the relationship makes a difference
Why not do a rotation like stations? Have a conversation day and Ss rotate from teacher to teacher- get exposed to all diff accents, experiences etc. OR topsy turvy day- all teachers swap groups...#langchat
A3: I would love to connect students with international pen pals... that would be a dream. Here's to hoping that I can make that happen one day! #langchat
A3: Connecting with other teachers in different countries. I would probably seek a class from a Spanish speaking country who are learning English so my both classes can hear native speakers at both ends. #langchat
A3 The Mixxer https://t.co/cAooI1X6Ng - don't let the name creep you out, there are great connections on there. Russian-speaking Ukrainian living in Ecuador? How could I have planned that?! #langchat#learningRussian
A3 I can't say it enough: EDMODO Foriegn Languages topic. !! More than a quarter of a million members. Connections happening all the time. https://t.co/en8Mnmhdjy#langchat
A3: Also, friends of friends! My English teacher friends in France have colleagues that have tried to get pen-pals going between out schools or my friends' schools. I use my personal friends & their kids on skype a bunch.
#langchat
A3 I feel like networking is key here, and not being afraid to ask those loose connections and friends of friend abroad for a quick Google Hangout #langchat
A3 In level 4 / AP when we did art, learners found a living artist whose work they admired and contacted them directly. Was their AP exam email practice #langchat
A3: My 3s are studying higher education in France--I was thinking I might have them contact the admissions department of a school that would be a good fit for them... #langchat
A3. Btw, @Astro_DavidS is going to the ISS in November. I am looking forward to sharing his tweets on French from space with my students on Earth! #langchat
A4 Honestly I want to do more with community members as coaches for my kiddos. I like it when they can ask them questions AND show them the final product #langchat#PBLL
#langchat A1 - I have had German speaking volunteers come to read to and work with students as well as some generous donations to our exchange program. Can’t wait to make connections at my new position.
Dude, yeah! I went to a @FLANC_WorldLang session where Cherokee teachers just got native speakers to narrate a Google Map street view to a special designation in the TL! #langchat
A4 (1/2) : ALL OF THEM. Have a guest instructor (direct instruction), work with interpersonal communication (speaking or writing), they can create semi-authentic interpretive tasks as well (interpretive), interviews can also provide intercultural communication practice #langchat
A4: Tomorrow, my students will be learning Salsa 101! I really hope to bring the presidents of the Salsa team from my university to my class one day before internship to see it "live." I think it would be kind of nice to see the dance as a pair. #langchat
A4 With the Haiti connection, we are learning about importance of school and education; girls and school; and we are making posters about basic grammatical info for ss whose language is creole but whose edu is in French. #langchat
A4 #langchat Boomalang is my new fav mechanism to have students speak to natives (safely). They are vetted and trained to elicit language from Ss. Topic can be selected by T or Ss. Transcript available. Meaningful HW!!
When you create a BreakOut by starting with essential questions and asking yourself what you want Ss to be able to demonstrate through the tasks, you can actually make it a challenging assessment! They just don't realize. It's like throwing spinach in your smoothie. #langchat
A4 When a French professor who visited my classroom, the objective was that he could give the students some insight into how they can use the language after high school, motivation for continuing their studies into college, as well as exposing them to a new accent! #langchat
A4 - i would love guest speakers, adoptive grandma/grandpas, pen pals, people to cook for us (hopeful hah) and teach other traditions that I simply don’t have being non-native and not even of direct German ancestry! #langchat
Remember though that many of them are not "used to" language learners of that level and may judge them outside of what is still considered acceptable error. #langchat
This is such a good point...what responsibilities do we have to prepare native speakers for "sympathetic listening" before interaction with our students? #langchat
We could also add videos from heritage learners. Ask them to research something specific from their culture, make a video cooking with their family, explain a custom/tradition etc for non-native learners. #langchat
In reply to
@Marishawkins, @sratanguera, @SraSpanglish
This is such a good point...what responsibilities do we have to prepare native speakers for "sympathetic listening" before interaction with our students? #langchat
Every time I read through an idea and contemplate this, the sheer amount of supplies, setup, and planning exhausts me and shuts down my brain. I just cannot unless it becomes my pet thing, and I don't think it is. #langchat
Cooking seems cliche BUT it's still so awesome, maybe dancing, leather work, woodwork, those giant paper mache statues, jewelry. Anything you can buy forma market. #langchat
Remember though that many of them are not "used to" language learners of that level and may judge them outside of what is still considered acceptable error. #langchat
A5 @Flipgrid and Google Meet would be great ways to communicate with people and they don't even have to come to the room. Literally speak with people from around the world. #langchat
A5: Staying in trend with the students is key. Students really use social media, whether it is Instagram, Snapchat, Twitter... whichever it is, there is always pages/accounts that can be neat to let your students know about so they can follow for cultural knowledge. #langchat
I feel you, sistahhh. I do them all with my colleague - usually on the weekend... over wine. We always laugh at how much prep it is for so little time but whenever we watch the kids in action, we smile at each other the entire time like evil masterminds- so worth it #langchat
In reply to
@SECottrell, @SraSpanglish, @sratanguera
TA: I have a bajillion connections. Why am I not using them more? I have used most of the things I mentioned 1-2 times. I need to capitalize better. Also, I need to extend my classroom to classroom connections #langchat
A5- We are sooooo fortunate to have so much tech available. 20-25 years ago I had my mom call in and then later Skype and that was high tech. LOL Now we truly are a global community. There's no excuse anymore to not bring the community in. #langchat
A5 #langchat Don't forget https://t.co/L7Te4WcZaS (recommended by Ying Jin TOY 2018) as a safe place for students to meet and chat QR codes for little ones, AND you get a transcript.
Try it with different rules for each round like only one person in the group can speak English or everyone has to high five after each correct answer. I make up rules like these every time we play. #langchat
#langchat TA - gotta get to work on making connections bc if sts see community members using the TL it will become real/authentic to them. Also - jealous of more commonly spoken /writtenlanguages in the US. 😜
