Assessing Speaking with Technology

In a foreign language classroom such as Spanish, German, or French, giving feedback to students on their speaking skills is an important component. There are many tools that we can use to help assess students. So, our question this week focuses on what technology teachers use to assess speaking.

Question of the Week Beginning the Year Positively

Question of the Week: Celebrations

This week we discuss ways to recognize students at the end of the year.

Question of the Week: Absences

This week's question, submitted by a guest, was: How do you use your classtime effectively when you have multiple students missing class due to a school function? Whether it be a field trip, a sporting event, a club meeting, or other school responsibility that forces a group of students to miss class, we still must continue teaching to the students who are present.

Our teachers had some great enrichment activities for the students who were in class to further their language skills, while not creating something that the missing students would have to make up. Here's what our teachers had to say:

Class Mascot Activity

Here’s a fun idea for any world language classroom – it’s amazing how having your own kids in school inspires you. Got this class mascot idea from my daughter’s kindergarten class.

Find a stuffed animal, doll, inflatable monster, gnome, etc. to be your class mascot/exchange student. Pick a different mascot for each class that you have.  Let the students name him and decide where he’s from, why he’s here, what his family is like, etc. Each week, a student gets to take him home and take pictures of him doing activities. Give the student a sheet of paper with lines to write 10 sentences about what the mascot did and a rectangle for a 4×6 picture on the front and blank space on the back for additional pictures. Keep a different color binder with plastic insert pages of the student’s work and pictures for each class.  The other classes will be interested in seeing what all the mascots are doing.

When you talk about weekend activities on Mondays with your class, the student of the week is responsible for talking about what the mascot did and showing off the pictures. The student should bring the mascot to school every day so that he can sit in class and learn the language. Let the mascot be part of class activities when appropriate (games, reading in a funny voice, etc.).  You can also make a flat version of the mascot and have students take pictures of him/her in other random places, cities, or countries.

Written by World Langauge Café

Question of the Week 5/1

Thursdays on Language Teachers' Café we bring you a guest blog post, a feature on a WL teacher, hot topics in World Language, or, this week, a Question of the Week answered by our panel of teachers.
This week, the question was "How has being able to communicate in another language impacted your life"? I think the answers to these question clearly show how valuable learning and knowing another foreign language can be. Share this answers with your students and let them know the opportunities that await them!

Question of the Week 2

Thursdays on Language Teachers' Café we bring you a guest blog post, a feature on a WL teacher, hot topics in World Language, or, this week, a Question of the Week answered by our panel of teachers.

This week's questions was:
What is your favorite website for students to practice the language inside or out of class?

• Duolingo.com - a free language-learning text translation website and app.
• Quizlet.com - Online flashcards
• StudySpanish.com Spanish grammar, vocab, verbs
• Zambombazo - "Una variada oferta de actividades divertidas basadas en obras culturales (canciones, tiras cómicas, carteles de cine, publicidad, arte, etc.) en las que se pretende aprender por descubrimiento sobre el idioma español y las culturas del mundo hispanohablante."
• Digital Dialects.com - A variety of topics for French language learners using iPads.
• Spanish Language and Culture with Barbara Kuczun Nelson - You may remember this site titled Spanish Grammar Exercises, it has lots of great practice.
• Conjuguemos.com - practicing conjugations
• Lyricstraining.com - "easy and fun way to learn and improve your foreign languages skills, through the music videos and the lyrics of your favorite songs"

Websites submitted by:
@nellyanhuh
@MaestraMc
@mcastroholland
@SpanishPlans 
German Sektor
World Language Café
Spanish Sundries
Madame H 

What do you do in your classroom? Share with us in the comments below!

Question of the Week

Thursdays on Language Teachers' Café we bring you a guest blog post, a feature on a WL teacher, hot topics in World Language, or, this week, a Question of the Week answered by our panel of teachers.

This week's questions was:
What is your favorite activity to use when you have 5 extra minutes at the end of a class?

Spanish Sundries says:

1. Spanish-speaking Country Trivia! I develop a bank of questions and ask a few at the end of class.
2. Four Square: Students fold a piece of paper into 4 boxes and write a vocabulary word in each. I choose 4 words at random and the student who matches the most wins.
3. Yo espío - I choose an item and students ask yes or no questions in Spanish to guess what it is.

@nellyanhug says:
One student takes a card with the picture of an object, person, place, animal, etc.
Option 1- A student describes the picture in the target language using circumlocution. Students who guesses correctly is the next one to talk.
Option 2- One Student looks at a picture and the rest of the class tries to guess what it is by asking questions (can be any kind of questions or just yes/no questions). Student who guesses is next. 

German Sektor says:
Lingo is a great end of class game - pick any five letter word in the target language and have students try to guess what it is. They have five chances to guess correctly. For each of their guesses, you circle letters that are in the word but not the correct spot AND you put boxes around letters that are in the correct spot. Works with any language! For more detail and examples: check out her post!

SpanishPlans says:
If I have just a few minutes I'll pull up a music video on Youtube. Sometimes I'll pull up an official video, but a lot of the time I will pull up a lyric video. Kids not only get to hear a catchy tune, but they get to hear and see words. If a vocabulary word or phrase comes up, I can ask the class if they remember what it means. A lot of artists, such as Jesse & Joy, now post their own lyric videos.

@MaestraMc says:
Serpiente: each student says a word in a serpentine fashion around the seating arrangement. The next word must begin with the last letter of the previous word. Extra time? Make it go back again so each student is up to bat twice! No repeats. This helps students be quick on their feet with recall.

Rachel Frenkil @frenkilstein says:
If I'm trying to kill time, I'll pull up a video in Spanish about the country we're studying, like a tourist video or short film. Though I don't assess, it's time where the students can listen to an authentic accent, learn something cultural and work on their listening comprehension (i.e., it's okay if you don't understand every word).

Julie from Open Wide the World says:
"Qui suis-je?" or "¿Quién soy?" is a fun, quick filler game. One student thinks of a famous person (or selects a person from a stack of images you may have on hand, cut from magazines, etc). Classmates ask questions to determine who he/she is. Questions can be yes/no, or open ended, depending on the proficiency level of the class. Alternatively, the student can give clues about who he/she is. This is always fun. Students barely realize it's work!

Madame H shares:
I like to play Improv Monologues or Improv Dialogues with students. I will offer a Baggie or cup with various ideas in it, set a timer, and make the students use the target language until the buzzer goes off. This activity usually makes the entire class laugh. Especially when someone chooses the option to imitate the teacher! It's definitely fun!

Other ideas shared with us:

• Question & answer chain with ball toss.
• "Around the World": Have 2 students stand up and ask them a question or for a translation. The first to answer correct wins and moves on. The loser sits down. As the winner works his/her way around the classroom, they end up sitting in whatever desk they lost to. The person who goes the farthest wins.

What do you do in your classroom? Share with us in the comments below!