#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.
Good evening, #langchat! Let's take a moment to introduce ourselves: tell us who you are, where you are, what you teach, and what's keeping you going in or out of the classroom this May! #langchat
Good evening, #langchat! Let's take a moment to introduce ourselves: tell us who you are, where you are, what you teach, and what's keeping you going in or out of the classroom this May!
Bonsoir #langchat! Rebecca around Boston, teaching MS French. We are coming up on a stuff-of-memories group cooking project in French 8, so I'm excited for that.
A1- going textbookless! It has been a long process and culminated with having to use a textbook I hated so I was pretty much creating everything anyway... #langchat
Martinique & Guadeloupe trips in conjunction with @AATFrench keep me motivated. Students are currently pumped to engage their social/political voices as they describe school lunch realities & research on food waste. #langchat
A1 a change I made this year was clipping curriculum, eliminating units that ss had previously not engaged with. doing more depth, less breadth. #langchat
We just adopted a new textbook, and we had zero curriculum, so we totally went off book. Don't even get me started on how awful I think textbooks are. #langchat
A1 #langchat Took extra time to reflect with students about their language learner & personal identities. This meant a few days were not in French, but connections to self & future abounded.
A2 Small change was using tons of PACE method lessons in my classes! No placement test & huge variety of levels was limiting but we made it work...mostly. #langchat
Salut, tout le monde! I'm Angela in Forsyth Co, GA. I've been out of the CR for 5 years as an ITS but am returning virtually next year to teach French 1 in addition to my other job as a Dist ITS for MS/HS.
#langchat
Good evening, #langchat! Let's take a moment to introduce ourselves: tell us who you are, where you are, what you teach, and what's keeping you going in or out of the classroom this May!
It is. I’ve never been too in to using the book, but it was used. This year I went off it and dove into Somos from @MartinaBex and it all was amazing. We read novels! Loved it! #langchat
A1 Having students in Latin 2 write more. Their stories are hysterical and feature recurring characters that I enjoy. And definitely speaking more Latin to students on a regular basis - not 90% by any stretch of the imagination but enough to get kids more exposure! #langchat
It is an awesome online game that is designed by a high school student. It’s way better than Kahoot. The Ss answer ?s and then earn money and can shop for advantages in the game. @Marishawkins has a blog post on it. #langchat
It's been okay. I have zero control/input into curriculum, which has been hard for a control freak like me to handle, but on the flip side is much less prep. #langchat
!!!!!!!!! I forgot about that!!!! It's going to be so awesome! Just remember you're much wiser going in than I was back when! #langchat#itooneedablogpost
In reply to
@MmeBlouwolff, @htrude07, @BuckInstitute
A1 And my Latin 1 class story “Itinera Liviae et Amicorum” is the best thing ever... completely influenced by my six freshmen’s imaginative ideas! Been teaching them basically through this story all year. Much more engaging than textbook stories! #langchat
A2: to stay the course because the results are amazing. My kids have been writing and conversing at levels I couldn’t imagine using legacy methods. And they WANT to communicate. It’s that cup analogy that we fill them so full they have to give output! #langchat
A2 My kids want to talk more...really. Just in a safe space and amongst themselves. Give them a structured way to take the risk and they will. More guided conversations early on gave them confidence to do it more late without that structure. #langchat
#langchat A2 My big a-ha moment: it doesn't all have to be sexy and exciting and perfectly executed all the time. We can do a practice sheet and the earth will still rotate.
#langchat A2 My big a-ha moment: it doesn't all have to be sexy and exciting and perfectly executed all the time. We can do a practice sheet and the earth will still rotate.
Well, I'm definitely older : ) #langchat I think my head is going to look like this after doing MOPI training, PBL *and* Proficiency Academy with @gretafromtexas this summer:
In reply to
@SraSpanglish, @htrude07, @BuckInstitute, @gretafromtexas
YES!! This is so true. I always built in a super informal "let's just chat" time at the beginning of class every. single. day. Made all the difference in the world in their proficiency and their confidence. #langchat
Actually this should be A2. The Latin I story is still an “aha moment...” Who is the strange woman Livia sees in Rome? The students will find out next week (although they already know who it is...)! #langchat
A1 And my Latin 1 class story “Itinera Liviae et Amicorum” is the best thing ever... completely influenced by my six freshmen’s imaginative ideas! Been teaching them basically through this story all year. Much more engaging than textbook stories! #langchat
Yes, I've only read parts of While We're on the Topic, but it's in there. I need my MS PLC to motivate me to do PD reading (when there's not #langbook nudging me along). #langchat
A2: Biggest aha moment is how technology maximized my Ss potential. Using Skype, merci @nycoldidcote using Flipgird, merci encore @nycoldidcote. Using storyjumper and boom cards as well. #langchat
I’m working to maintain the use of the TL...one thing I try to do is write the directions, in French, in advance, with cognates and visuals. On a projected slide. Then I can explain the activity in the TL. Anyone else do this? Thoughts? #langchat
A2 - Jumping in late because I NEEDED a glass of wine my coworkers today, which leads me to my AHA moment of the year....I can't do it alone. #langchat
I’m right there with you! From being the @FLAVAWeb TEacher of the Year to the @_SCOLT_ Teacher of the Year, there have been so many AHA moments. #langchat
It might not rotate with emojis, but it will for sure keep going. But hey, life isn't always sexy or exciting or perfectly executed.
Sometimes, it just spins...and others, it falls off the tracks.
#langchat
A2: I have so many! This year has really allowed me to reflect on my teaching as a result of being the @FLAVAWeb Teacher of the Year to the @_SCOLT_ Teacher of the Year. #langchat#langchat
A2- my biggest A-HA moment was once I started using glow and grow comments on rubrics. I started seeing longer, connected sentences and personalized vocab! #langchat
Also I think early in my career Maris would wonder what I would have done without teaching grammar and we have gotten through a whole year with very little explicit grammar practice! #langchat
A2 #langchat I took a year to not create entire new units, blog, vlog, webinar, etc. It made a major impact on my stress level in November & for the rest of the year. Aha: I don’t always need to be producing & sharing. Back next year ;)
A3: I did some CI-style lessons during my observations this year and got great feedback from my supervisor! She wants to do training for grad student instructors next year on similar methods. #langchat
A3 My biggest risk was trying a whole new textbook and then deciding that I needed to supplement, supplement, supplement with technology and lots of other stuff...authentic stuff...not sure how it was going to turn out. My kids loved it! #langchat
A3: Biggest risk was implementing the Daily 5 in a FI setting. It allowed me to take a deep dive at my classroom library, help Ss love to read as much as I do and build endurance to read longer. Learning along with them and having successes and failures too. #langchat
Q3 I didn't commit to 90%+ TL in level one. Inner me felt bad about it, but we all had fun and they didn't end up hating me, so it was probably a win. #langchat
A3 I think I'm back to A1: standards-based grading, where meeting the target = B. I didn't see that going down well in Lake Wobegon, but I haven't had a single complaint. #langchat#allBsallthetime
A3: my biggest risk was being more vocal about wanting to do things differently. Many of my colleagues are very staunch about how they teach. But they are slowly opening up to new ideas!!! #langchat
A few of my students from NINE YEARS AGO have been posting and tagging me in FB memories about the AP exam and it makes me remember how much I love them!
#langchat
A3 -hit with an illness that put me completely out of commission for 1-2 months & I wasn't myself for 4.5.The risk I took was giving into the sickness & giving up control. Guess what?The beat went on!My team & school supported me & my Ss are happy & growing! It was hard #langchat
I think it’s important to be kinder to ourselves. My intent for level 1 was to speak enough Spanish to them that they don’t consider it crazy when they hear it. And some days are better than others! #langchat
A3: One of the biggest risks I took was allowing my Ss to share their work with a global audience. I didn’t know how they would respond, but the results have been really good. #langchat
Q3 committing one class/week in my fles program to fvr. Magic. The kids love it and so do I. They live the choice and it's lead to some great interpersonal work! #langchat
#langchat Yes! Being a finalist for ACTFL was amazing, but what I needed was a year where I didn’t have to work at the level that help get me there. Let’s all take time to unplug & breathe. WL online community won’t forget you, they’ll support the gift to yourself!
Q4 I'm looking forward to redoing some of my AP curriculum and implementing it. Next year I'll have the first kids I had in level one back again for AP! #langchat
A4: I’m looking forward to ditching our old curriculum and starting to use a new curriculum that I get to help create for my district this summer. Also looking forward to creating more collaborative projects with my partner school in France #langchat
A4: I’m looking forward to using more novels and to keep trying to get the juices flowing amongst my colleagues. I know some of them are frustrated with Ss perforce but aren’t sure why! I’m going to keep gently nudging! #langchat
A4 Trying: changing the routine in class, trying to do short teacher led at beginning to use theoretical crucial window for attention. On verra. #langchat
My philosophy has changed. I'd rather break into English to reach a S, inspire community connection, or explain something than have them feel lost, confused, disconnected, or unsure of themselves. We need to help build them up, find common threads, & let them grow #langchat
A4: I am looking forward to using @Seesaw, especially as a means for my parents to see more of their students work. Incorporate more PBL and redesign my library even more. #langchat
A3 late to #langchat but my biggest risk was not looking at the curriculum every 5 sec. I felt so much more free to teach. Incorporating new techniques that scared me and still trusting that students will learn. And so far...they have!
A4: For the 1st time, I'm teaching French 1 online. I've done blended/blurred before (combined classes leave us no option), never entirely online. I'm nervous about being able to build the relationships in an entirely online enviro, but excited for the challenge.
#langchat
#langchat was my intro to the fabulousness of my Twitter PLN and my feed even after 5 years out of teaching French is still filled with amazing WL Ts!
Looking forward to re-joining you all for real next year!
A4: I look forward to incorporating more CI and communication amongst my level 1 students while encouraging them to take risks with confidence. I know they want to practice speaking more, but they get nervous. #langchat
A4: next year @citurralde2 & I are researching Storytelling to Promote Empathy in Male Learners through @ibsc and I truly can't wait to expand on our #nomásbullying & #séelcambio work. Language Ts have a powerful platform to encourage our Ss to be agents of change! #langchat
My kids LOVE it. LMK if you want a copy of the worksheet I made for it. I told them we are doing an end of year DIY Puedos and they erupted in cheers today! #langchat
A5 Incorporating language function into our departmental rubric, so that Ss' Can-Dos align more with their IPA performances. This is a big hole to be patched. #langchat
A4 jumping in late from Texas! I won’t be teaching in the classroom, but I’m still looking forward to working with students! Focus on communication. #langchat
My philosophy has changed. I'd rather break into English to reach a S, inspire community connection, or explain something than have them feel lost, confused, disconnected, or unsure of themselves. We need to help build them up, find common threads, & let them grow #langchat
A5 How can I make CI work w/ my students when they have very mixed abilities but I am obligated to work within an extremely rigid textbook curriculum? #langbook
We balance & still do mini lessons on grammar but totally took the pressure off. Our boys have flourished but I worry about when they enter their next schools. I love how much FL pedagogy has changed but sadly it's not prevalent in many of the high schools in NYC. #langchat
A5: How do we better support struggling students at the tier 2 and tier 3 level when it's so hard to find people who are qualified? How do we help parents who don't speak French at home assist their child and assure them not to worry? #langchat
A5 I need to spend my summer creating contextualized grammar (gasp!) activities to start building from L1 so my L3s can consistently reach intermediate presentational #langchat
Lots of pictures, gestures, props! Find cognates and use humor. Students are slightly shocked, but they giggle quite a bit with the things we try on the 1st day. #langchat
A5: How should I really be handling grammar, accuracy, pronunciation, etc. with Intermediates. I have many doubts about what I am/am not doing & its effectiveness, esp. after STAMP results. #langchat
A5: I’ve been wondering how others handle push back from parents that are/have been Language Ts? I’ve had a Ss whose mom is forever Spanish T and she is clearly skeptical about things. Wants to know when I’ll teach certain tense, etc #langchat
A5: we're going 1:1 next year, high school. How do I incorporate the devices into classes when I've gone practically note-taking free? #langchat@MmeFarab
If you work in education, share when and why you chose to be an educator....ready, set, tweet!
👩🏻🏫❤️👩🏼🏫❤️👩🏽🏫❤️👨🏻🏫❤️👨🏼🏫❤️👨🏾🏫
#educhat#langchat#kidsdeserveit
A5 #langchat These past few years of creating & collaborating on #ci type units based on Global and AP themes must be codified this summer. Have all themes been touched on? Flow is good? Meaningful to sts! Excited to stitch these last threads of 15 years of experiments.
A3: started off with authentic articles. Even though Ss were a bit anxious initially, the risk was worth it. Many have said they have grown so much and really like that they can understand so much. I’m proud of their efforts!#langchat
To my textbook's credit, they do a "les sons et les lettres" segment that I supplement with tongue twisters. It's fun! Not sure how much staying power it has, though. Hmm. #langchat
TA: While this year was a huge adjustment in many ways, it has given me so much perspective! Thankful for that, even in the face of many challenges. #langchat
TA I love to reflect but I need a push like #langchat to do it! Thank you! I just screenshot my answers from tonight so that I can re-read them when school ends in 55, oh I mean, 5 weeks.
Thanks for a great chat tonight, everyone! #langchat is off for the summer, but feel free to tweet using our hashtag - someone from this amazing community will hear you!
Join us for #langbook 5/24 @ 8 p.m. ET to discuss Ch.5 of @actfl's Enacting the Work of Language Instruction: Focusing on Cultural Products, Practices & Perspectives in a Dialogic Context. We'll dig into the IMAGE model, see/think/wonder, and getting Ss from ew to ah! #langchat
